Standard procurement templates for Washington state agencies
We are leading a cross-agency effort to develop standard templates for most routine goods and services procurements.
We will publish these templates in the Washington State Procurement Manual.
We plan to publish completed templates by the end of 2026, followed by trainings and implementation in early 2027.
Why we’re making this change
Currently, agencies often use different templates and contract language for similar purchases. This can increase costs for the state through extra work and increased risk of inconsistent or outdated language. It can also make it harder for businesses to navigate the procurement process across agencies.
What it means for businesses
Over time, you’ll begin to see more state agencies using the same solicitation, contract, and purchase order templates for routine procurements. You’ll spend less time learning different agency formats and more time focusing on your response.
What it means for agencies
We will ask procurement professionals to review the proposed templates and share feedback before they’re finalized. Once complete, agencies will begin using the shared templates for most routine procurements, while still having flexibility for specialized purchases.
We want to hear from you
We’re starting this work by hosting introductory sessions with businesses and agency procurement professionals. In those sessions, we will discuss the project, our goals for it, and next steps.
Then, we will host template-specific sessions in the fall to discuss specific feedback on the draft templates.
Introductory sessions
- Businesses: This session has passed. If you were unable to attend, you can still give your feedback. Please fill out a survey to share your thoughts on current procurement templates. You can also view the presentation from this session.
- State procurement professionals: Register for July 15 session.
Template-specific sessions
Sessions focused on templates will occur August through October. If you have feedback but cannot make it to a session, we will be sharing polls and surveys in the coming months to collect input.
Stay tuned for dates!
Questions?
Contact the DES Contracts Strategy team at DESContractsStrategy@des.wa.gov.