Bonds & Surety› Find Construction Work to Bid › Pennsylvania
Public construction work in Pennsylvania is posted in four places: PennDOT (via the ECMS system) for highway and civil work, PA eMarketplace (with vendor registration in the PA Supplier Portal) for state agency projects, your local city, county, and school district bid boards, and SAM.gov for federal work. Most are free to search. To win the work you will usually need a bond - Pennsylvania requires a 100% performance and payment bond on commonwealth contracts over $100,000 and local public works over $10,000.
If you build in Pennsylvania and want into public and commercial work, the jobs are not hidden - they are advertised in the open, and most of the sources are free. Here is where to look, who runs each one, and the bond you will need to actually win the work.
Before you bid in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania posts state bids on PA eMarketplace; vendors register free in the PA Supplier Portal to bid commonwealth work (PennDOT highway work runs separately through ECMS). Register as a PA procurement vendor
PennDOT runs all highway construction bidding through ECMS (Engineering and Construction Management System). To bid you need ECMS Business Partner registration and prequalification for highway work, renewed every two years. See the prequalification requirements.
Start here: PennDOT (via the ECMS system) bidding.
State agencies, universities, and many other public bodies in Pennsylvania post their construction solicitations through PA eMarketplace (with vendor registration in the PA Supplier Portal). You can browse opportunities there, and you will usually need to register to download documents or submit a bid.
Go to: PA eMarketplace (with vendor registration in the PA Supplier Portal).
This is where most contractors should start. Cities, counties, school districts, and special districts build constantly and have to advertise it publicly. The jobs are smaller, the competition is thinner, and the bonding is more reachable for a growing company. Major Pennsylvania bid boards:
Weighing a paid platform to find leads faster? See our comparison of construction bid sites and plan rooms - free and paid.
Every open federal construction contract is posted on SAM.gov, and it is free to search and register. You need an active registration and a Unique Entity ID before you can bid. Federal jobs over $150,000 require performance and payment bonds under the Miller Act - see our Miller Act guide.
Pennsylvania splits it: commonwealth agency contracts over $100,000 require a performance and payment bond at 100% of the contract price (62 Pa.C.S. 903), with 50% performance security on contracts of $25,000 to $100,000. Local public works over $10,000 require 100% performance and payment bonds (8 P.S. 193.1). The commonwealth threshold adjusts annually for construction-cost inflation. (62 Pa.C.S. § 903; 8 P.S. § 193.1.) Below those points many jobs still require a bid bond just to submit. The bottom line: if you want public work in Pennsylvania, you have to be bondable.
That is where contractors lose jobs to competitors who are no better at the work - the other bidder could produce the bond and they could not. It is usually more reachable than contractors assume. If you are not sure where your bonding stands, start with what a surety bond is, see how contractors qualify, or read the full national guide on how to find construction work to bid on.
Pennsylvania certifies Small and Small Diverse Businesses through DGS (BDISBO) and the federal DBE program via the PA Unified Certification Program. Federal DBE rules changed in late 2025 and PA paused new DBE applications - confirm current status before relying on it.
The work is out there. The bond is what lets you win it. Take the Grit Bond Scorecard to see where your bonding readiness stands and what to work on to grow your limits - or call our bond team and we will walk through it with you.
Call the Grit team: (801) 505-5500
Start with PennDOT (via the ECMS system) for highway and civil work, PA eMarketplace (with vendor registration in the PA Supplier Portal) for state agency projects, and your local city, county, and school district bid boards. For federal work, use SAM.gov. Most are free to search.
PennDOT runs all highway construction bidding through ECMS (Engineering and Construction Management System). To bid you need ECMS Business Partner registration and prequalification for highway work, renewed every two years. Requirements vary by agency and project, so confirm with the awarding authority before you bid.
Pennsylvania requires a 100% performance and payment bond on commonwealth contracts over $100,000 and local public works over $10,000 (62 Pa.C.S. § 903; 8 P.S. § 193.1), and many jobs require a bid bond to submit. If you are not bonded yet, that is the first thing to solve - take the Bond Scorecard or call (801) 505-5500.
A note on the details: Bidding rules, registration steps, and bond thresholds change over time and vary by project and by awarding agency. Use this page as a starting map, not legal advice. Always review the specific requirements in each bid solicitation and confirm the current rules with the awarding authority before you bid.
This page is part of Grit's national guide on how to find construction work to bid on.