The City of Philadelphia gives preference to certified local businesses through its Local Business Entity program.
Supporting local business
Section 17-109 of the Philadelphia Code requires the Procurement Department to give a bid preference for Local Business Entities (LBE). To be certified as an LBE, a vendor must meet several qualifications.
How it works
For vendors certified as an LBE, it may be possible to reduce their bid price. That means that their bid could come in as the lowest bidder after they’ve been given the LBE discount.
- For bids of $1 million or less, there is a 10 percent LBE preference discount.
- For bids more than $1 million, there is a 5 percent LBE preference discount.
If awarded a contract as a result of the LBE preference, the LBE vendor will still be awarded a contract based on the actual bid amount stated in the vendor submitted bid document.
Find approved LBE vendors
Approved LBE vendors will appear on the City’s public list. You can browse the list or search for a specific LBE by name or ZIP code.