Washington DC 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 officeOffice of Contracting and Procurement (OCP)
Vendor registrationOCP eSourcing (Ariba)
Where bids are postedOCP Solicitations search (https://contracts.ocp.dc.gov/solicitations/search) and eSourcing; solicitations over $250,000 are also advertised in The Washington Times classified section.
Open bids right now852 open Washington DC bids (133 closing this week, 238 new in the last 7 days)

How to register as a Washington DC vendor

  1. Open the Vendor Registration Process page and follow the link to register in eSourcing; one account is allowed per tax ID number, and the user ID must be an email address.
  2. Complete all fields marked with an asterisk and create the first user (the OCP Helpdesk can add more users later).
  3. If your company has sold to the District before, a placeholder already exists under your TIN; email OCP with company name, TIN, phone, city, state and point of contact details to have it updated instead of registering again.
  4. Identify your 7-digit NIGP commodity codes from the OCP NIGP listing so you get notices for the right goods and services.
  5. Finish registration 24 to 48 business hours before any solicitation closes, since confirmation can take that long.
  6. Before award, have your Federal Tax ID, D&B number, a valid DC business license, and (for contracts over $100,000) proof of DC tax and unemployment tax compliance.

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 Washington DC'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

DC has no separate counties; several District and regional bodies buy independently of OCP, including DC Public Schools, DC Department of General Services, DC Housing Authority, DC Water, UDC, WMATA and the Office of the CFO, each with its own solicitation page listed by OCP.

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 Washington DC bid in one place.

Tips specific to Washington DC

  • OCP says eSourcing does not support Linux, Apple OS or Android devices and is not currently compatible with Google Chrome, so plan to register and bid from a Windows machine.
  • Check the OCP site daily for amendments to solicitations you are bidding on; vendors are responsible for catching them.
  • Use the CBE Wizard (linked from DSLBD) to see if you qualify and which documents you will need before applying.

Open Washington DC bids with upcoming deadlines

Professional Curatorial Supervision SOLICITATION · Due Oct 4, 2026 Solicitation Notice - MSG Cook at Bratislava, Slovakia SOLICITATION · Due Oct 5, 2026 IEEE Xplore Digital Library Subscription OTHER · Due Oct 5, 2026 FY27-29 Long Endurance Electronic Decoy (LEED) Production SOLICITATION · Due Oct 5, 2026 Learn the Signs. Act Early. Board Books. RFP · Due Oct 5, 2026 Construction Services for Replace Siding on All Buildings at the New Hampshire Job Corps Center SOLICITATION · Due Oct 5, 2026 · +3 similar R--DOE (EDF) Market Advisory Standing List Amendment OTHER · Due Oct 5, 2026 R--DOE (EDF) Finance Advisory Standing List Amendment OTHER · Due Oct 5, 2026

See all 852 open Washington DC bids →

What Washington DC agencies are buying

Open Washington DC 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 Washington DC in your categories.
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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://ocp.dc.gov/page/vendor-registration
https://ocp.dc.gov/page/requirements-doing-business-district
https://ocp.dc.gov/page/nigp-commodity-codes
https://ocp.dc.gov/page/opportunities-independent-agencies
https://ocp.dc.gov/page/district-columbia-supply-schedule-dcss
https://dslbd.dc.gov/getcertified