How do I register as a vendor in Alaska?

Register on IRIS Vendor Self Service (VSS) (https://iris-vss.alaska.gov/). Open IRIS VSS, select Register, accept the terms, and search for your business by TIN or legal business name (individuals use last name and last four of SSN).

How to Bid on Government Contracts in Alaska (2026 Guide)

Alaska buys through a central state purchasing office, and its cities, counties and school districts buy on their own as well. To sell to the state you register once as a vendor, then watch for solicitations in your commodity codes and respond by the deadline. This page covers the state registration steps, where bids are posted and the programs that help small businesses, with links to the official pages.

Central purchasing officeDepartment of Administration, Division of General Services

Vendor registrationIRIS Vendor Self Service (VSS)

Where bids are postedState of Alaska Online Public Notices, run by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor (https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/), plus solicitations published in IRIS VSS (https://iris-vss.alaska.gov/).

Open bids right now143 open Alaska bids (12 closing this week, 32 new in the last 7 days)

How to register as a Alaska vendor

Open IRIS VSS, select Register, accept the terms, and search for your business by TIN or legal business name (individuals use last name and last four of SSN).
Enter a user ID and password; this first user becomes the Primary Account Administrator. Click Next and confirm the verification email.
Log in and choose your TIN type and business classification, then verify your locations.
Enter addresses (at least an active payment and an ordering address are required) and contact emails.
Select commodity/service codes and any Alaska preference business types you qualify for.
Review the Registration Summary and submit; the Division of Finance reviews it and emails you when the account is fully functional, and you note your new vendor code.

Registration gets you on the state's list, but it rarely sends you every relevant bid. Many agencies, and most local governments, post on their own portals. A free BidsNexus alert watches the state portal and Alaska's local agencies for you and emails the matches each morning.

Small business and certification programs

Alaska Bidder Preference and Alaska Offeror Preference: A 5% bid price preference (and 10% of RFP evaluation points) for bidders with a current Alaska business license and a staffed in-state place of business for the prior six months, plus ownership residency rules by entity type.
Alaska Veteran Preference: An extra 5% preference, capped at $5,000, for Alaska bidders majority owned by Alaska veterans.
Procurement Preference Program (Alaskans with Disabilities and Employment Program preferences): Certified by the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation: 10% for businesses owned by persons with disabilities, 15% for qualifying employment programs; no application fee, Alaska business license required, renewed annually.
Alaska Product Preference: 3%, 5% or 7% preference for products 25-50%, 50-75% or 75%+ made in Alaska, if company and product are on the Commerce Department list at least 30 days before the solicitation issues.

Federal set-asides work differently from state programs; see our guide to small business set-asides.

Tips specific to Alaska

Without commodity/service codes you can still respond to solicitations in VSS but you will not get email notices of matching solicitations.
Until the Division of Finance verifies your registration you can use VSS but cannot receive an award document or a payment.
Online Public Notices offers RSS and email subscriptions and saved searches (some features need a myAlaska login).
To claim a disability-related preference you must be on the DVR certified list when bids open and attach the certification letter to your bid.