Contractors working on public projects should be familiar with the requirements of Florida Statute §255.05.

Here is what a 255.05 bond needs to state on its face:

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· Name, principal address, and phone number of the contractor, the surety, the owner of the property being improved, and if different from the owner, the contracting public entity;

· The contract number assigned by the public entity;

· The bond number assigned by the surety; and

· A description of the project sufficient to identify it, such as a legal description or the street address, along with a general description of the improvement.

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While the following items are not required to be on the face page of the bond, they should be somewhere within the bond:

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· Reference to 255.05 by number;

· Reference to the notice and time provisions of 255.05 (2); and

· Reference to Fla. Stat. 255.05 (10).
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In addition to the technical requirements above, substantively, the bond cannot:

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· Restrict classes of claimants from those listed under §713.01;

· Restrict venue for a bond claim;

· Restrict or expand the duration of the bond; or

· Add conditions precedent to the enforcement of a claim against the bond beyond the purview of the statute.

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Fail to address each of these provisions and your bond may not be enforceable.