The LG procurement process for advertising, letting and awarding the construction contract must be approved by TxDOT. Consideration for prequalification requirements and post-qualification requirements should be considered early in the design process so the proposed procurement process can be submitted to the TxDOT district for review and approval well in advance of approval of the plans, specifications and estimates.

For construction and maintenance projects on the state highway system (with or without state or federal funds), the LG must require contractors to be prequalified by TxDOT. TxDOT qualifies bidders to become eligible to bid or to receive a bid proposal on a construction or maintenance project. The agency has two levels of qualification, both of which require annual requalification. These are described in detail in the .

Any prequalification or qualification criteria in addition to TxDOT’s must be approved by TxDOT before becoming part of the bid documents. Some projects may be of a nature for which TxDOT may waive the prequalification requirements. TxDOT contractor prequalification process has two basic levels:

Waived projects may include, but are not limited to, specialty projects (i.e. sidewalks, hike and bike trails, streetscape, traffic and others), maintenance projects or roadway projects of $500,000 or less. Waived specialty and maintenance projects have no dollar limit and may exceed the $500,000 limit. The LG must contact the district early in the project to determine if prequalification is necessary.