Sole Source

It is the policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia that contracts be awarded on a competitive basis and that the use of sole source procurement be limited to those instances where only one source is practicable available.

Sole Source Procurement Approval Request

All requests for sole source purchases must meet the criteria established under the Virginia Public Procurement Act, § 2.2-4303(E).  The agency head or designee, must sign the Sole Source Procurement Approval Request forms.

• Sole Source Procurement Approval Request Form - Non-Technology (pdf)
• Sole Source Procurement Approval Request Form - Technology (pdf)

In addition, the agency must also (1) assign an identifying number to the request, (2) attach a brief description of the contract, and (3) attach the sole source justification for the sole source request.  All sole source documentation must be sent to the Materiel Management office to be assigned a number.

Every Sole Source Instructions (pdf) must contain a Sole Source Memorandum (pdf) from the purchasing agency that addresses in a direct and concise manner the following four points (by number and in order):

1. Explain why this is the only product or service that can meet the needs of the purchasing agency.
2. Explain why this vendor is the only practicable available source from which to obtain this product or service.
3. Explain why the price is considered reasonable.
4. Describe the efforts that were made to conduct a noncompetitive negotiation to get the best possible price for the taxpayers.