What is the maximum term for GO bonds?

• A. 30 years
• B. 25 years
• C. 20 years
• D. 15 years

Answer: (B)

General obligation bonds are backed by the issuer’s full faith and credit, meaning tax revenues are pledged to repay the debt. With that strong backing, regulators and policymakers still set a practical limit on how long these bonds can mature to keep debt service predictable and aligned with what taxpayers can bear and with the life of the funded project. In the standard CASBO CBO guidance, the typical maximum maturity for a GO bond is twenty-five years. This longer horizon balances spreading the cost over time with keeping debt levels manageable and transparent for the public. A thirty-year term would push debt service further into the future and increase total interest costs, while shorter terms like fifteen or twenty years are possible but do not represent the maximum allowed in this framework. So the twenty-five-year maximum best fits the common practice.