How do I register as a vendor in California?

Register on Cal eProcure (https://caleprocure.ca.gov). Go to caleprocure.ca.gov, click Login/Register, then Register as a New Bidder.

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

California 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 General Services (DGS), Procurement Division

Vendor registrationCal eProcure

Registration feeFree (DGS: register your business with Cal eProcure at no cost)

Where bids are postedCalifornia State Contracts Register (CSCR), a tool inside Cal eProcure (https://caleprocure.ca.gov), where state agencies post solicitations when they go out to bid.

Open bids right now1,252 open California bids (263 closing this week, 315 new in the last 7 days)

How to register as a California vendor

Go to caleprocure.ca.gov, click Login/Register, then Register as a New Bidder.
Set up the company profile: choose FEIN or SSN as the Tax ID (no dashes), company name and website.
Enter the primary address and add a primary contact (additional users can be added).
Under bidder notifications, choose to receive CSCR bid opportunity notices, name notification contacts, add UNSPSC codes by keyword search, and select service areas.
Agree to the terms and conditions and submit; activate the account with the emailed temporary password and set a new password.
Optionally apply for Small Business (SB), SB-PW or Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) certification through Cal eProcure.

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 California's local agencies for you and emails the matches each morning.

Small business and certification programs

Small Business (SB) and Microbusiness certification: For businesses with 100 or fewer employees and average gross receipts of $19 million or less (or manufacturers with 100 or fewer employees); the state may give certified SBs a 5% bid preference and agencies must award at least 25% of contract dollars to certified SBs.
Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) certification: State certification for disabled veteran owned firms, applied for through Cal eProcure; certified SBs and DVBEs can be awarded contracts from $5,000.01 to $249,999.99 directly under the SB/DVBE Option after quotes from at least two SBs or two DVBEs.

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

Cities, counties and school districts

Cities, counties, local agencies and special districts run their own purchasing, but some are DGS Reciprocity Partners that honor the state's SB and DVBE certifications; DGS publishes a directory of them.

Local bids are where most small businesses win their first contracts: smaller dollar values, shorter responses and less competition from national firms. BidsNexus collects them into one list, so you can browse every open California bid in one place.

Tips specific to California

Turn on CSCR bid opportunity notifications and add UNSPSC codes during registration, or you will not get emailed notices.
Certified SBs and DVBEs must perform a Commercially Useful Function on state contracts.
The CSCR lets you post a free ad seeking to partner with a prime contractor on a specific solicitation.
Bidder registration help: FI$Cal Service Center, 1-855-421-6355 or vendors@fiscal.ca.gov; certification help: OSDS, 916-375-4940.