Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

62 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 512 (2026)

Competitive sealed bidding.

✓ current as of May 2026

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§ 512. Competitive sealed bidding.

(a) Conditions for use.--Contracts shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in section 511 (relating to methods of source selection).

(b) Invitation for bids.--An invitation for bids shall be issued and shall include a procurement description and all contractual terms, whenever practical, and conditions applicable to the procurement.

(c) Public notice.--Adequate public notice of the invitation for bids shall be given a reasonable time prior to the date set for the opening of bids. The purchasing agency shall establish written policies and may promulgate regulations regarding methods of public notice. The method of public notice may include any of the following:

(1) Electronic publication which is accessible to the general public.

(2) Advertisement as provided for in 45 Pa.C.S. § 306 (relating to use of trade publications).

(3) Issuance of invitations for bids to bidders on the solicitation mailing list of the purchasing agency.

(4) Publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

(5) Where prequalification is a requirement of submitting a bid, notification to all contractors who have been prequalified by the purchasing agency.

Copies of invitations to bid shall be made available to any interested person upon request to the purchasing agency. Purchasing agencies may establish procedures for the distribution of invitations to bid including the imposition of a fee to reimburse the agency for the costs of photocopying and mailing.

(d) Bid opening.--Bids shall be opened publicly in the presence of one or more witnesses at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids. The amount of each bid and any other relevant information as may be specified by regulation, together with the name of each bidder, shall be recorded. The record shall be open to public inspection.

(e) Bid acceptance and evaluation.--Bids shall be unconditionally accepted without alteration or modification except as authorized in this part or in the invitation for bids. Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids, which may include criteria to determine acceptability such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery and suitability for a particular purpose. Those criteria that will affect the bid price and be considered in evaluation for award shall be objectively measurable, such as discounts, transportation costs and total or life cycle costs. The invitation for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used. No criteria may be used in bid evaluation that are not set forth in the invitation for bids.

(f) Modification or withdrawal of bids.--

(1) Bids may be modified or withdrawn by written notice or in person by a bidder or its authorized representative if its identity is made known and a receipt for the bid is signed prior to the exact hour and date set for the opening of bids. Except as otherwise provided in this part, withdrawals and modifications of bids received after the exact hour and date specified for the opening of bids shall not be considered.

(2) Withdrawal of erroneous bids after bid opening but before award based on bid mistakes shall be permitted by the written determination of the contracting officer when the bidder requests relief and presents credible evidence that the reason for the lower bid price was a clerical mistake as opposed to a judgment mistake and was actually due to an unintentional arithmetical error or an unintentional omission of a substantial quantity of work, labor, material or services made directly in the compilation of the bid. The request for relief and the supporting evidence must be received by the contracting officer within a reasonable time period after the bid opening. The time period shall be specified by the department.

(3) The contracting officer shall not permit a withdrawal of a bid if the withdrawal of the bid would result in the awarding of the contract on another bid of the same bidder, its partner or a corporation or business venture owned by or in which the bidder has a substantial interest. No bidder who is permitted to withdraw a bid shall supply any material or labor to or perform any subcontract or other work agreement for any person to whom a contract or subcontract is awarded in the performance of the contract for which the withdrawn bid was submitted without the written approval of the contracting officer.

(g) Award.--The contract shall be awarded within 60 days of the bid opening by written notice to the lowest responsible bidder or all bids shall be rejected except as otherwise provided in this section. Extensions of the date for the award may be made by mutual written consent of the contracting officer and the lowest responsible bidder. Within 30 days of the bid opening the contracting officer shall, if bid security was required by the invitation for bids, return the bid security to all but the lowest and next-to-lowest responsible bidders then under consideration for contract award.

(h) Multistep sealed bidding.--When it is considered impractical to prepare initially a procurement description to support an award based on price, an invitation for bids may be issued requesting the submission of unpriced bids, to be followed by an invitation for bids requesting priced bids from responsible bidders of the first solicitation.

(Dec. 3, 2002, P.L.1147, No.142, eff. imd.)

2002 Amendment. Act 142 amended subsecs. (g) and (h).

Cross References. Section 512 is referred to in sections 106, 106.1, 511, 512.1, 513, 517, 533, 561, 902 of this title.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 28 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 2001–2026 · leading case: Brayman Constr. Corp. v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., 13 A.3d 925 (Pa. 2011).

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Brayman Constr. Corp. v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., 13 A.3d 925 (Pa. 2011). · cites it 6× “Specifically, Brayman averred that Section 512 of the Code, 62 Pa.C.S. § 512, requires competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in Section 511, which in turn refers to Section 513, which does not authorize a “best value” approach.”

Pennsylvania Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. v. Commonwealth Dep't of Gen. Servs., 932 A.2d 1271 (Pa. 2007). · cites it 4× “62 Pa.C.S. § 512(a)-(b),(g). [7] Section 513 provides in full: (a) Conditions for use.”

Unitedhealthcare of Pa., Inc. v. Pa. Dep't of Human Servs., 187 A.3d 1046 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2018). · cites it 2× “See 62 Pa. C.S. § 512(b), (e), (f) ; 62 Pa. C.”

Brayman Constr. Corp. v. Commonwealth Dep't of Transp., 30 A.3d 560 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2011). · cites it 7× “” Section 512(g) of the Procurement Code, 62 Pa.C.S. § 512, 6 requires that a contract *564 can only be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.”

Allan Myers, L.P. v. Dep't of Transp., 202 A.3d 205 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2019). · cites it 2× “" 62 Pa. C.S. § 512(a). The competitive bidding process must result in the contract being awarded to "the lowest responsible bidder.”

Clairton Slag, Inc. v. Dep't of Gen. Servs., 2 A.3d 765 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2010). · cites it 2× “62 Pa.C.S. § 512. (Emphasis added). Section 108 of the Procurement Code defines “responsible bidder” as a “bidder that has submitted a responsive bid and that possesses the capability to fully perform the contract requirements in all respects and the integrity and reliability to…”

Pa. Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. v. Commonwealth Dep't of Gen. Servs., 899 A.2d 389 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2006). · cites it 2× “See Section 512 of the Procurement Code, 62 Pa.C.S. § 512. [5] After the bids are received and opened, all the bidding documents are considered public records.”

Pa Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. v. Commonwealth Dep't of Gen. Servs., 996 A.2d 576 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2010). · cites it 4× “3 This process provided that the award of the contract went to the lowest responsible bidder in order to ensure fairness while *579 also guarding against fraud and favoritism to all those bidding.”

Cardiac Sci., Inc. v. Dep't of Gen. Servs., 808 A.2d 1029 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2002). “” 62 Pa.C.S. § 512(g) (emphasis added). Section 501 of the Code defines a responsive bidder as “[a] person who has submitted a bid which conforms in all material respects to the invitation for bids.”

Stanton-Negley Drug Co. v. Dep't of Pub. Welfare, 943 A.2d 377 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2008). “” 62 Pa.C.S. § 512(c). Thus, DPW is required only to give adequate public notice of the solicitation; that is, a reasonable time for proposal preparation.”

Omnicare, Inc. v. Dep't of Pub. Welfare, 68 A.3d 20 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2013). “Section 512(g) *27 of the Code, 62 Pa.C.S. § 512(g). By contrast, under the competitive sealed 'proposal process, the purchasing agency may establish evaluation criteria and, after evaluating proposals based on these criteria, enter into negotiations with the offeror whose…”

Pleasant Hills Constr. Co. v. Pub. Auditorium Auth., 784 A.2d 1277 (Pa. 2001). “” 62 Pa.C.S. § 512. Given this broad use of “bidding” in the Procurement Code to mean the whole bidding process, we cannot conclude, as the Commonwealth Court did, that a more narrow definition of “bid” controls the construction of the word “bidding” in Section 22.”

Show all 28 citing cases →

— 62 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 512(a) — 6 cases

Pennsylvania Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. v. Commonwealth Dep't of Gen. Servs., 932 A.2d 1271 (Pa. 2007). “62 Pa.C.S. § 512(a)-(b),(g). [7] Section 513 provides in full: (a) Conditions for use.”

Brayman Constr. Corp. v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., 13 A.3d 925 (Pa. 2011). “Specifically, Brayman averred that Section 512 of the Code, 62 Pa.C.S. § 512, requires competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in Section 511, which in turn refers to Section 513, which does not authorize a “best value” approach.”

Allan Myers, L.P. v. Dep't of Transp., 202 A.3d 205 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2019). “" 62 Pa. C.S. § 512(a). The competitive bidding process must result in the contract being awarded to "the lowest responsible bidder.”

Brayman Constr. Corp. v. Commonwealth Dep't of Transp., 30 A.3d 560 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2011). “” Section 512(g) of the Procurement Code, 62 Pa.C.S. § 512, 6 requires that a contract *564 can only be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.”

Reading Blue Mountain & N. R.R. v. Seda-Cog Jt. Rail Auth. (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2020).

— 62 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 512(b) — 3 cases

Unitedhealthcare of Pa., Inc. v. Pa. Dep't of Human Servs., 187 A.3d 1046 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2018). “See 62 Pa. C.S. § 512(b), (e), (f) ; 62 Pa. C.”

Sidelines Tree Serv., LLC v. DOT (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2021).

— 62 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 512(c) — 1 case

— 62 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 512(c)(1) — 1 case

MSG Grp., Inc. v. Dep't of Pub. Welfare, 902 A.2d 613 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2006).

— 62 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 512(d) — 1 case

Cummins v. Dep't of Transp., 845 A.2d 983 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2004).

— 62 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 512(e) — 8 cases

Ctr. for Climate Strategies, Inc. v. Dep't of Envtl. Prot., 194 A.3d 742 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2018).

Midasco, Inc. v. Pennsylvania Tpk. Comm'n, 813 A.2d 942 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2002).

Gateway Health Plan, Inc. d/b/a Highmark Wholecare v. DHS (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2026).

— 62 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 512(g) — 13 cases

Unitedhealthcare of Pa., Inc. v. Pa. Dep't of Human Servs., 187 A.3d 1046 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2018). “See 62 Pa. C.S. § 512(b), (e), (f) ; 62 Pa. C.”

Pa Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. v. Commonwealth Dep't of Gen. Servs., 996 A.2d 576 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2010). “3 This process provided that the award of the contract went to the lowest responsible bidder in order to ensure fairness while *579 also guarding against fraud and favoritism to all those bidding.”

— 62 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 512(h) — 1 case

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