While Mississippi licenses construction contractors at the state level, that does not require the purchase of a contractor license bond. However, some local jurisdictions have licensing or permitting rules that may require bonding.
Under Mississippi’s “Little Miller Act,” contractors must purchase performance bonds and payment bonds before entering into a contract for a state-funded construction project valued above a certain threshold level. Although the Little Miller Act does not apply to privately funded construction projects, many private project owners require performance and payment bonds anyway, particularly for higher-value projects. Any project owner (referred to as the “obligee”), whether public or private, may opt to require bid bonds in competitive bidding situations.
Other construction bonds that may be required by Mississippi project owners include:
- Maintenance bonds
- Subdivision/site improvement bonds
- Supply bonds
- Solar decommissioning bonds
- Right of Way bonds
