WSDOT building construction contracts are bonded on DOT Form 272-003, a single contract bond that guarantees performance, payment of workers and suppliers, and repair of defects discovered up to six years after final acceptance. RCW 39.08 sets the full contract price as the penal sum.
| Title / common name | Contract Bond — Building Construction (WSDOT DOT Form 272-003), the Washington State Department of Transportation contract bond for building construction contracts WSDOT publishes separate forms for highway work (DOT Form 272-002B) and for FHWA-funded building projects (Form 272-003B). This card covers the 272-003 state form only. |
|---|---|
| Bond type | Contract — combined performance and payment bond, with a defect indemnity |
| Industry / license category | Construction / contract surety |
| Jurisdiction | United States → Washington → Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) → public works contractor’s bond, chapter 39.08 RCW RCW 39.08.010 requires a public body contracting for work to take a bond from a surety company conditioned on faithful performance and on payment of laborers, mechanics, subcontractors, material suppliers and suppliers of provisions. |
| Obligee | State of Washington The bond reads “jointly and severally held and bound unto the State of Washington”. The form carries WSDOT’s approval block with the Surety Bond No. and the WSDOT Contract No. |
| Typical penal sum | The full contract price The form has a dollar blank. RCW 39.08.030(1)(a) says the bond “must be in an amount equal to the full contract price agreed to be paid for such work or improvement”. On contracts of $150,000 or less, the contractor may choose to have the public entity retain 10 percent of the contract amount instead of a bond (RCW 39.08.010(3)). |
| Who needs it | Contractors awarded a WSDOT building construction contract The executed contract is attached to and incorporated in the bond. The form is signed by the contractor’s authorized signer and the surety’s attorney-in-fact, with the bonding agent’s name, mailing address and phone number. |
| What it covers | Performance until the work is accepted, payment of labor and material, and defects found within six years of final acceptance The condition covers all approved change orders “as if they were in the original contract”; payment of “all laborers, mechanics, subcontractors, and material persons” and anyone supplying provisions and supplies; and indemnity to the State for defects in workmanship or materials that “develop or be discovered within six years after the final acceptance”. Unlike the 272-002B highway form, the printed condition does not list the Title 50, 51 and 82 RCW taxes. |
| Defect liability cap | First-year defect liability capped at 10% of the bond sum The form provides that liability for defects in materials or workmanship “for a period of one year after the acceptance of the work shall not exceed the sum of ten percent (10%)” of the bond sum. |
| Claims on the bond | Labor, subcontractor and supplier claimants must file a written notice of claim within 30 days after the contract is completed and the work is accepted Under RCW 39.08.030, claimants other than the state (for taxes) have no right of action on the bond unless they file the notice with the public body within that 30-day window. See the statute for the notice wording and suit rules. |
| Form number / edition | DOT Form 272-003 · Revised 01/2020 · 2 pages Revision date printed on both pages of the official PDF, checked 2026-11-04. The WSDOT electronic forms index still lists an older 04/2017 date beside this form; the PDF footer shows the current revision. |
| Effective / cancellation | From execution through acceptance and payment, with the defect indemnity running six years after final acceptance The form has no surety cancellation clause. It is “void” only once the principal has performed, paid and met the defect condition; otherwise it remains “in full force and effect”. |
| Source | WSDOT DOT Form 272-003 — Contract Bond, Building Construction (PDF) (official state form · revised 01/2020 · 2 pages · linked, not hosted) Also: WSDOT — Electronic forms · RCW 39.08.010 · RCW 39.08.030 |
| Status | current |
| Last verified | 2026-11-04 |
From DOT Form 272-003: the principal “shall further indemnify, save harmless and reimburse said State of Washington from and for any defect or defects in any of the workmanship or materials entering into any part of the work of the contractor performed pursuant to this contract, which shall develop or be discovered within six years after the final acceptance of said contract”.
Both WSDOT contract bonds run to the State of Washington for the full contract price and combine performance and payment in one instrument. The building form adds the six-year defect indemnity, while the WSDOT 272-002B highway contract bond adds the state tax condition instead. Bids on either kind of job are secured with the WSDOT 272-001 proposal bond. Federal projects split performance and payment into the SF 25 performance bond and SF 25A, as our Miller Act and little Miller Act guide explains.
The defect indemnity keeps the surety on risk long after the project closes, a risk that private projects often cover with a separate maintenance or warranty bond such as the ConsensusDocs 263 warranty bond. Our maintenance and warranty bonds guide explains how those post-completion bonds work, and the subcontractor payment bond claim guide covers the separate 30-day notice that labor and material claimants must meet.
Open the Source link above for the official WSDOT PDF. We summarize field facts and quote one short key clause rather than reproducing the form. Use the current form from WSDOT when filing; Global Guarantors does not host copies.