Help

Contractor Connection Help

Contractor Connection is the primary contractor database for the Government Publishing Office (GPO). Contractor Connection collects, validates, stores and disseminates data in support of agency missions.

Both current and potential contractors are required to register in Contractor Connection in order to be awarded contracts by the GPO. Contractors are required to complete a one-time registration to provide basic information relevant to procurement and financial transactions.

Please note that any information provided in your registration may be shared with authorized government offices. Registration does not, however, guarantee business with the Government Publishing Office.

How to Register

Enter your registration online through the internet:

Step 1: For details on the information to gather before you register, see the section of this document, Information Needed to Register.

Step 2: Access the Contractor Connection online registration page at Register.

Step 3: Complete and submit the online registration. If you already have the necessary information on hand, the online registration takes approximately 10 minutes to complete, depending upon the size and complexity of your company.

How to Know Your Registration Was Successful

You will be unable to submit your registration online unless all of the mandatory information is provided. You will be notified of missing information by a list of 'errors' on each page when you click "Continue/Save". Once you have provided the information click "Continue" again to verify that all necessary fields are filled.

If your registration was submitted successfully then you will you receive a congratulatory page and an email message. This first notice is to welcome you to Contractor Connection and will include a copy of your registration. Please make sure you review the registration for accuracy.

The second notice contains your notification of acceptance or rejection as an approved contractor for GPO and information concerning additional steps that may be needed.

 How to Change or Cancel an Active Registration

Your Responsibilities

  • You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of your registration.
  • You are responsible for updating all of your registration information as it changes.
  • You may voluntarily cancel your registration at any time.
  • You are responsible for notifying GPO of any changes to your registration

To make changes to an active registration:

  1. Logging into Contractor Connection at Login.aspx.
  2. Clicking on the Contractor Connection tab at the top of the screen.
  3. Making the necessary changes.
  4. E-mail [email protected] to notify them that you have made changes to your registration. Please specify the types of changes that you have made.

To cancel an active registration:

  1. E-mail the Publishing Support Services at [email protected].
Information Needed to Register
 

General Information: This section contains mandatory fields

UEI – A Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is a unique number assigned to all entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) who register to do business with the federal government. Sam.gov will automatically assign a new UEI to registered entities. Entities must request new UEIs through SAM.gov before starting their entity registration at https://sam.gov/SAM/.

DUNS NUMBER- Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number: The Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number is a unique nine character identification number provided by the commercial company Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). Call D&B at 1-866-705-5711 or 610-882-7000 if you do not have a DUNS number. The process to request a DUNS number takes about 10 minutes and is free of charge. Please use the following instructions to navigate through the voice prompts:

  1. enter "3" to Register your business and obtain a DUNS #
  2. enter "2" for assistance. DO NOT PRESS "1" FOR eUPDATE
  3. enter "1" to create a new listing
  4. enter "1" for Federal Registration (Government Contractor Listing)

You can also register for your DUNS number at Dun & Bradstreet's web site: https://iupdate.dnb.com/iUpdate/viewiUpdateHome.htm. Please note that registration via the web site may take a few days to complete.
If you already have a DUNS number, the D&B representative will advise you over the phone. You must have a different 9 digit DUNS for each physical location/different address in your company as well as each legal division that may be co-located. When entering your DUNS number, enter only the numbers; do not include dashes. As a result of obtaining a DUNS number you might be included on D&B's marketing list that is sold to other companies. If you do not want your name/company included on this marketing list, D&B has asked that you contact them, anytime, at the same numbers noted above to request they be removed.

EIN-The Employer Identification Number (EIN) is the nine-digit number companies use for income tax purposes. If you do not know your EIN, contact the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at 1-800-829-1040. If you operate as an individual sole proprietorship, you may use your Social Security Number if you do not have an EIN. When entering your EIN or SSN on the web site, enter only the numbers; do not include the dashes (Example: 123456789 not 123-45-6789) Note: Authority: 31 U.S.C. 7701 (c) (3) Principal Purpose(s). The EIN may be used by the Government to collect and report on delinquent amounts arising out of the offerer's relationship with the Government.

Plant Name: If you do business as a division of a larger company, use this space to indicate the proper name for your division. If some other identifier commonly distinguishes your division, enter that in the space on the right. Otherwise, leave blank.

Address: Use this space to continue your physical street address, if needed.

City, State, Zip: The 9-digit zip code is not mandatory. When entering the nine-digit zip code on the web, include the dash. (Examples: Correct: 12345-6789; Incorrect: 123456789)

Date Business Started: Enter the date your business was started in its present form. This may be used to distinguish you from others with similar names. When entering the information on the web site, you must enter as mm/dd/yyyy. (Example: 01/01/1995)

Average # of Employees and Annual Revenue - Be sure to provide accurate information about the number of employees and 3-year average annual receipts for your business, as these values can determine your business size classification. Annual revenue cannot be zero. You must enter a number. When entering revenue in the web site, enter numbers only, no dollar signs or commas.

Security Level: If applicable, choose the correct level of security for the facility.

Corporate Web Page URL: If applicable, provide your company's homepage.

Corporate Information:
This section contains mandatory fields.

Type of Organization: You must choose one of the boxes to indicate the legal form of your business.
Sole Proprietorship

  • If you choose Sole Proprietorship as your status, you must complete *Owner Information: Mandatory if you have checked "Sole Proprietorship" as business type. You must provide the name and phone number of the owner of the business.

Corporate Entity

  • If you choose Corporation as your status, you must enter the state of incorporation

Products and Services:
This section contains mandatory fields.

Point of Contact:
This section contains mandatory fields.

  How to Find Current Solicitations

As part of GPO's printing procurement procedure, specifications are now only being posted electronically. More information on this topic can be found on the Updates and Notices page.

Quick Quote lists small purchases (orders which do not exceed $100,000) where GPO is accepting quotations electronically. Current small purchase solicitations are posted on Quick Quote at Open Jobs. Click on any of the column headings to sort the solicitations. Specifications may be viewed and printed by clicking on the Jacket Number link.

GPO has other types of procurements currently out for bid that can be found through the Contract Opportunities page.

 How to Find Previous Solicitations

Quick Quote lists small purchases (orders which do not exceed $100,000) where GPO is accepting quotations electronically. Solicitations awarded in the past 3 months that were advertised through Quick Quote are available on the Awarded Jobs page. Solicitations that have been awarded more than three months ago that were advertised through Quick Quote are available on the Awarded Jobs History page.

On either of these pages, you can search using the drop downs and search criteria. You can also click on any of the column headings to sort the solicitations. Click on "View" to see a copy of the specification or abstract selected.

 How to Submit Quotes

GPO requires quotes for solicitations advertised on Quick Quote to be submitted electronically through the Quick Quote system. Any problem submitting quotes via Quick Quote must be reported prior to Quote Due Date and Time.

In order to submit a quotation electronically your company must first be registered with GPO’s online Contractor Connection and have an assigned GPO contractor number. To register and/or obtain a GPO assigned contractor number, please click on registration.
Starting on the Open Jobs page (Open Jobs):

  • Specifications may be viewed and printed by clicking on the Jacket Number link.
  • To submit a quote, click on the Enter Quote link in the last column on the same line as the jacket number.
  • You will be prompted to login to Contractor Connection if you are not already logged on.
  • The Quotation Form is displayed with your contractor code, company name, and jacket number filled in.
  • Enter your quote and click Submit Quote.
  • The Review Quote screen is displayed.
  • Review your quote for accuracy and click Change Quote if a correction is required; otherwise click Submit Quote.
  • The Confirm Quote screen is displayed with a message that your quote was submitted successfully along with your confirmation number. Please ensure you print this screen for your records. This information will be required when the specialist calls to review and confirm a bid for award.

Note: If more than one plant is registered, the bid must be submitted using the contractor number for the plant producing the predominate function of the contract. Unless otherwise stated, GPO Contract Terms Contract Clause 6 - Subcontracts requires the printing as the predominant function.

 Browser Issues

The site has been tested with current versions of Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. If you find something that is not working, please try another browser. If you find any functionality that isn't working, please email [email protected] with the following information:

  • Description of what is not working
  • Browser and version number (e.g., Google Chrome 77.0.3865.120)
  • Operating system (e.g., Windows 10)

Printing Procurement Regulation 

The Printing Procurement Regulation (PPR) of the GPO (GPO Publications 305.3) can be found on the Forms and Standards page. The PPR is issued to: (i) prescribe uniform policies and procedures for the procurement of printing, binding, and related services and, (ii) provide guidance to Customer Services personnel in applying those policies and procedures.

 Contractor Quality Level Evaluations 

As part of GPO's procurement procedure, our agency maintains a continuous quality control process to support its customers. One aspect of this process is to determine a contractor's ability to consistently produce orders at the required quality level without undue assistance on the part of the Government. These ratings are also used when generating bid lists for procurements that determine who solicitations will be issued to on a rotating basis and by our Contracting Officers as an aid in making responsibility determinations on individual contracts. Automated Bid List (ABLS) Quality Level Sample Submission Procedures can be found at https://www.gpo.gov/docs/default-source/forms-and-standards-files-for-vendors/QLSamples.pdf.

With the rapid changes in technologies and the industry in recent years it has become necessary to have vendors re-submit after a 5 year period to ensure our Government contractors are still producing at the level when they were originally rated.

GPO is currently contacting vendors to request that they proceed with the re-submission process. Please contact Quality Control for Published Products if you have any questions via email at [email protected] or phone via 202-512-0542.

 Password And Account Requirements

Password must be changed every sixty days and meet the following criteria:

  1. Password must be between 8 and 15 characters.
  2. Password must contain at least one lower case letter.
  3. Password must contain at least one UPPER case letter.
  4. Password must contain at least one numeric value.
  5. Password must contain at least one special character (e.g., !@#$?)
  6. Password must not match a previously used password.

If you forgot the password for your account, click on the Forgot Password link on the login page. Your password will be e-mailed to you.

Accounts will be locked after 5 invalid password attempts. Once the account is locked, it will automatically unlock after 5 minutes. When your account is locked, you will not be able to access the system to update your information or submit quotes.

If you have any questions, please e-mail our Publishing Support Services at [email protected] or call 202-512-0526.