Surety bond information

[makethatkerdistick]

This question is specific for those of you living and working in the state of Texas, but feel free to chime in if you have other pertinent information.

I am arguing with a roofing contractor over the construction of my new roof. Something went wrong, let's keep it at that. I want to obtain the contractor's surety bond information to see if I should file a claim with them. When I signed the bid at the time, I didn't ask for it. Now that I need it, I don't have it, and the roofer won't communicate with me.
I've been trying to find out whether there is a requirement in Texas for a contractor to provide said bond information upon a customer's request. I guess I could call the AG's office to find out, but wonder if some of you good folks have some insight. Roofers in Texas aren't required to register with the state, and so mine doesn't seem to have this voluntary registration.

Thanks so much! I hope that my fellow Texans tonight have (enough) electricity and aren't freezing. It's pretty bad where I live.

[makethatkerdistick]

Found the information in the meantime. It's actually public record. I didn't know that. I called up a random bonding agency in Texas, and they were very helpful in looking it up for me.

[cx]

Thanks, Wolfgang. I've never had reason to look that up in all the years I worked in Texas and didn't know the answer.

[John Bridge]

I contracted for 32 years in the Houston/Harris County area and never had a surety bond.

[Maniac979]

I've been out of the contracting world for a couple of decades. When I left, there was no requirement for building contractors or subcontractors to have a surety bond in Texas. If you wanted a bond from a sub, you had to request it and it was applicable to that project only.