Free state and local government contract search tools
No single free tool covers every state, county and city contract, so combine a free state and local search with each state's official procurement portal and the bid sites cities use. SpendQuery's state and local search covers 31 state, county, city and school sources from 13 states plus two nationwide programs, free and without signing up, with every row linked to the government's own record.
- State and local bids on SpendQuery. Open bids, awarded contracts and purchase orders from the governments that publish them as open data; the table below lists every source, how often it updates and its limits.
- Official state portals. Each state posts its own bids, for example Texas's Electronic State Business Daily and Virginia's eVA; the guide to free state and local bid search lists the portal for each state.
- Free aggregators and their limits. Free tiers of bid aggregators usually limit searches or hide details; check which governments a tool actually covers before relying on it.
- Cities, counties and school districts. Many post bids on their own websites or on a bid platform they choose. SpendQuery also lists contracts on city and county council agendas, often weeks before they are signed.
- Who won past contracts. Awarded contracts are in the search above, and the state checkbook pages, for example Texas and California, show what a state paid each vendor.
- What needs no sign-up. Searching SpendQuery needs no account; most governments ask you to register as a vendor before you can bid.
Which governments are covered
31 state and local sources are loaded, from 13 states (Alaska, California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington) plus two nationwide programs (E-Rate for schools and libraries, and Rural Health Care). Only governments that publish their bids or contracts as open data, or allow automated access, can be loaded; 2 sources checked don't, and are listed with the reason.
| State | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | TxDOT lettings on data.texas.gov (open highway bids) | Loaded daily |
| California | LA RAMP open bids on data.lacity.org (the City, LA County, LADWP, LAUSD, airports, port, Metro) | Loaded daily |
| New York | NYC City Record Online on data.cityofnewyork.us (solicitations and award notices) | Loaded daily |
| District of Columbia | DC PASS solicitations and contracts (DC GIS open data) | Loaded daily |
| Illinois | City of Chicago contracts on data.cityofchicago.org | Loaded daily |
| Texas | Electronic State Business Daily (all agencies' bids) | Not loaded: robots.txt disallows automated access; asking the Comptroller for a feed |
| Virginia | eVA purchase orders on data.virginia.gov | Loaded weekly (FY2026) |
| Virginia | eVA Virginia Business Opportunities (bids) | Not loaded: robots.txt disallows and the site blocks automated access; asking DGS for a feed |
| California | Cal eProcure events (state departments' bids and RFIs) | Loaded weekly from Cal eProcure's own export (the site blocks automated access and has no feed) |
| California | San Francisco open bids and supplier contracts on data.sf.gov | Loaded daily (bids refreshed weekly by the city) |
| California | LA City RAMP awards on data.lacity.org (City departments, with expiration dates) | Loaded daily |
| Texas | TxDOT active construction contracts and planned lettings on data.texas.gov | Loaded daily (contracts refreshed monthly by TxDOT) |
| Louisiana | Baton Rouge / East Baton Rouge Parish bid openings and contracts on data.brla.gov | Loaded daily |
| Delaware | Delaware open bids, current and archived contracts, awarded vendors on data.delaware.gov | Loaded daily (no contract amounts published) |
| Maryland | Montgomery County solicitations, active contracts and proposed awardees | Loaded daily (no contract amounts published) |
| Illinois | Cook County contracts, amendments and intent-to-award notices | Loaded daily (Cook County's open bids are on Bonfire, which blocks automated access) |
| Every state | E-Rate (USAC): school and library bid postings (FCC Form 470) and funded contracts | Loaded daily |
| Every state | Rural Health Care (USAC): rural clinics' and hospitals' bid postings for broadband, voice and equipment (FCC Forms 461 and 465) | Loaded daily |
| Illinois | Capital Development Board future solicitations on data.illinois.gov (state construction, a forecast) | Loaded daily |
| California | County of San Diego procurement forecast on data.sandiegocounty.gov | Loaded daily (the county updates it quarterly) |
| Washington | Public works awards by every public body (L&I filings on data.wa.gov) | Loaded daily, since 2023, $10K+ (no non-profits or housing authorities: their home repairs name the householder) |
| New York | SUNY Construction Fund procurements and contracts on data.ny.gov | Loaded daily |
| Texas | City of Austin contracts on data.austintexas.gov | Loaded daily; the city's dataset stops at contracts awarded in Nov 2023, so it shows what's still in force (Austin's open bids: asking the city about reuse) |
| California | City of Sacramento contract register (City Clerk) | Loaded daily, since 2018 (no end dates published) |
| Michigan | City of Detroit agreements and purchase orders (Office of Contracting and Procurement) | Loaded daily, with start and end dates |
| New York | State Comptroller's Open Book NY: every contract approved or filed for state agencies and public authorities | Loaded daily, amendments included |
| New York | NYC School Construction Authority upcoming projects and NYC youth and community services contracts on data.cityofnewyork.us | Loaded daily |
| California | LA County Public Works advertise schedule and Sacramento County active contracts (county GIS) | Loaded daily (Sacramento County publishes unit prices, no contract amounts) |
| District of Columbia | DC PASS procurement forecast (DC GIS open data) | Loaded daily |
| Alaska | DOT&PF awards with bids received and the engineer's estimate | Loaded daily |
| Michigan | MDOT bid tabulations (every bidder's item prices, one file per letting) | Loaded daily, lettings since 2024 |
| North Carolina | NCDOT bid results as read (every bidder's total) | Loaded daily; the feed holds the latest letting only, so history builds from Oct 2026 |
| Virginia | City of Richmond contracts on data.richmondgov.com | Loaded daily |
Questions people ask
I need state and local government contracts, not just federal ones. Any good free search tools?
Yes. SpendQuery's state and local page searches open bids, awarded contracts and purchase orders from 31 state, county, city and school sources in one place, free and without signing up, with every row linked to the government's own record.
Search state and local bids → · Free tools compared, with state portals → · Free weekly bid alerts →
What are the limits?
It covers only governments that publish their procurement as open data or allow automated access: no tool covers every state, county and city. Some sources publish no contract amounts (Delaware, Montgomery County) or only yearly or monthly updates, as the table says. State portals that block automated access, such as Texas's Electronic State Business Daily and Virginia's eVA bids, are not loaded. Federal contracts in any state are on the federal pages.
Federal contracts by state → · Contracts before city councils →