How to bid WSDOT work: prequalify for free, 15 days before the opening, or join the Small Works Roster for jobs under $350,000

The Washington State Department of Transportation awards its highway, bridge and ferry terminal construction contracts through competitive bids, advertised in a weekly Call for Bids. The Oct. 26, 2026 notice lists six contracts with openings through Dec. 2. Here is how a contractor gets in.

Step 1: Prequalify

Under WAC 468-16-010, no contract for state highway work administered by WSDOT may be awarded to a contractor that has not been prequalified, and "bidding proposals will be issued only to prequalified contractors."

WSDOT's prequalification page lists what it takes:

• at least five successfully completed projects, as a prime or a subcontractor, for any owner or contractor;
• the Standard Questionnaire & Financial Statement, DOT Form 420-010, which also lets a firm opt in to the Small Works Roster; and
• a copy of an audited or reviewed financial statement.

Forms go to WSDOT's prequalification email, and the prequalification analyst can be reached at 360-705-7556. There is no fee. The Call for Bids says applications must be received "no less than fifteen days prior to the scheduled bid opening" to be considered for that opening.

Prequalification is renewed every year. WSDOT sends an annual notice saying whether a firm may use the shorter Supplemental Questionnaire or must file the Standard Questionnaire; the Standard form is required every third year, and whenever a firm's officers, ownership or incorporation change. WSDOT publishes its current list of prequalified contractors, with work classes, on the same page, along with work class descriptions, a joint venture statement, a parent firm net worth allocation form and a separate questionnaire and affidavit for contracts under $100,000.

WAC 468-16-020 says the prequalification rules are meant to make sure contractors on state highway work have the qualifications RCW 47.28.070 requires, to let contractors raise their prequalification status and bidding capacity through better performance, and to provide for the award, denial, suspension or revocation of qualification, with a hearing if needed.

Step 1, alternative: the Small Works Roster

For projects estimated to cost less than $350,000, WSDOT uses a Small Works Roster under RCW 39.04.151 and 39.04.152. A firm needs at least three successfully completed projects, as prime or sub, and does not need a financial statement. There is no fee. Firms already prequalified can join by filing a Small Works Roster supplement; others use DOT Form 420-020. The notice of Oct. 26 listed a Small Works Roster award in Douglas County for $45,556.70.

Step 2: Get the documents

Plans, specifications, addenda, plan holder lists and bid tabulations are posted online. WSDOT charges a nonrefundable fee plus sales tax: $10 for electronic plans only, $15 with the proposal, and $35 to $100 for paper sets of one to three volumes.

Step 3: Bid

Bids are due by 11:00:59 a.m. Pacific time on bid day, either in the bid room on the second floor of WSDOT headquarters in Olympia, by mail to WSDOT's post office box, or electronically through BidX. Each bid needs a deposit of 5% of the bid in cash, a certified or cashier's check, or a surety bond, and WSDOT says bonds on forms other than its own may be rejected. A low bidder that fails to sign the contract and furnish a performance bond forfeits the deposit, and WSDOT reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

Step 4: Register with the state

Every contractor must also hold an active registration with Labor & Industries, with its bond. Many other state and local solicitations go to vendors registered in WEBS, the state's Electronic Business Solution.

See our WSDOT bidding guide, registration guide and WEBS guide, and the Thurston County hub.