NYC procurement, in plain English

An official invitation from a city agency for vendors to bid on a project.

A solicitation is the formal document a city agency uses to ask vendors to submit a bid or proposal. It includes the scope of work, the deadlines, the requirements (bonds, insurance, M/WBE goal), and the rules for submitting. Most agencies post solicitations through PASSPort and the City Record. Each solicitation has a unique number you'll see throughout the project.

A type of solicitation where the agency wants to know if you're qualified to do the work.

Request for Qualifications. The agency wants vendors to demonstrate they have the experience, certifications, bonding, and personnel to do the work before they look at price. Sometimes used as a first step before a more detailed RFP, sometimes used by itself for simpler procurements.

A solicitation that asks for both your approach and your price.

Request for Proposals. The agency wants both technical detail (how you'll do the work, who's on your team, how you'll manage schedule) and a price. Used when the agency cares about more than just lowest cost. Typically scored by a panel against published evaluation criteria.

A solicitation where the lowest responsive, responsible bidder wins.

Competitive Sealed Bid. The agency publishes a complete scope and asks for sealed price bids. The award goes to the lowest bidder who is both responsive (followed all the rules) and responsible (has the capacity to do the work). Most public construction work is procured this way.

Also known as: sealed bid

Another name for a Competitive Sealed Bid (CSB).

Invitation for Bids. Functionally identical to CSB. Some agencies use IFB, others CSB. Award still goes to the lowest responsive responsible bidder.

Two separate tests every bid has to pass.

Responsive means the bid followed all the rules in the solicitation: included every required form, signed everything, met the deadline, didn't change the bid form. Responsible means the bidder has the capacity to do the work: experience, financial stability, bonding, no debarment. A bid can be the lowest price but still lose if it fails either test.

Updates the agency posts to a solicitation after it's published.

Addenda are official changes or clarifications the agency posts after the solicitation is out. They might change a deadline, clarify a spec, or answer a question multiple bidders asked. Bidders must acknowledge every addendum in their bid; missing one usually makes the bid non-responsive.

Also known as: addendum

A walkthrough or info session for bidders before bids are due.

Pre-bid meeting (sometimes called a walkthrough). The agency hosts an in-person or virtual session where bidders can see the site, ask questions, and meet the project team. Some pre-bids are mandatory: if you don't sign in, your bid is automatically disqualified. Always check the solicitation for whether attendance is required.

Also known as: walkthrough, pre-bid walkthrough

The way the agency picks the winner in a Competitive Sealed Bid.

Among all the bids that pass both the responsive test and the responsible test, the agency awards the contract to the one with the lowest dollar amount. Not just the lowest number on the form: the lowest among bids that followed every rule and came from a capable contractor.

What you're being asked to build or do, in detail.

The portion of the solicitation that describes the actual work. Includes drawings, specifications, quantities, and any special conditions. The price you bid has to cover everything in the scope of work; anything outside it is a change order later.

The numbered system construction documents use to organize specs.

Construction Specifications Institute MasterFormat. A standardized way to number every section in a construction spec, so bidders and subs can find exactly what they need. Examples: 03 30 00 is Cast-in-Place Concrete, 26 00 00 is Electrical, 32 12 16 is Asphalt Paving. Bidsmith extracts these from your drawings to identify required trades.

Also known as: CSI, csi sections, MasterFormat

A 6-digit code that identifies what industry a business is in.

North American Industry Classification System. Federal codes that classify businesses by industry. NYC uses NAICS to match vendors to opportunities, set size standards for small business programs, and track minority and women-owned business participation. Common construction codes: 236220 (Commercial Building Construction), 237310 (Highway / Bridge Construction), 238210 (Electrical Contractors).

Your company's federal ID number for federally-funded contracts.

If a project uses any federal funding, your firm needs to be registered in SAM.gov and have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). It's a 12-character alphanumeric code that replaced the old DUNS number in 2022. Free to obtain at SAM.gov; required for most federal contracts and many federally-funded city projects.

Also known as: UEI, SAM

A guarantee you'll honor your bid if the agency picks you.

Usually 5% of your bid amount, in the form of a surety bond, certified check, or bank money order. If you're picked and refuse to sign the contract, the agency keeps the bid bond. It's the agency's protection against bidders who lowball and then walk. Bid bonds are returned to losing bidders after award.

A surety guarantee that you'll actually finish the work.

Typically 100% of the contract amount. If you fail to perform — abandon the project, go bankrupt mid-build, or otherwise can't finish — the surety pays the agency to bring in someone else. You pay a premium to your surety company; the agency gets a guarantee. Required on virtually all NYC public construction.

A surety guarantee that your subcontractors and suppliers get paid.

Typically 100% of the contract amount. Protects subcontractors, material suppliers, and laborers if the prime contractor fails to pay them. If a sub doesn't get paid, they can claim against the payment bond. Required by NY State Lien Law on most public projects.

The maximum dollar amount your surety will guarantee for you.

Usually expressed two ways: single project limit (the largest one project the surety will bond) and aggregate limit (the total of all your bonded projects in progress). If a job is bigger than your single limit, you can't bid as prime. Building bonding capacity is one of the slowest parts of growing a construction firm.

The insurance company that issues your bonds.

An insurance company licensed to issue surety bonds. Federal Treasury Circular 570 lists approved sureties; agencies require that bonds come from listed companies. Major NY construction sureties include Liberty Mutual, Travelers, Hartford, Zurich, and CNA.

An umbrella term for MBE and WBE certifications combined.

M/WBE covers both Minority-owned (MBE) and Women-owned (WBE) Business Enterprises. NYC and NY State both run their own M/WBE certification programs. Most NYC construction solicitations include an M/WBE participation goal — a percentage of the contract that must go to certified M/WBE primes or subs.

Also known as: m/wbe, mwbe goal, minority and women-owned

A business at least 51% owned and controlled by a minority individual.

Minority Business Enterprise. Certification is granted by NYC SBS (Small Business Services) for city contracts, or by NY State Empire State Development for state contracts. Requires US citizenship or permanent residency, minority status (Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American), and majority ownership and operational control.

A business at least 51% owned and controlled by a woman.

Women's Business Enterprise. Certification is granted by NYC SBS for city contracts and NY State Empire State Development for state contracts. Requires majority ownership and day-to-day operational control by women.

A federal program for socially and economically disadvantaged businesses.

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. Federal certification used on US DOT-funded projects (highways, transit, airports). Different from M/WBE: DBE has a federal personal net worth cap and requires US DOT-recognized disadvantage. NY State DBE certifications are accepted on Thruway, Port Authority, and MTA projects.

A federal SBA program for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people.

Small Business Administration 8(a) Business Development Program. Helps small disadvantaged businesses compete for federal contracts, including sole-source set-asides. Nine-year program with developmental and transitional stages. Not city-specific but valuable on federally-funded NYC projects.

A federal SBA program for small businesses in qualifying low-income areas.

Historically Underutilized Business Zones. Federal SBA program for small businesses headquartered in HUBZone-designated census tracts that also employ at least 35% of staff who live in HUBZones. Useful on federally-funded contracts, less common on pure city projects.

Federal SBA certification for women-owned small businesses.

Women-Owned Small Business. Federal SBA program parallel to WBE but at the federal level. Required for women-only set-aside federal contracts. Some industries also have an EDWOSB (Economically Disadvantaged WOSB) sub-category.

Federal SBA certification for businesses owned by service-disabled veterans.

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business. Federal SBA certification for small businesses at least 51% owned and controlled by veterans with a service-connected disability. Used on federal set-asides and some VA construction work.

NYC's online portal where vendors register and submit bids.

NYC's centralized procurement platform, run by the Mayor's Office of Contract Services (MOCS). Every vendor doing business with the city must be registered in PASSPort. Most solicitations are posted there, vendor responsibility questionnaires (VENDEX) are filed there, and bids are submitted through it. Replaces the older paper-based VENDEX system.

NYC's vendor responsibility questionnaire, now part of PASSPort.

Originally a separate system, VENDEX is the responsibility questionnaire NYC uses to vet vendors: ownership, financial history, prior contracts, disclosures of debarment or criminal proceedings. Now integrated into PASSPort. Every vendor seeking city work must have a current VENDEX on file before they can be awarded a contract.

NYC's main agency for designing and building public infrastructure.

NYC Department of Design and Construction. Manages design and construction for most non-school city facilities: libraries, courthouses, fire stations, sanitation garages, sewers, water mains, public buildings. The largest construction client among NYC agencies.

The agency that builds and renovates NYC public schools.

NYC School Construction Authority. A separate state authority that designs, builds, and renovates NYC public school buildings. Has its own procurement system, separate from PASSPort. Major source of school renovation, electrical, roofing, and HVAC work.

The agency that owns and maintains NYC public housing.

NYC Housing Authority. Owns and operates the largest public housing portfolio in North America. Big source of capital construction work — roof replacements, building system upgrades, kitchen and bath renovations. Has its own iSupplier portal for procurement, separate from PASSPort.

A pre-vetted list of contractors qualified to bid on certain types of work.

Prequalified List. Some agencies maintain ongoing PQLs for specific trades or work types. Vendors submit qualifications once, get vetted once, and then are eligible to bid on any task order in that category. Common for smaller-dollar repetitive work like lock changes, asphalt patching, or HVAC service. PQL applications are usually continuously open.

The official rulebook for how NYC agencies must run procurements.

Rules of the Procurement Policy Board. Codifies how every NYC agency must conduct procurements: methods, thresholds, advertising requirements, evaluation, protests. Anyone serious about NYC public work should know the basics. Available at nyc.gov/mocs.

NYC's official daily journal where solicitations are advertised.

The City Record is NYC's official journal. By law, agencies must advertise solicitations there. Available online at a856-cityrecord.nyc.gov, free to search. Most large NYC procurements are posted both in the City Record and through PASSPort.

Mandatory union-scale wages on NY public construction.

NY Labor Law §220 requires contractors on public works projects to pay each trade no less than the prevailing wage rate set by the NY State Department of Labor. Rates are published per county and per trade. Workers must be paid the prevailing wage even if they're not in a union. Includes both base wage and supplemental benefits. Violations can mean back wages, debarment, and personal liability for the contractor.

Also known as: §220, Labor Law 220

Weekly proof you paid prevailing wage on a public works project.

Required documentation for prevailing wage projects. Each week the contractor and every sub submit a payroll showing every worker by name, classification, hours, wage paid, and benefits. Signed under penalty of perjury. Filed with the awarding agency. Used to enforce prevailing wage compliance.

A pre-hire agreement with unions covering all work on a project.

Project Labor Agreement. A pre-hire collective bargaining agreement between the agency and one or more building trades unions. Covers all contractors and subs on the project, regardless of whether they're typically union or non-union. Used on large projects to standardize wages, dispute resolution, and avoid strikes. Whether a PLA applies is stated in the solicitation.

Mandatory enrollment in registered apprenticeship programs for the trades on the project.

NY public works projects increasingly require that the contractor and subs participate in NY State Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship programs for every apprenticeable trade on the job. The goal is to train new workers. The contractor must submit proof of enrollment with the bid; failing to do so can make the bid non-responsive.

Bidsmith's automated check that your bid package meets every requirement before you submit.

A rules-based check (no AI) that runs through every requirement in the solicitation: bid bond attached, M/WBE plan meets the goal, insurance limits sufficient, VENDEX current, walkthrough sign-in on file. Every item must pass before the submission package can be downloaded. If anything fails, Bidsmith tells you exactly what's missing.

A point in the workflow where a human must approve before the AI continues.

Bidsmith has six explicit checkpoints where a human must review and approve before anything moves forward. The originator approves the generated RFQ before publishing. The originator picks which vendors to invite. The responder approves each narrative section individually. The compliance pre-flight must pass. The download is manual. There is no autonomous submission, ever.

The person creating the RFQ — agency procurement staff, an architect, or a GC.

Whoever is on the buying side: an NYC agency procurement officer, an architect on contract to an agency, or a general contractor putting out work to subs. The originator generates the RFQ, decides which vendors to invite, and approves what's published. In Bidsmith, the originator's surface is everything under /originator.

A vendor responding to an RFQ — usually a contractor or subcontractor.

Whoever is on the selling side: a construction firm, an electrical sub, a roofing contractor. The responder receives an invitation, runs eligibility, drafts a narrative, builds an M/WBE plan, runs compliance pre-flight, and downloads a submission package. In Bidsmith, the responder's surface is everything under /responder.