MyFloridaMarketPlace vendor registration for contractors: how to register, pick commodity codes and find state bids

MyFloridaMarketPlace (MFMP) is the State of Florida's eProcurement system. The Department of Management Services (DMS) has run it since 2003. If you want to sell services or materials to a state agency, you need to be registered in it. Construction contractors should register even if they mostly bid FDOT road work: FDOT's prequalification office requires the MFMP vendor number before it will issue a certificate of qualification.

What MFMP includes

• Vendor Information Portal (VIP): the free, self-service registration system, at vendor.myfloridamarketplace.com.
• Vendor Bid System (VBS): the public posting tool where agencies advertise solicitations. Anyone can search it without logging in.
• MFMP Sourcing: the online tool for responding to some solicitations electronically.

What you need to register

Rule 60A-1.033 of the Florida Administrative Code lists the registration information. The DMS vendor training adds why each item matters:

• Company name and 1099 name, tax ID type and tax ID number.
• A username, password and contact information.
• Business designation, such as corporation, non-profit or sole proprietorship. This affects whether payments are subject to the transaction fee.
• Your primary place of business and at least one business location.
• Woman-, minority- or veteran-owned status, if it applies.
• At least one commodity code, or confirmation that you don't intend to choose one.
• Your solicitation notification preference.

You also have to accept the MFMP Terms of Use. DMS says new registrations and changes take effect within one hour between 8 a.m. and midnight Eastern.

After you register

1. Submit a Substitute W-9 on the Department of Financial Services vendor website. DMS lists this as required, because the state can't pay you without it.
2. Consider certification. If your business is woman-, veteran- or minority-owned, you can apply to the Office of Supplier Diversity for Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) status. That gives access to a special directory and outreach events.
3. Keep the account active. Log in regularly, since DMS warns inactive accounts can be deactivated. Keep contacts current, and note your MFMP vendor number. Agencies and FDOT will ask for it.

Commodity codes: how bids find you

MFMP classifies purchases using a subset of the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC). Codes run from a broad segment down to family, class and individual commodity. Solicitations and purchase orders carry at least one code, and VIP sends your solicitation contact notices that match the codes you pick.

Codes aren't required, but without them you can't opt in to bid notifications. Choose every code that fits your trades, including construction services, materials you supply, and maintenance or repair services. Review the list every year, since DMS adds new codes.

The 1% transaction fee

Rule 60A-1.031 sets the MFMP transaction fee at 1.0% of payments state agencies make to registered vendors for commodities or contractual services under Chapter 287, Florida Statutes, unless an exemption applies. DMS's vendor training says there is no charge to register. Some purchases are excluded or exempt, including:

• Payments made with the state purchasing card or fuel card.
• Purchases of professional services under section 287.055.
• Payments under agreements implementing state or federal programs or grants.

Construction contracts procured under other chapters, such as FDOT lettings under Chapter 337, are not Chapter 287 purchases. Agencies must put the fee statement in any contract that is subject to it, so check your solicitation and contract. Vendors who owe the fee review a monthly consolidated billing invoice in VIP and report missing payments. Not paying or reporting can lead to suspension from state business.

Finding construction work in the Vendor Bid System

Search VBS by keyword, agency or commodity code to find state agency construction, maintenance and supply solicitations. These come from agencies like the Department of Management Services, universities, the water management districts and FDOT procurement. Always read the full advertisement for pre-bid meetings, question deadlines and submittal instructions.

Many large construction jobs aren't in VBS at all. County, city, school district and FDOT highway lettings use their own portals. Our Bids & Lettings page and county hubs collect the FDOT letting schedule by county. See the FDOT bidding guide for prequalification.

General information only. Confirm requirements with DMS and the soliciting agency.