Pennsylvania 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 officePennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS), Supplier Service Center
Vendor registrationPA Supplier Portal (registration and bid responses); bids are advertised on PA eMarketplace
Where bids are postedPA eMarketplace: https://www.emarketplace.state.pa.us/ (IFBs). RFP and ITQ events run in JAGGAER, and responses are submitted through the PA Supplier Portal.
Open bids right now2,582 open Pennsylvania bids (506 closing this week, 692 new in the last 7 days)

How to register as a Pennsylvania vendor

  1. Have your IRS EIN ready (a Social Security number will not work) and use a desktop or laptop with Edge or Chrome.
  2. In the PA Supplier Portal, start Supplier Registration and enter your nine-digit EIN without hyphens.
  3. Enter business details: legal name exactly as on IRS Letter 147C, business type, USPS-validated address, phone and product categories.
  4. Submit the IRS W-9 with a digital signature, create your account and record the six-digit vendor number you are given.
  5. Log in after the confirmation email arrives, then find bids on PA eMarketplace and respond to them through the PA Supplier Portal.

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

Small business and certification programs

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

Cities, counties and school districts

Local governments, school districts, libraries and nonprofits can join COSTARS, the DGS cooperative purchasing program, to buy from pre-negotiated contracts without their own bid; suppliers join by registering in the PA Supplier Portal and responding to COSTARS contract solicitations.

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 Pennsylvania bid in one place.

Tips specific to Pennsylvania

  • Enter your legal name exactly as it appears on IRS Letter 147C, and use a personal work email (not a generic team inbox) with a cell phone number.
  • Watch for pa.gov emails, including in your spam folder, and screenshot your vendor number for your records.
  • Registration help: 877-435-7363 (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) or ra-pscsmportal@pa.gov; bidding help: 844-724-7267 or srmhelp@pa.gov.

Open Pennsylvania bids with upcoming deadlines

SLING, AIRCRAFT MAINTEN RFP · Due Oct 5, 2026 COLD FOOD COUNTER, MECH RFP · Due Oct 5, 2026 SPONGE, SURGICAL RFP · Due Oct 5, 2026 STEAMER, CONVECTION RFP · Due Oct 5, 2026 WINCH, DRUM, POWER OPERA RFP · Due Oct 5, 2026 X-RAY EQUIPMENT SET RFP · Due Oct 5, 2026 DOOR, METAL, SWINGING RFP · Due Oct 5, 2026 CONTAINER, FREIGHT, UTIL RFP · Due Oct 5, 2026

See all 2,582 open Pennsylvania bids →

What Pennsylvania agencies are buying

Open Pennsylvania bids on BidsNexus right now, by category:

Next steps

  1. Register with the state (above) and, for federal work, in SAM.gov.
  2. Find your NAICS codes so you're matched to the right solicitations.
  3. Learn how to read an RFP quickly and make a bid/no-bid decision.
  4. Set up a free daily alert for Pennsylvania in your categories.
Get Pennsylvania bids by email. Tell us your NAICS codes or what you sell, and BidsNexus emails the matching Pennsylvania bids every morning. Free.
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Sources

Checked against the state's official pages on September 23, 2026. Rules and portals change, so confirm details on the official site before you register or bid.
https://www.pa.gov/services/dgs/register-as-new-commonwealth-of-pennsylvania-materials-and-services-supplier
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dgs/procurement-resources/supplier-service-center
https://pa.gov/agencies/dgs/programs-and-services/disbo/faq.html
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dgs/programs-and-services/costars