Bid package
State DOT lettings
State DOT letting bid preparation organizes your bid from the department's proposal.
The service
What you send. What you get.
You send
- The proposal, plans, specifications and all addenda
- The letting schedule and the DOT's bidding system instructions
- Your quantity takeoff or unit prices
- Your prequalification certificate, licenses and bid security details
- Subcontractor quotes and DBE commitments where the proposal sets a goal
Start with a short description. We arrange document sharing after confirming the work.
You get
- Bid schedule workbookEvery bid item tied to the plans and the quantity list, ready for your unit prices and extensions.
- Addenda logEach addendum recorded with the items it changes and where it must be acknowledged.
- Certification and prequalification checklistRequired certifications, forms and qualification dates listed for your team to complete and confirm.
- Pre-letting review listSignature, bid security and electronic submission items to check before the letting time.
Typical buyers: Highway and heavy civil contractors bidding state DOT lettings; Site and paving contractors bidding DOT work directly; Estimators at firms new to DOT lettings.
What we check
Your bid requirements, organized.
We prepare an itemized bid schedule tied to the plans and quantities, an addenda log, a certification and prequalification checklist and a pre-letting review list. DOTs open bids on a published letting schedule, and federal-aid projects follow FHWA contract rules. Your company sets the unit prices, signs and submits through the DOT's bidding system. We confirm fit and a fixed quote after reviewing the proposal.
- Bid items in the itemized bid schedule, with units
- Plan quantities against the quantity list
- Addenda issued, each tied to the bid items it changes
- Required lobbying, suspension and debarment, and non-collusion certifications
- Prequalification status and expiry dates
- Bid security requirements, letting date and letting time
- Subcontractor and DBE commitments where the proposal sets a goal
Who does what
Bidmere prepares. Your team decides.
The decisions that commit your company stay with your team, every time.
We prepare the package
- Lists each bid requirement and who needs to provide it
- Organizes forms, attachments and deadlines
- Writes proposal sections using facts you approve
- Flags missing information and questions for your team
You approve and submit
- Provides project facts and company information
- Sets rates, pricing and commercial terms
- Approves the draft and signs the forms
- Submits the response before the deadline
Before we start
Questions to resolve and work not included.
Questions we help identify
- An addendum changes quantities after your prices are set
- The letting date or time differs between the advertisement and an addendum
- Your prequalification lapses before the letting
- When DBE paperwork is due, as the proposal states it
- Unit prices that look unbalanced or inconsistent across related items
Not included
- Setting unit prices, extensions or the bid total
- Signing, certifying or submitting the bid through the DOT's system
- Prequalification, licensing, bid security and bonds, which come from your company, the DOT and your surety
- Creating or enlarging experience, certifications or commitments
Sources
Where the rules come from.
- 23 CFR 635.112, Advertising for bids and proposals
- 23 CFR 635.110, Licensing and qualification of contractors
- 23 CFR 635.113, Bid opening and bid tabulations
- Florida DOT, Lettings (example letting schedule and bid tabulations)
- Florida Statutes 337.14, Application for qualification (example of state DOT qualification)
Where this shows up
The owner sector that uses it.
Questions
About state DOT lettings.
What is a DOT letting?
A letting is the scheduled event where a state DOT opens bids on its advertised projects. Departments publish a letting schedule with advertisement documents, addenda, proposals and, afterward, bid tabulations. Florida DOT's letting page is one example. On federal-aid projects, bids are publicly opened and announced, and negotiation between opening and award is not permitted.
Do state DOTs require prequalification?
Many do, but the rules differ by state. Federal-aid rules let a state require prequalification only if the time between the call for bids and bid opening lets a bidder obtain it, and they bar in-state preferences. Florida, for example, certifies bidders on larger contracts from a sworn application with CPA-prepared financial statements. Check the current rules of the DOT you are bidding.
How are addenda handled?
On federal-aid projects the DOT must give assurance that all bidders received all issued addenda, and major changes need federal approval before they issue. Your bid has to respond to the final proposal, so we log every addendum and mark the bid items it touches for your team to reprice.
Plan your response
Related
Keep reading.
- Public sealed bidsWe organize the forms and attachments for your public construction bid.
- DBE and small business participation packagesParticipation documentation organizes the commitment schedule, confirmations, quote logs and outreach record that public owners ask for on goal-based work.
- Prequalification questionnairesPrequalification questionnaire support turns the forms that owners and general contractors send into organized answers drawn from facts you approve.
- Sitework and earthwork estimatesC-101Divisions 31 and 32: Earthwork and Exterior Improvements
Send the solicitation details.
We confirm availability, scope, price and timing before any work begins.