What is procurement piggybacking and when is it allowed?

Piggybacking is when you use an existing contract to acquire the same commodities or services at the same or lower price from another public entity contract.
When using this form of procurement, there are several factors to consider including:

• Subject Matter Comparisons: The product or service acquired through piggybacking must be comparable to what your original acquisition needs, function, and goals are.
• Procurement Method: The size and scope of the new acquisition should be evaluated in comparison to the original acquisition and its method of award.
• Notice to the Originating Agency: You must notify and gain the consent of the original contracting agency that you are piggybacking off of.
• The Consent of the Vendor and the terms of the piggybacking agreement must be in written legal form.
• There must be an absence of other acceptable established contracting alternatives
• The price must be justified.

In addition, here are prerequisites that must be met to meet the requirements of General Municipal Law (GML) §103 (16).

• The contract must be let another governmental agency
• Your board must have authorized the use of piggybacking in purchasing
• The contract needs to include language allowing piggybacking
• Must still meet the requirements of the lowest responsible bidder as per GML §103.

Browse the resources below for more detailed information on piggybacking and procurement laws, regulations, and rulings.

Resources

Guide for Piggybacking in New York State

Office of the New York State Comptroller opinion letter on piggybacking

March 2018