Maine Bid Preferences: Status and What to Do

What it is

Maine does not run its own MBE or WBE certification. The Office of State Procurement Services in the Bureau of General Services buys for state agencies. State law (5 MRSA §1825-B) gives Maine bidders a tie-breaking preference and applies a reciprocal preference against bidders from states that favor their own firms. A separate law reserves certain items for eligible work centers.

Who qualifies

• Tie-bid preference: "in-state bidders" and bidders offering goods "produced or manufactured in the State." The statute does not define an in-state bidder.
• Reciprocal preference: applies to a nonresident bidder whose home state gives its own bidders a preference. Maine adds the same percent to that bid when it picks the best-value bidder.
• Work centers: only "eligible work centers" may bid on products and services on the state's work center purchase schedule. The statute page does not define eligibility.
• We found no state small business, veteran-owned or MBE/WBE preference in §1825-B.
• Out-of-state firms can bid. Whether the reciprocal increase hits your bid depends on your home state's own preference.

What it means for your bids

• If price, quality, availability and other factors are equal, the award goes to the in-state bidder or the bidder offering Maine-made goods.
• Example: if your home state gives its bidders a 5% preference, Maine adds 5% to your bid when it picks the best-value bidder.
• The vendor page says the state uses NASPO's State Preference Repository to decide whether the reciprocal rule applies. The statute also calls for a yearly list of preference states by January 1.
• There is no MBE/WBE set-aside, goal or price preference in the statutes we reviewed.

How to get certified

Maine has no state certification to apply for. To bid:

1. Register in Vendor Self-Service (VSS): https://www.maine.gov/dafs/bbm/procurementservices/vendors/vendor-self-service-system. The page does not list a fee.
2. Use VSS to find and answer solicitations. The Procurement Services vendor page says all solicitations are published and managed in VSS effective October 1, 2025.
3. If you only need to be paid by the state, not bid, use the State Controller's Vendor Activation form instead.
4. Out-of-state firms: check your home state's entry in NASPO's State Preference Repository to see whether Maine will add a reciprocal increase.

Watch out for

• Federal DBE certification is separate and applies to transportation work.
• Questions on a specific bid go through the Question and Answer link on that solicitation in VSS.
• For login problems, contact the VSS Help Desk at VSS.helpdesk@maine.gov or (207) 624-7889.
• The NASPO repository lists several Maine entries about "small entrepreneurships." We could not confirm those in current Maine statutes, so we left them out.
• City, town and school district purchasing rules are separate. Check each one.

Programs in other states →

Put Maine's certification programs on your website

Free for chambers, associations, APEX Accelerators, SBDCs and anyone else. Paste one line where you want it. It updates itself every day and works on phones.

<script src="https://findmybids.com/embed.js" data-kind="programs" data-state="ME" async></script>

Copy codePreview

Your site doesn't allow scripts? Use this instead

<iframe src="https://findmybids.com/embed/programs?state=ME" title="FindMyBids" loading="lazy" style="width:100%;max-width:720px;height:520px;border:0"></iframe>

Copy code

Add data-theme="dark" for a dark page. A small "from FindMyBids" line stays at the bottom.

Sources

• www.maine.gov/dafs/bbm/procurementservices/vendors
• www.maine.gov/dafs/bbm/procurementservices/vendors/vendor-self-service-system
• legislature.maine.gov/statutes/5/title5sec1825-B.html
• legislature.maine.gov/statutes/5/title5sec1826-C.html
• www.naspo.org/research-and-innovation/state-preference-repository/browse-by-state/m

FindMyBids isn't affiliated with any certifying agency, and this isn't legal advice. Status can change quickly with court orders and new laws, so confirm with the program office before you rely on it.