How to get into PASSPort, NYC's procurement portal.

What it is. PASSPort — the Procurement and Sourcing Solutions Portal — is New York City's end-to-end digital procurement platform. It manages every stage of doing business with the City: vendor enrollment, releasing and responding to solicitations (the system calls them “RFx”), and contract award, registration, and management. If you want to bid on City work, this is where it happens.

The first step. Before you can create a PASSPort vendor account, you need an NYC.ID — the City's single sign-on login. From the Go to PASSPort page, choose “Register NYC.ID” to create that login first, then use it to build out your organization's vendor profile.

You can look before you enroll. No account is required to browse opportunities: the Procurement Navigator lets anyone search live City solicitations. But to respond to one, a PASSPort account is required — so enroll before, not after, you find a bid you want.

Tip. Have your federal EIN, business address, and the name and email of an authorized account administrator ready before you start. The administrator controls who else at your firm can act in PASSPort.

Primary source: NYC MOCS — About / Go to PASSPort →

What it is. M/WBE, EBE, and LBE certification are not granted inside PASSPort. You apply for them through SBS Connect, the Department of Small Business Services' certification portal. Certification is what makes your firm findable and countable for the City's diversity spending goals.

Why it is worth the paperwork. The City spends up to $17 billion a year on goods and services, and more than 10,000 businesses currently hold NYC certification. The City has committed to awarding $25 billion in contracts to M/WBEs by the end of Fiscal Year 2025 — certified firms are the only ones that count toward that target.

A shortcut worth checking. If your firm is already certified by one of the City's partner organizations — the School Construction Authority, Empire State Development, the Port Authority of NY & NJ, the NY & NJ Minority Supplier Development Council, or the Women Presidents' Educational Organization — you can select the M/WBE FastTrack application in SBS Connect for a faster path.

Who to ask. The SBS Certification Unit answers eligibility and application questions at [email protected].

Primary source: NYC SBS — Certify with the City →

Two systems, one workflow. Enrolling in PASSPort registers you as a City vendor; getting certified through SBS Connect establishes your M/WBE status. Neither one does the other's job. Firms that stop after just one wonder why agencies can't find them, or why they can't respond to a solicitation they qualify for.

Do it in this order. Create your NYC.ID and PASSPort vendor account so you exist in the City's procurement system; apply for certification in SBS Connect so your M/WBE status is on record; then make sure that certification is reflected on your PASSPort vendor profile so agencies searching for certified firms see yours. The City lets certified vendors surface their certifications directly in PASSPort — check the MOCS PASSPort resources for the current self-declaration steps.

Then keep both current. Certification is not permanent — NYC certification runs five years with an annual confirmation. If you let it lapse, your PASSPort profile no longer shows an active certification. See our companion guide on how M/WBE recertification works for the exact clocks.

Watch this space. PASSPort screens and enrollment steps are updated periodically by MOCS. When the City changes the vendor onboarding flow in a way that affects small businesses, we will cover it in this digest.

Primary source: NYC MOCS — PASSPort →