Payment Bond Formal Verification

3. Verify surety against Circular 570

Read references/circular-570-verification.md for the verification process.

Check:

• Is the surety listed on Treasury Circular 570? (federally approved)
• Is the surety licensed in the project's state?
• Is the penal sum within the surety's underwriting limit?
• What is the surety's AM Best rating? (A- or better is standard)

4. Verify bond coverage

Check:

• Does the penal sum cover the total task value(s) being posted?
• Is the effective date before or on the task posting date?
• Does the obligee match the project owner referenced in the RFP?
• Does the principal match the entity posting tasks on the marketplace?

5. Generate verification report

Output:

{
  "verification_status": "VERIFIED | FAILED | PARTIAL",
  "bond_number": "...",
  "surety": {
    "name": "...",
    "circular_570_listed": true,
    "state_licensed": true,
    "underwriting_limit": "$...",
    "am_best_rating": "A+",
    "naic_code": "..."
  },
  "principal": "...",
  "obligee": "...",
  "penal_sum": "$...",
  "coverage_sufficient": true,
  "effective_date": "...",
  "checks": [
    {"check": "Surety on Circular 570", "result": "PASS|FAIL", "detail": "..."},
    {"check": "Licensed in MI", "result": "PASS|FAIL", "detail": "..."},
    {"check": "Penal sum covers tasks", "result": "PASS|FAIL", "detail": "..."},
    {"check": "Bond is current", "result": "PASS|FAIL", "detail": "..."},
    {"check": "Obligee matches project", "result": "PASS|FAIL", "detail": "..."},
    {"check": "Principal matches poster", "result": "PASS|FAIL", "detail": "..."}
  ],
  "warnings": [],
  "requires_human": ["Contact surety to confirm bond is active (not cancelled)"]
}

6. Validate output

python scripts/validate_bond_verification.py < report.json

References

• references/circular-570-verification.md — How to check Circular 570, state licensing, and underwriting limits. Includes URLs for Treasury data download and surety verification portals.
• references/bond-field-definitions.md — AIA A312 and ConsensusDocs 260 field definitions and where to find them in the document.

What this skill explicitly CANNOT do

This skill verifies the bond document against public records. It does NOT:

• Contact the surety to confirm the bond is still active
• Verify the Power of Attorney authenticity
• Provide legal advice on bond adequacy
• Replace attorney review for disputed bonds

These limitations are stated in every output under requires_human.