Competitive Sealed Bids/Invitation for Bids

Competitive sealed bidding is conducted for most bids in excess of $150,000. All purchases of products, services, and construction must be conducted in a manner that affords businesses a fair and equal opportunity to compete. The DNR Purchasing Office is responsible for posting all formal bids. Specifications and scope of work must be submitted to the DNR Purchasing Director, along with the Procurement Request Form. Specifications must not be unnecessarily restrictive. It is not appropriate to specify brand names unless there is a specific reason for doing so. To avoid conflicts of interest, and to assure objective specifications, suppliers must not be allowed to prepare specifications.

When formal solicitations are out for bid, it is critical that ALL communication with vendors be conducted by the DNR purchasing agents. Specific processes are required for receiving/answering questions in order to be fair to all vendors. If these processes are not carefully followed, a protest can occur, delaying the project and sometimes costing the State money.

In most cases, awards for competitive sealed bids will be made based on the lowest price submitted by a responsive bidder. Competitive sealed bids must be received by the specific date and time advertised, or they cannot be opened and will be returned to the bidder.