Selling to the State of New York

How a company registers as a supplier with the State of New York, the state's certification programs and drone programs, and where to get help in New York, with the official sources. Federal registrations such as SAM.gov are in the federal guides.

New York State Contract Reporter (NYSCR), published by Empire State Development (ESD)

How to register

1. 1Create a free Business Entity account on the New York State Contract Reporter (NYSCR). The state's Doing Business with New York State guide says the Contract Reporter is completely free but businesses must register for access. The sign-up has four steps: accept the Terms of Service, create a sign-in, enter account information, and confirm with an activation code sent by email.
2. 2Set up an opportunities profile and choose the ad categories that match what you sell. The Doing Business with New York State guide (from the Office of General Services, OGS, and Empire State Development, ESD) says the eAlert service then notifies you when an ad is posted in a matching category.
3. 3List your company in the NYS Business Registry from the same account if you want buyers to find you. The guide says state agencies and prime contractors search the Registry for suppliers and subcontractors.
4. 4Check the OGS centralized contracts list and the OGS Online Bid Calendar. The guide says OGS has more than 1,500 centralized contracts, used by state agencies and also by local governments, schools and other authorized users.
5. 5Get a New York State Vendor ID so the state can pay you. The guide says to contact the state agency you are contracting with to get one. The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) says the agency usually starts the process, using the New York State Substitute Form W-9 (legal business name, entity type, Taxpayer Identification Number, addresses and a contact).
6. 6After you have a Vendor ID, enroll in OSC's VendRep System to file your Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire online. The guide says the Vendor ID is needed to enroll in VendRep and to receive payments.
7. 7For free help with bidding, contact an APEX Accelerator or a Small Business Development Center (see below). The guide (dated July 2024) says free technical assistance is available from a Procurement Technical Assistance Center (the program DoD now calls APEX Accelerators) or a Small Business Development Center.

• Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) certificationEmpire State Development (ESD), Division of Minority and Women's Business DevelopmentBusinesses at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens who are women or members of listed minority groups. ESD's rules include: each owner's personal net worth may not exceed $15 million after allowable deductions; no more than 300 employees; in business at least one year; and Authority to Do Business in New York State before applying. ESD asks out-of-state firms to get certified in their home state first. ESD links to the Empire State MWBE Hub (www.mwbe.esd.ny.gov) for certification.
• Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) certificationNYS Office of General Services (OGS), Division of Service-Disabled Veterans' Business DevelopmentBusinesses at least 51% owned by veterans with a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs service-connected disability rating of 10% or more, who control day-to-day decisions. The business must be small (no more than 300 employees) and located in, or have a significant presence in, New York State. Apply online in the Service-Disabled Veterans' Enterprise System (sdves.ogs.ny.gov) with a NY.GOV Business Account.
• Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certification through the New York State Unified Certification Program (NYSUCP)New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), one of four NYSUCP certifying membersSmall businesses independently owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged persons, for U.S. Department of Transportation-assisted contracts. NYSDOT says the USDOT Interim Final Rule of October 3, 2025 changed eligibility and requires reevaluation of all currently certified DBEs. Apply online at nysucp.newnycontracts.com.
• New York State Small Business (a status, not a certification)NYS Office of General Services (OGS) and Empire State Development (ESD)A company resident in New York State, independently owned and operated, with 100 or fewer employees and not dominant in its field. The Doing Business with New York State guide says there is no certification process to be considered a New York State Small Business.

• New York UAS Test Site and New York's 50-mile UAS CorridorNortheast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR), managing the test site on behalf of Oneida CountyThe FAA lists the New York UAS Test Site as one of nine FAA uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) test sites. It is at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, NY. The site describes an operations and data management center connected to a 50-mile instrumented beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) corridor, and NUAIR says the corridor runs between Rome and Syracuse. Services listed include flight testing, communication and sensor testing, and UAS traffic management testing. Contact: info@nyuastestsite.com.

• APEX AcceleratorEmpire APEX Accelerator (powered by NYSTEC; serves 41 counties in the Capital, Mid-Hudson, Mohawk Valley, North Country, Southern Tier and Western regions). Other New York offices in the DoD APEX locator: NYC SBS APEX Accelerator, LaGuardia APEX Accelerator (Queens) and Monroe County-Upstate NY APEX Accelerator (Rochester).APEX Accelerator website
• Small Business Development Center (SBDC)New York Small Business Development Centers (NYSBDC), administered by the State University of New York (SUNY)SBDC website
• Economic developmentEmpire State Development (ESD)Economic development agency website

• Where to startThe order: the basics, codes and size, SAM.gov, certifications, drone rules, documents, where to sell, and free and low-cost help.
• SAM.gov registrationThe federal government's free registration for companies that want federal contracts: the Unique Entity ID, the CAGE code and the yearly renewal.
• Codes and profilesNAICS and PSC codes, SBA size standards, CAGE and NCAGE codes, and the SBA Small Business Search profile buyers search.
• SBA certificationsThe SBA's 8(a), HUBZone, women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB) and veteran-owned (VetCert) programs: who each is for and how to apply.
• Drone complianceThe rules for selling drones to government and flying them: NDAA and the American Security Drone Act, Blue UAS, the FCC, FAA Part 107, ITAR, EAR and CMMC.
• Documents to prepareWhat government buyers, SBA lenders, SBIR and STTR programs and investors ask to see.
• Selling to federal buyersWhere federal contracts, subcontracts and research funding are posted: SAM.gov, primes, the GSA schedule, SBIR and STTR, DIU, AFWERX, the Army, the Navy, SOFWERX and DHS.
• Utilities and public buyersUtilities, HUD-funded agencies, state transportation departments, cities and counties, and cooperative contracts such as Sourcewell and NASPO ValuePoint.
• Free and low-cost helpAPEX Accelerators, SBDCs, SBA district offices, SCORE, veterans' and women's business centers, MEP centers and agency small business offices.

• New York State Contract Reporter home page
• NYS Contract Reporter: Get Started (registration)
• NYS Contract Reporter: Business account Step 1
• NYS Contract Reporter: Doing Business with NYS
• OGS and ESD: Doing Business with New York State guide (PDF)
• OSC Guide to Vendor/Customer Management: OSC vendor registration
• ESD MWBE program page
• ESD MWBE Certification Eligibility Requirements
• OGS Division of Service-Disabled Veterans' Business Development
• OGS SDVOB certification (Get Certified)
• NYSDOT DBE Certification Program
• New York UAS Test Site
• NUAIR: New York UAS Test Site receives civil flight authority
• Governor Hochul announcement on New York's UAS industry (Oct. 19, 2022)
• Empire APEX Accelerator
• NYC SBS APEX Accelerator
• New York Small Business Development Centers
• Empire State Development
• FAA: UAS Test Site Program (lists nine FAA UAS Test Sites; last updated July 10, 2026)
• DoD APEX Accelerators site and office locator

Last checked September 25, 2026. Rules, fees and programs change; the official sources are where to confirm them before applying or spending money.

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