Bidding on Miami-Dade County contracts

How a bid gets submitted

• Through INFORMS only

  Bids and quote requests go in through the County's INFORMS portal. No paper, email or fax. If the County issues an addendum, you must click Submit Bid again.

• Bid security comes with the bid

  A bid bond cannot be added later. In a County Attorney opinion on a security guard contract, a bond copy sent through the portal with no original delivered did not count.

• Every price line filled in

  The price schedule must be submitted. On work awarded by zone, a blank price line can be a material deviation. Write 0 for a line with no cost.

Small business certification

• Valid on the day you submit

  A Small Business Enterprise (SBE) certification must be valid when you submit, and the Certificate of Assurance goes in at that time.

• Your trade codes must cover the work

  The trade codes on your certification must cover the work. One firm was rejected on an airport bid for this.

• Pools for landscaping quote requests

  Many landscaping quote requests go only to certified SBE firms already prequalified in the matching County pool. If you are not in the pool, you apply first.

Why Miami-Dade bids get rejected

We recorded 29 rejections on Miami-Dade bids from public award records. 22 are confirmed in the source documents.

• 7Bid bond or bid security problemsStart with your surety early, and send the original as well as the upload.
• 6Price sheet incomplete or changedCheck every line before you submit. No notes or conditions on the prices.
• 6Certification problemsSBE status, trade codes and the Certificate of Assurance. Check them before you write a word.
• 10Everything elseLow scores, exceptions to the terms, prices too low to be realistic, goals not met, and reasons not recorded.