ACORD 501 | Surety Report of Execution Form
ACORD 501 is the report an agent sends to a surety company once a bond has been signed. It isn’t the bond itself. This page walks through all ten sections and shows how the premium numbers add up.
What Is ACORD 501?
It’s the Surety Report of Execution. An agent fills it in after a bond has been signed, then sends it to the surety company so the company can record the bond, the people on it, and the premium. It doesn’t create a bond, and it doesn’t ask for one. Think of it as the agent reporting back to the surety: here is what I just issued.
Two sibling forms handle the earlier step. ACORD 502 is the Contract Bond Request Form, and ACORD 503 covers commercial or miscellaneous bonds. Both come before the bond exists. This report comes after.
What’s on the ACORD 501 Fillable Form
Ten sections across two pages, in the order they appear.
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1
Producer & Account
The agency reporting the bond, with its phone, email, and agency code, plus the account name and mailing address the bond belongs to.
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2
Principal
The party that bought the bond and promises to do what it covers, such as a contractor. The form has room for three names.
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3
Obligee
The party the bond protects, such as a project owner or a government agency. Up to three fit on the form.
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4
Countersigning Agent
The agent who countersigned the bond, with an address and agency code. Bonds often travel with a power of attorney, a document that proves an agent can sign for the surety.
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5
Underwriting & Remittance Surety
The surety company behind the bond and the one that receives the premium. Each company gets a row with a name type code, its bond percent, its bond amount, and the branch office that should receive the report. When more than one surety shares a bond, each row shows that company’s share.
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6
Basic Bond & Execution Information
A short description of the bond, the bond form number, the bond number the surety assigned, and the date the bond was executed. This part also records the bond term, the renewal method, the current term premium, and whether the bond can be canceled.
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7
Contract Information
For contract bonds: a project description, the contract price, the estimated completion date, and the maintenance term in years and months. The maintenance term is the stretch after the job ends when the contractor still answers for defects.
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8
Location of Risk
Where the project or obligation sits: street, city, state or province, zip code, county, and country.
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9
Surety Terms & Premium Billing
The type of surety, a terms code, the effective date, and the bond amount. It also splits the premium into gross, commission, and net amounts and names the currency. A charge type code says what the money is for, such as bond premium, countersigning fee, agent filing fee, or cancel and close.
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10
Remarks
Open space for anything the other fields can’t hold.
Copy the names straight from the bond
The principal box is labeled “Name (as appears on bond),” and that wording matters. A report that spells the principal differently from the bond can leave the surety’s records pointing at the wrong party. Open the signed bond and copy the name exactly as printed, including spelling, punctuation, and any “LLC” or “Inc.” Do the same for the obligee, even though its label doesn’t say so.
How the premium numbers add up
The premium section turns one payment into three numbers. Gross is the full amount the bond buyer pays. Commission is the agent’s share. Net is what’s left for the surety. For example, a $5,000 gross premium with a 10 percent commission gives a $500 commission and a $4,500 net amount. The form asks for all three, plus the commission percent, so the figures can be checked against each other.
Check these before you send it
The form’s own instructions spell out a few entries that people often get wrong.
- Bond number
- Use the number the surety assigned to the bond, not your own file number.
- Execution date
- Enter the date the bond was executed, which can differ from the date you fill in the report.
- Bond amount
- Enter the amount the surety receiving the report is liable for. With co-sureties, that’s each company’s own share.
- Branch office code
- Enter the surety branch office that should receive the report, so it reaches the right desk.
- Both pages
- The premium and contract details sit on page two, so fill in both before you send.
Check how your surety wants it
Some sureties collect these details through their own online systems, and others accept the ACORD PDF. Ask your surety contact which one they prefer before you send anything. Either way, keep a filled-in copy of the report, since it’s your record of exactly what you told the surety.
FAQs
Is ACORD 501 a bond?
No. It’s a report. The bond itself comes from the surety company or the party that requires it. On federal projects, for example, the bonds are Standard Forms such as SF 24 for bids and SF 25 for performance. This form only tells the surety that a bond has been issued.
Who fills out this form?
The agent or agency that executed the bond. The producer details sit at the top of the form, and the agent sends the finished report to the surety company that backs the bond.
How does ACORD 501 differ from ACORD 502?
ACORD 502 is the Contract Bond Request Form, used to ask a surety for a bond. This report comes later, after the bond is signed, to tell the surety it exists. ACORD 503 is the request form for commercial or miscellaneous bonds.
Is ACORD 501 fillable?
Yes. You can type into the PDF on this page with most PDF readers, then save it and send it to your surety. Fill in both pages before you send it, since the premium and contract details sit on page two.
Daniel Whitfield
Daniel writes plain-language guides to ACORD insurance forms, based directly on what each form actually says.
This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ACORD LLC. ACORD® is a registered trademark of ACORD Corporation. This guide is for informational purposes only and is not legal or insurance advice.