COSTARS Cooperative Purchasing Program
COSTARS is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's cooperative purchasing program administered by the Department of General Services (DGS) Bureau of Procurement. The COSTARS program provides registered local public procurement units as well as state-affiliated entities (together "members") and suppliers a tool to find and do business with each other effectively through the use of a contract established by DGS.
There are several thousand registered members taking advantage of existing Commonwealth contracts. Our goal is to provide contracts with competitive pricing, while providing increased opportunities for suppliers and eligible participants.
DGS requires Local Public Procurement Units and State Affiliated Entities to register as COSTARS Members, and only those entities registered with DGS may purchase from the Contract. Several thousand potential Purchasers are already registered with DGS as COSTARS Members. THE CONTRACTOR AGREES TO SELL ITEMS OR SERVICES UNDER THIS CONTRACT TO DGS-REGISTERED COSTARS MEMBERS. THE CONTRACTOR IS NOT PERMITTED TO USE THIS CONTRACT TO SELL TO NON-COSTARS MEMBERS.
The COSTARS Program is intended for the exclusive use of member organizations. Individuals associated with the member Organization are prohibited from using the contracts for personal purchases. Failure to abide by this may result in the member organization being removed from the COSTARS Program and appropriate legal action being taken against the individual(s) who improperly used the COSTARS Contract.
COSTARS ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Whereas Section 1902 of Act 57 of May 15, 1998, as amended by Act 142 of December 3, 2002, 62 Pa.C.S. Section 1902, authorizes local public procurement units to participate in those contracts for supplies and services entered into by the Department of General Services that are made available to local public procurement units. A "local public procurement unit" is defined as:
- any political subdivision
- any public authority
- any tax exempt, nonprofit education or public health institution or organization
- any nonprofit fire company, nonprofit rescue company, nonprofit ambulance company
- and to the extent provided by law, any other entity, including a council of government or an area government, that expends public funds for the procurement of supplies and services.
Registration - Eligible local public procurement units must register on-line with the Department of General Services. Once you register, and if eligible, you will receive an approval letter with your member number. Please note that Local Public Procurement Units will not be permitted to register more than once, you are urged to share your member ID & password with other staff within your organization who may need access to the COSTARS website.
Please call us toll free at 724-478-1775 in Apollo, Pennsylvania for a no-cost consultation on your next project, or to determine if your project might fast track through COSTARS.
