Effective January 26, 2026, the competitive bidding threshold at the University will be increased from $10,000 to $15,000, and the limit where departments may perform their own competitive bidding will increase from $50,000 to $75,000. This change was prompted by a recent change in the Federal Government’s bidding thresholds. Note that the University last raised the competitive bidding thresholds in purchasing policy in 2017.
As a reminder, competitive bidding is required whenever a planned purchase of goods or services will total $15,000 or greater. University policies FN 05, FN07 and FN23 outline the competitive bidding requirements, thresholds for purchasing requirements, thresholds for loan-for-use documents, short form services agreement use, and exceptions which are currently being updated to reflect the new competitive bidding thresholds.
It is important to note:
- Buyers in the PantherExpress System with approval to purchase goods or services valued at $10,000 or less will automatically be increased to $15,000, and the $10,000 buying level in the PantherExpress System will be eliminated. All other buyers will remain the same, including delegated purchasing units.
- Only purchase requisitions valued at more than $15,000 will now route through the PantherExpress System to Purchasing Services. Please contact the Procurement Specialist assigned to your area if your PO or contract is anticipated to exceed $75,000 since Purchasing Services must conduct competitive bidding over that amount.
- Departments may process short-form services agreements valued at $15,000 or less, without revisions to the agreement’s terms and conditions.
- Competitive bidding is not required when using University-wide Contracted Suppliers. (There are some exceptions when using federal funds.)
- In addition to compliance with University policy, competitive bidding ensures that the total cost will be competitive within the marketplace and makes the supplier more likely to provide its most aggressive pricing and other terms.
- While competitive bidding is not required for purchases valued at $15,000 or less, it is required that purchasers compare and/or evaluate potential suppliers in order to obtain the lowest total cost.
For more information related to purchasing goods or services, visit the Purchase, Pay & Travel website. For additional assistance, please contact Purchase, Pay & Travel Customer Service.