Getting on DPMC's bidders list: prequalification, bidding and the paperwork

Most public construction work in New Jersey is bid in the open, but each owner has its own gatekeeping. For highway and bridge work that owner is DPMC. Here is what a firm needs before its first DPMC bid, and how the rest of state purchasing fits in.

1. The license question

Contractors and subcontractors on covered public works must hold Public Works Contractor Registration, and DPMC bidders must be DPMC-classified. See our licensing guide.

2. Prequalification

DPMC requires classification, renewed every 24 months; NJDOT prequalifies primes through Form DC-74A. Prequalification is a financial and experience review. It usually sets the work types a firm may bid and, for many agencies, a capacity limit. It is not a license.

3. Bidding

DPMC bidders follow each advertisement's submission instructions. Upcoming projects are on our bids page; DPMC had 5 projects on its published letting information when this site last read it.

4. Bonds

New Jersey public construction requires a payment and performance bond, generally 100% of the contract price; second-tier beneficiaries notify the contractor before starting work, and suit comes no sooner than 90 days after the statement of amount due and within one year of last work (N.J.S.A. 2A:44-143 to -145).

What DPMC is letting

Sorted by the words in each description, the 5 upcoming projects break down as buildings and facilities (5). The sort is ours and rough; a resurfacing job may also include bridge or safety work.

5. State agencies outside DPMC

Other state agencies post construction, goods and services solicitations on NJSTART. Registering there is separate from DPMC prequalification. See our supplier registration guide.

6. Subcontractors and suppliers

Subs and suppliers usually do not prequalify. They quote the primes that pick up each proposal, and agencies publish plan holder or proposal holder lists for that purpose. Disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) goals on federally funded jobs make certified firms especially sought after. Certification runs through the state's unified certification program.

What this site lists

The New Jersey directory starts with 1,203 firms from DPMC classified contractor search. Every listed firm can claim its page to add work types, prequalification status, DBE certifications and contacts, which makes it easier for primes to find.

A checklist

• Business registration and tax IDs in order
• License or registration where New Jersey requires one
• DPMC prequalification or vendor ID
• Bidding software credentials (for example, a Digital ID)
• Bonding capacity confirmed with a surety
• Registration on NJSTART for other state work

Terms used in this story

• Surety: the company that issues bid, performance and payment bonds and stands behind the contractor's obligations.
• Letting: the scheduled date when an agency opens and reads the bids for a group of projects.
• Proposal: the bid package for one project: the quantities, special provisions and forms a bidder fills in.
• Addendum: a change the agency issues to a proposal before the letting; bidders must acknowledge each one.
• Plan holders list: the list of firms that requested a project's plans, which subs and suppliers use to find primes to quote.
• Bid bond: a surety's guarantee, usually a percentage of the bid, that the low bidder will sign the contract and furnish the required bonds.
• Payment bond: a surety bond that guarantees the prime will pay its subs and suppliers on a public job, standing in for lien rights.
• Prequalification: an agency's review of a contractor's finances, equipment and experience that sets what work, and how much, it may bid.
• DBE: disadvantaged business enterprise, a certification used to meet participation goals on federally funded transportation work.
• Engineer's estimate: the agency's own estimate of a project's cost, often published as a range before the letting.
• Retainage: a share of each progress payment held back until the work is accepted.
• Low bidder: the responsive bidder with the lowest total price; most public construction is awarded to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.