The role of band bending in affecting surface recombination velocity measurements has been evaluated by combining barrier height data with charge-carrier lifetime measurements for Si(111) surfaces in contact with a variety of acidic aqueous electrolytes. Charge-carrier lifetimes and thus surface recombination velocities have been measured by contactless radio frequency photoconductivity decay techniques for long bulk lifetime n-Si(111) samples in contact with 11 M (40% by weight) NH₄F(aq), buffered (pH = 5) HF(aq), 27 M (48% by weight) HF(aq), or concentrated 18 M H₂SO₄. Regardless of the sample history or surface condition, long charge-carrier lifetimes were observed for n-Si(111) surfaces in contact with 11 M NH₄F(aq) or buffered HF(aq). On the basis of previous barrier height measurements, this behavior is consistent with the formation of an electrolyte-induced surface accumulation layer that reduces the rate of steady-state surface recombination even in the presence of a significant density of surface trap sites. A straightforward evaluation of the surface trap state density from the measured surface recombination velocities, S, is thus precluded for such Si/liquid contacts. In contrast, a wide range of S values, depending on the history of the sample and the state of the surface, were observed for n-Si(111) surfaces in contact with 27 M HF(aq). These results in conjunction with previously measured barrier height data indicate that the charge-carrier lifetimes measured for n-Si(111) in contact with 27 M HF(aq) can be directly correlated with the surface condition and the effective surface-state trap density. These conclusions were confirmed by measurements of the apparent S values of n-Si(111) surfaces in contact with various solutions in the presence of the known deep trap, Cu. For Si(111)/HF(aq) contacts, very high (≥920 ± 270 cm s^-1) surface recombination velocities were observed when 0.16 mM (10 ppm) Cu²⁺ was in the solution and/or adsorbed onto the Si(111) surface as Cu⁰ deposits, whereas low (100 ± 75 or 225 ± 20 cm s^-1) apparent surface recombination velocities were measured for Cu-contaminated Si(111) samples in contact with 0.16 mM (10 ppm) Cu²⁺-containing 11 M NH₄F(aq) or BHF(aq) solutions, respectively.