COSTARS and cooperative purchasing: a primer for contractors

A lot of public work never goes out to bid. Below the advertising threshold, and for anything a cooperative contract already covers, a school district or township can simply buy. This is how that works in Pennsylvania, why it matters for a contractor, and what your website has to say about it.

The thresholds that decide whether a job is bid

Pennsylvania's bid thresholds move with the consumer price index each year. For 2026 the Department of Labor and Industry set the advertised-bid threshold at $24,500, up from $23,800, and the quote threshold at $13,200, up from $12,900, effective January 1, 2026.¹ School districts apply the same figures: purchases of $24,500 or more must be publicly bid, and purchases between $13,200 and $24,500 need three quotes.² Separately, any public work project with an estimated total cost over $25,000 carries prevailing wage, and a project cannot be split to get under that figure.³

So a boiler replacement, a roof section, a paving contract or a fire alarm upgrade under $24,500 is bought on quotes from firms the owner already knows. That is the first reason to be known.

What COSTARS is

COSTARS is the Commonwealth's cooperative purchasing program, run by the Department of General Services. Its statutory authority is the Commonwealth Procurement Code, which lets public procurement units take part in cooperative purchasing agreements and authorizes DGS to enter cooperative contracts solely for the use of local public procurement units and state-affiliated entities.⁴ In DGS's own words, the program lets local governments and state-affiliated organizations buy through state-managed contracts, giving them "access to competitive pricing without the time and cost of running your own competitive bidding process".⁵

Who can buy: local governments, school districts, libraries and nonprofits that register as members. DGS says suppliers can reach "9,500+ Pennsylvania buyers" and that members can search "100+ pre-negotiated vendor contracts".⁵ Commonwealth agencies themselves do not buy from the COSTARS-exclusive contracts; the program is for the local side.

What it changes for a contractor: a member that holds a COSTARS contract for your category can place an order with you under that contract instead of running its own bid, including for jobs well above the advertising threshold. For maintenance, repair, service and inspection work, and for the smaller capital jobs that come up every year, that is often how the work is actually bought.

How a supplier gets on it

DGS lists four steps: register in the PA Supplier Portal, obtain your six-digit vendor number, respond to COSTARS contract solicitations, and start doing business with members.⁵ Your participation is public. The DGS Supplier Search shows, for every registered supplier, whether it is a COSTARS participant and which classes of work it is registered for. Buyers use that search. So do we, when we review a contractor: in our October 2026 review, more than one firm that the registry lists as a COSTARS participant has a website that never mentions it.

The other cooperatives

COSTARS is the state program, but the Procurement Code also lets a local unit buy through other cooperative agreements.⁴ School districts in Pennsylvania commonly use the Keystone Purchasing Network, Sourcewell, OMNIA Partners and similar national or regional cooperatives, each with its own contract roster. If you hold a contract through any of them, the same rule applies: the buyer has to be able to find out from your site.

What your website has to say

1. A cooperative purchasing page. One page, linked from the main navigation, that lists each cooperative contract you hold with its contract number, the scope it covers, and how to place an order. The buyer's purchasing clerk is looking for exactly that page.
2. The word COSTARS where a search can find it. On the home page and on the cooperative purchasing page, in text, not only in a logo image.
3. Who the contract is for. Districts, municipalities, authorities, nonprofits. Say which members you serve and where.
4. The quote path. For work under the thresholds, the buyer needs a name and a phone number for a quote, today, from the site. A form that reaches your estimator and a direct line beat a general inbox.
5. Consistency with the registry. The company name, address and phone on your site should match your DGS supplier record and your SAM.gov registration, because the buyer will have both open.

Two cautions

First, a COSTARS contract is not a guarantee of work. It is a door the buyer can walk through without a bid; the buyer still has to choose you. Second, the figures above are for 2026 and the thresholds change each January. Check the current Pennsylvania Bulletin notice before you print anything.

If you hold cooperative contracts and your site does not say so, ask for the review. It is the first thing we check.

Back to all resources