Selling to Pennsylvania: eMarketplace, COSTARS and Small Diverse Business Certification

Pennsylvania buys goods and services through a central procurement system, and local governments, school districts, libraries and nonprofits can buy through many of the same contracts. For a small business, three tools matter most: the PA eMarketplace, where public bid opportunities are posted; COSTARS, the cooperative purchasing program for local buyers; and the certifications run by the Department of General Services (DGS) that can get your company considered under small business and diverse business programs.

This guide covers what each tool is, what you need in place before you can use it, and which details you should confirm directly with the agency. It is informational content, not legal or tax advice.

Step 1: Get your state filing record in order

Every procurement system checks your business identity against state records. Your legal name, entity type and filing status need to match what you enter on bids and vendor registrations, so start with the Department of State's Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations.

• Formation: Business Filing Services at file.dos.pa.gov handles online filings. An LLC files a Certificate of Organization (Form DSCB:15-8821) with a Docketing Statement (DSCB:15-134A), with a $125 filing fee. A corporation files Articles of Incorporation with the same $125 filing fee and a Docketing Statement, and must advertise notice of the filing in two newspapers of general circulation, one preferably a legal journal, keeping proof in the corporate minutes.
• Name rules: An LLC name must include company, limited, limited liability company, or an accepted abbreviation, and it cannot imply a business corporation, so words such as corporation or incorporated are not allowed. If you bid under a trade name that differs from your legal name, file a Registration of Fictitious Name (Form DSCB:54-311) for $70 with the Department of State. The filing is statewide, not with the county.
• Annual reports: LLCs file from January 1 through September 30 each year, and business and nonprofit corporations file from January 1 through June 30. The fee is $7 for LLCs and business corporations. Nonprofit corporations pay no fee. Buyers often check your status in the Department of State business search at file.dos.pa.gov/search/business, so keep your filings current.
• Licenses: Pennsylvania has no state general business license and no county business licenses. Whether your trade needs a state activity license depends on what you do, so check your industry's requirements separately.
• Office address: Pennsylvania does not use registered agents. Instead, your registered office must be a Pennsylvania street address with a number. A post office box alone is not accepted. A business without a Pennsylvania address can use a Commercial Registered Office Provider (CROP) under 15 Pa.C.S. section 109, but listing a CROP without a contract can carry civil and criminal penalties.

Expect processing to take about 15 business days. The Bureau asks filers to allow that time, and expedited service is available for an added fee. Plan your formation date well ahead of any bid deadline.

Step 2: Register your tax accounts on myPATH

Tax registration is done through myPATH at pa.gov/services/revenue/register-my-business-for-taxes. The old PA-100 form was retired in 2022, so do not use it. Register only for the tax accounts that apply to you. Pennsylvania's state sales tax rate is 6%, and whether you need a Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License depends on what you sell. Confirm that question with the Department of Revenue at pa.gov/agencies/revenue.

Step 3: Register in the PA Supplier Portal for a vendor number

Before you can receive purchase orders or get paid on Commonwealth contracts, you need a vendor number from the PA Supplier Portal. Gather your legal name, your Department of State filing details and your tax information before you start. Because the portal's requirements and screens can change, confirm the current registration steps and any supporting documents with DGS before you submit.

Step 4: Decide which DGS certifications fit your company

DGS Business Inclusion and Supplier Development (formerly BDISBO) runs the state's small business and diverse business certification programs. Applications and certification records are handled in the PRISM compliance portal. There are three categories to understand, and they work differently.

Category	What it requires	What to confirm with DGS
Small Business (self-certification)	100 or fewer employees and under $47 million in 3-year average revenue. You certify this yourself.	How the self-certification is entered in PRISM and how often it must be updated.
Small Diverse Business (verification)	At least 51% owned by minorities, women, people with disabilities or LGBTQIA+ people, supported by a valid third-party certificate.	Which third-party certificates DGS accepts, what documents the review requires, and how long the review takes.
Veteran Business Enterprise (VBE)	At least 51% veteran ownership, supported by a valid third-party certificate.	The current eligibility criteria, the documents needed and the application steps.

Be precise about which category you claim. Self-certification as a small business is not the same as verification as a Small Diverse Business. Only claim a status you can document. A certificate that has expired, or one that DGS does not accept, will not support the claim, and a mismatch between your certificate and your bid paperwork is the kind of error that gets a bid rejected.

This guide does not list certification fees, renewal periods or review times. Those figures change and should come from DGS directly. Ask DGS for the current fee schedule before you budget for certification.

PA eMarketplace: where public bids are posted

The PA eMarketplace is the Commonwealth's online channel for posting bid opportunities. Search it regularly using the categories and keywords that match what you sell, and save the solicitations that fit your capabilities. Many buyers publish requirements in the solicitation itself, including mandatory forms, insurance, bonding and submission deadlines, so read the full document before you decide to bid.

Some solicitations include small business or diverse business participation goals, and some may give certified firms credit toward those goals. Read each solicitation for any goal language and for how a certified firm earns credit. If the rules are unclear, ask the buyer or DGS before the question deadline passes. A missed deadline cannot be recovered later.

COSTARS: cooperative purchasing for local buyers

COSTARS is Pennsylvania's cooperative purchasing program. It serves local governments, school districts, libraries and nonprofits, letting those buyers purchase from contracts the Commonwealth has competitively awarded instead of running their own bids. For a vendor, a COSTARS contract opens a market that goes well beyond state agencies, because local and nonprofit buyers can order from it directly.

COSTARS contracts are awarded through the state's solicitation process, so you still have to bid and win a contract before you can sell under it. Confirm with DGS how COSTARS contracts are solicited, how an award is made, what the contract terms require, and whether any administrative fees or sales reporting apply to your sales. Ask those questions before you price a bid, because the terms affect your margins.

Put the steps in order

Most small businesses can work through the sequence below in one pass. Each step depends on the one before it, so do not skip ahead.

1. Confirm your entity is active and your annual report is filed with the Department of State.
2. Register the tax accounts that apply to you on myPATH.
3. Register in the PA Supplier Portal to get your vendor number.
4. Decide which DGS certifications you qualify for, and gather the documents each one requires.
5. Submit your certification applications in PRISM, and keep any third-party certificate current.
6. Set up regular searches on the PA eMarketplace, and bid on solicitations that match your capabilities.
7. Confirm with DGS how to be considered for COSTARS contracts, and what terms apply.

Common mistakes that cost bids

• Bidding under a name you have not filed. If your bid name differs from your legal name and you have not filed a fictitious name registration for $70, the record will not match.
• Using a post office box as your registered office. Pennsylvania requires a street address, or a CROP with a valid contract.
• Looking for a county or general state business license. Pennsylvania has neither as a general requirement, so spend that time confirming your trade's specific license.
• Claiming Small Diverse Business status without a valid third-party certificate. Verification requires documentation, and a claim without it will not hold.
• Relying on the PA-100. That form was retired in 2022, and tax registration is now done on myPATH.
• Missing the annual report window. LLC annual reports are due by September 30 and corporation reports by June 30, so calendar them when you form the business.

Where to get free help

The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers at pasbdc.org offer advising to small businesses across the state, and can help you prepare bid packages and certification files. The U.S. Small Business Administration's Philadelphia district page at sba.gov/district/philadelphia is a starting point for federal and regional resources. Confirm which office serves your county before you schedule a meeting.

Questions to take to DGS before you bid

• What is the current fee and review timeline for each certification, and how is renewal handled in PRISM?
• Which third-party certificates does DGS accept for Small Diverse Business verification?
• How do I get listed on a COSTARS contract, and what fees or reporting apply?
• Which Veteran Business Enterprise documents are required, and how is ownership and control verified?

Important notes

This guide is informational only. It is not legal, tax or procurement advice, and rules and fees change. Confirm current requirements with the agency named in each section before you file, certify or bid. Consult a qualified Pennsylvania attorney about entity structure and contract terms, and a CPA about how your income is taxed. For reference, Pennsylvania's personal income tax is a flat 3.07% on pass-through income, and an LLC taxed as a corporation pays the Corporate Net Income Tax, which is 7.49% for tax years beginning in 2026.

Find the official Pennsylvania business filing resources at pa.gov/agencies/dos/programs/business, and the Department of Revenue at pa.gov/agencies/revenue.