Doing Business with California Businesses

Why is getting certified with the State of California important?

A business primarily located in the State of California and doing business in the State, should self-certify itself on the State of California website.  The University tracks how it spends with California businesses. Getting your business into the free state database also opens up opportunities for your business to sell products and services to the State. For more information about state programs for small businesses, see the Department of General Services website.

The University abides by the California Public Contract Code. Refer to the link below for specific information about each of the articles. 

Chapter 2.1. University of California Responsive Bidders 

  • Article 2. Materials, Goods, and Services
  • Article 2.5. Contracts with Private Architects, Engineering, Environmental, Land Surveying, and Construction Project Management Firms 
  • Article 3. Real Property
  • Article 4. Conflict of Interest 
  • Article 5. Remedies and Penalties 

The following classifications are specific to small and disadvantaged businesses in the State of California:

  • Small Business Enterprises (SBE)
  • Women Business Enterprise (WBE)
  • Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) for businesses serving California transportation agencies. Those agencies are required to spend some of their federal funding with DBEs when receiving funding from the Federal Department of Transportation.
  • Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE)

University of California Principal Investigators holding grants through the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act (CIRM) are strongly encouraged to make a good faith effort toward achieving a purchasing goal of more than 50 percent for goods and services from California businesses. For a list of current CIRM UC San Franciscso grantees, see the CIRM website.

California Businesses Spend Reporting to the State of California Legislature

The Office of the President, University of California Procurement Services Office submits an annual fiscal year (July of the prior year to June 30 of the current year) spend report to the State of California. The report shows small and diverse business spend for SBE, WBE, DBE, and  DVBE State of CA classifed businesses. The report includes spend for all campuses, medical centers, and laboratories.