Pavements represent a very substantial portion of the public's investment in infrastructure. It is essential that this investment be preserved through cost-effective planning, design, and maintenance. One way of achieving this is through the use of long-term performance-based specifications. This paper first describes the current practice for pavement specification. For the most part, these specifications are "recipe" orientated. Very specific requirements are set for procedures, such as compaction, or as constructed properties such as density. With the proposed system, the contractor would be required to warranty the actual performance of the pavement over an extended term. The paper describes the overall scope of the system, its key elements and advantages, and the major risk factors. As well, the measures that can be used to characterize performance and a model for estimating performance are identified. A stochastic formulation of the model is used to present a method of determining the risk to the contractor based on a design example. Finally, the paper explores some of the concerns associated with the implementation of the system and how these concerns might be addressed. Key words: long-term warranties, pavement contracting, pavement performance.