Statement of Policy

The City of Atlanta has a significant interest in encouraging the creation of employment opportunities for its residents and for businesses located within the City. As a purchaser of goods and services, the City will benefit from expanded jobs and business opportunities for its residents and businesses through additional revenues generated by its activities. It is in the interest of the City of Atlanta and its residents to give preferences on Eligible Local Projects to those Eligible Bidders, as defined in Section 2-1443, who have direct physical and economic relationships with the City.

Certification As A Local Bidder
Only an approved Eligible Bidder certified by the Office of Contract compliance may be certified as a Local Bidder. In order to be certified as a Local Bidder, an Eligible Bidder must submit a completed application to the Bureau of Purchasing and Real Estate and the applicant must be approved and certified by the Bureau of Purchasing and Real Estate.

An Eligible Bidder must submit a complete and signed written application to become a Local Bidder before it will be allowed to receive a bid preference on an Eligible Local Project. In order to be approved as a Local Bidder and receive a bid preference on an Eligible Bid Project, the application for approval as a Local Bidder and all supporting documents must be received by the Bureau of Purchasing and Real Estate no later than thirty (30) calendar days prior to the date the bids are received on such Eligible Bid Project. An Eligible Bidder who fails to submit an application for approval as a Local Bidder within thirty (30) calendar days prior to the date bids are received on an Eligible Local Project and who otherwise meets the requirements for approval as a Local Bidder, shall be approved as a Local Bidder and receive a bid preference on such future Eligible Local Projects for which the date bids are received is at least thirty (30) calendar days after the date such application is received.

Criteria To Be Certified As A Local Bidder
To be certified as a Local Bidder, the Eligible Bidder must satisfy no less than two of the following criteria:

1. Verify that the Eligible Bidder’s principal place of business is located in the City of Atlanta or that the Eligible Bidder has held a City of Atlanta business for at least one (1) year prior to the date of the application.

2. Verify that the majority of the full-time employees, chief officers and managers of the Eligible Bidder have regularly contributed work and business in the City of Atlanta for at least one (1) year prior to the date of application.

3. Verify that a majority of the employees based at the Eligible Bidder’s location(s) in the City of Atlanta have been residents of the City for at least one (1) year prior to the date of application.

4. Provide references or other means of verification acceptable to the Bureau of Purchasing and Real Estate that the services the Eligible Bidder offers to the City of Atlanta have been provided by the Eligible Bidder in the City of Atlanta for at least one year prior to the date of application. If the applicant is a Joint Venture or Mentor-Protégé team, each participant in the Joint Venture or Mentor-Protégé team must be approved independently as a Local Bidder in order for the Joint Venture or Mentor-Protégé team receive the bid preference on Eligible Local Projects.

The application provides instructions for required supporting documentation that Bidder must submit with the application for the criteria listed above.

Terms of Certification
The certification as a Local Bidder shall expire two (2) years from the date of the approval of the application. Following the expiration date, a business is no longer a Local Bidder. An Eligible Bidder must submit a new application for certification as a Local Bidder to the Bureau of Purchasing and Real Estate and establish that it continues to meet the requirements contained in 2-1188, 1(d) in order to receive the bid preference on Eligible Local Projects.

Eligible Bidders certified as Local Bidders shall be under a continuing duty to immediately inform the Bureau of Purchasing and real Estate in writing of any changes in the Eligible Bidder’s business if, as a result of such changes, the Eligible Bidder no longer satisfies the requirements contained in 2-1188, 1(d).

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If you would like to learn more about the City of Atlanta’s Local Bidder Preference Program or receive an application, please contact:

City of Atlanta City Hall
Department of Procurement
55 Trinity Ave, SW, Suite 1790
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Phone (404) 330-6204
Fax (404) 658-7705
Website: www.atlantaga.gov

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