The bond-order-conservation-Morse-potential method, extended to treat the heat of chemisorption of bidentate species and of molecular radicals, has been used to analyze the energetics of formic acid decomposition at low coverages on Ag(111), Ni(111), and Fe/W(110) surfaces. These calculations project that on all three surfaces formate species are produced, with a parallel formation of formyl plus hydroxyl species on Ni and Fe/W. Bidentate coordination of formate species is preferred over monodentate coordination, the energy difference increasing in the order Ag < Ni < Fe/W. The decomposition of formate species leads to atomic hydrogen and CO 2 on Ag, whereas on Ni and especially on Fe/W formate decomposition leads mainly to atomic oxygen and formyl species, the latter of which decomposes practically without activation to CO and atomic hydrogen. The findings of this study are in general agreement with experimental observation.