How to Register on Bid Express: Contractor Guide (2026)

What Bid Express is

Bid Express is an online bidding service run by Infotech; the footer on Infotech's website reads Info Tech Operating, LLC, DBA Infotech. Infotech describes Bid Express as a secure, cloud-based e-bidding platform that covers bidding from advertisement to award, and its vendor FAQ says Infotech has run internet bidding since 1997. When we checked in October 2026, bidexpress.com forwarded to Infotech's Bid Express product page, where the Create Vendor Account and User Login buttons start sign-up and sign-in.

The name covers two sites, and that matters for registration. Infotech's comparison sheet on its two Bid Express services (dated 2022) describes bidx.com as the site for state road, highway, bridge, and construction projects let by DOTs and turnpike authorities, and bidexpress.com as the site for purchasing departments, municipalities, local agencies, and some DOTs. Infotech now markets the bidx.com service as BidX and says 44 state agencies use it, but DOT pages still call it Bid Express. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) states that all bids must be submitted electronically via Bid Express, and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) states that prime contractors are required to submit their bids electronically through Bid Express. Both send bidders to bidx.com. The same comparison sheet says a Digital ID made on one site may only be used for bidding on that site.

Each agency still sets its own rules. Infotech's vendor guide notes that owner-agencies have different workflows and business rules, and the agency decides whether a bid needs a Digital ID or an electronic signature, which documents and fields the bid must include, and whether a solicitation is open to all vendors or only to invited ones. Follow the solicitation documents first. For a broader view of where public construction work is posted, see our guide to finding government construction bids.

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Step 1 - Confirm which Bid Express site your agency uses

Start with the agency's bid notice or contractor page, which tells you where it posts solicitations and takes bids. Among the DOT pages we checked, MnDOT, TDOT, and the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) all direct bidders to bidx.com. Purchasing departments, municipalities, and local agencies use bidexpress.com, according to Infotech's comparison sheet, along with some DOTs. If you bid both state highway work and local work, plan on setting up both sites.

Finish any agency registration that comes before Bid Express. MnDOT says vendors need a SWIFT vendor ID and must send a MnDOT vendor form to be added to its vendor table on Bid Express. TDOT ties bidding to the vendor ID it assigns during prequalification. SCDOT says contractors must have a digital ID obtained using their SCDOT vendor ID number. You enter these agency numbers later when you ask to bid, so get them first.

Step 2 - Create your account and business

Create the account on the site your agency uses. On bidexpress.com, choose Create Vendor Account. The current sign-up page, titled Sign up for Bid Express, asks for first name, last name, email, and a password, plus agreement to the Subscriber Agreement, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and DMCA Policy. Infotech's vendor account guide says your email address becomes your username and is where Infotech sends notifications, so use an address your estimating team watches.

Infotech's 2021 registration guide says the first person in a company to register becomes the manager of the business account and enters the legal business name, phone, and address. If a business with a similar name already exists, the guide says you can choose Create New Business or Request Invitation, which emails the existing manager. You then activate the account from a link in a confirmation email. The current sign-up page shows only the personal fields, so business details may come on a later screen; verify current steps on the official portal. Infotech's comparison sheet says each bidexpress.com business account is assigned a unique business number, which your bonding agent uses for electronic bid bonds.

On bidx.com, TDOT's 2026 setup guide describes the flow: choose User Login, then Sign up, enter your name, email, and password, accept the Subscriber Agreement and Terms of Use, and enter an activation code sent to your email. You then add company contact details, pick an agency you intend to bid with, choose a company type (Prime Contractor, Subcontractor, Supplier, or Other), and pick a plan.

Step 3 - Invite your team and set bidding roles

Add your estimators to the same business account instead of sharing one login. Infotech's vendor account guide says only one Infotech account per business is required and that other employees join through an invitation from a manager. Managers can invite employees, change their roles, and remove them, but cannot change their own role, and Infotech's registration guide recommends that every business have at least two managers.

Inside the bidexpress.com service, Infotech's guide lists three roles. A Manager can assign roles, buy subscriptions, edit business information, select solicitations for bidding, and create, edit, withdraw, or submit bids. A Bidder can select solicitations and create, edit, withdraw, or submit bids. An Executive Manager has read-only access. Invited employees start with read-only access to the Bid Express service, so a manager must change the role of anyone who will bid.

Protect each login. Infotech's Terms of Use make you responsible for keeping your password confidential and for activity under your credentials. For bidx.com, TDOT recommends that the person who submits bids have a dedicated account, because users may have problems when several people sign in to one account at the same time, and it says free view-only accounts can be created for other staff.

Step 4 - Get an Infotech Digital ID for each signer

If the agency requires a digital signature, the person who signs your bids needs an Infotech Digital ID. Infotech's vendor FAQ describes it as a small encrypted file unique to a single person that is attached to a bid and takes the place of a wet-ink signature. On bidexpress.com, Infotech states that the Digital ID is free, and its pricing page says there is no fee to process and activate one. Some bidexpress.com solicitations use an electronic signature instead, where you type your name at submission, and a banner on the solicitation shows which one applies. Infotech's account guide advises waiting to generate an ID until a solicitation you pick prompts you to.

Plan for identity checks and lead time. Infotech's 2021 registration guide says the bidexpress.com process asks for an uploaded copy of a driver's license, passport, or state ID, your name exactly as it appears on that ID, and confirmation that the person named is your company's authorized signer. Infotech support then calls to confirm identity, and the guide says the full process may take up to seven days. Infotech does not keep a copy of your ID file, so save the backup it prompts you to create. The guide also says that changing your first name, last name, or business name requires a new Digital ID.

On bidx.com, TDOT's 2026 guide places Get Digital ID under Settings, then Online Bidding. You confirm that you are an authorized signer listed on your latest TDOT prequalification questionnaire, answer identity questions, and set a Digital ID password that TDOT says can never be changed or retrieved. TDOT also says that replacing a lost Digital ID on bidx.com carries a cost. TDOT's browser-based Web Enhanced Bidding adds a free Security Key file, which TDOT says is stored in your browser and must be re-uploaded if you clear the cache or switch browsers.

Step 5 - Request approval to bid with each agency

On bidx.com, an approved Digital ID is not enough on its own, because you also ask each agency to approve your bidding. TDOT's 2026 guide describes a Request to Bid option under Settings, then Online Bidding, where you choose your Digital ID, select the agency, and enter the vendor ID that agency gave your company. The request stays pending until the agency approves it, and you are notified by email. MnDOT says its staff verify the bidder ID, full legal company name, contact information, and the name of the authorized Digital ID holder before the ID is activated, and it advises new bidders to allow about a week for its setup steps.

Some agencies add a per-letting step. TDOT requires a Bid Authorization Form for each letting, due by 4:00 p.m. Central the day before the letting, charges a fee for each authorized bid, and states that an internet bid that is not authorized will not be considered. TDOT also requires a separate form in a joint venture's name.

On bidexpress.com, Infotech's guides do not describe a general request to bid. They do say that if a solicitation shows no Select for Bidding or Respond button, the agency has restricted it to invited vendors. Verify any agency-specific approval on the official portal.

Step 6 - Choose how you will pay and set up notifications

Decide how you will pay before your first bid day. On bidexpress.com, Infotech states that vendors can view solicitations and documents for free and pay only when they submit a bid. Its pricing page lists a pay-per-solicitation option and a monthly Bid Express Member subscription, and says vendors can submit free to agency-sponsored solicitations, which Infotech's guide says carry a FREE tag. Infotech's 2021 guide says you choose a payment option when you select a solicitation for bidding and that, once you have paid for a solicitation, you can submit even if your subscription ends before the deadline. On bidx.com, Infotech's BidX pricing page lists a free plan that does not include bidding and paid plans that include bidding with one or more agencies, billed monthly or yearly. Check Infotech's pricing pages for current terms.

Then set up notifications. Infotech says Bid Express subscribers can get email alerts by agency, location, work type, and commodity and service codes, with text alerts at no extra cost. Its 2021 guide says agency notifications require a monthly subscription unless the agency sponsors free notifications or sponsors the solicitations, and that NIGP codes are managed on the My Profile tab. Once you select a solicitation for bidding, the guide says approved members of your business are notified of amendments, question deadline changes, withdrawals, and posted apparent bids. BidX advertises favorite agencies, items, and counties with an email digest, and Infotech lists AI tools called Recommender and Tagger for active users. Alerts are a starting point, so keep every letting date, question deadline, and addendum cutoff on your own calendar.

How to find and submit a bid on Bid Express

Find work by agency first. On bidexpress.com, Infotech's guide says the Solicitations tab lists each solicitation's number, description, deadline, and owner, and that you can search by owner-agency, number, NIGP code, or description, then narrow by deadline date range and status. Clicking an owner opens that agency's page with general information, standard documents, and lists of upcoming and closed solicitations. On bidx.com, TDOT's guide shows lettings under a Lettings tab, where you open a letting by date and then a proposal by number. Infotech says the free BidX plan lets you browse lettings from more than 40 agencies, view plan holders and eligible bidders, and review past apparent bids.

How you fill in the bid depends on the site and the agency. On bidexpress.com, Infotech's guide describes a web bid form: you can add yourself to the plan holder list, ask questions if the agency enabled Q&A, and click Select for Bidding to move the solicitation to your Bids tab. There you enter item prices, fill in forms, download attachments, upload required documents, and complete any bid bond fields. Infotech states that the service calculates totals and alerts you to missing forms or addenda, and its guide describes Check Bid, Save Draft, and item-list export and import in CSV, tab-separated, or XML formats for estimating software. On bidx.com, DOT bidding has run through bid files completed in the downloadable AASHTOWare Project Bids software, according to Infotech's comparison sheet, and MnDOT's how-to-bid page still tells bidders to download that software and the electronic bid files. DOTs are moving to a browser bid form: TDOT says it began Web Enhanced Bidding with its March 20, 2026 letting, where a Bid Form button replaces the separate software, and SCDOT says it moved to Enhanced Bidding on Bid Express on January 14, 2026. Check each agency's current letting instructions.

Track every amendment. On bidexpress.com, Infotech's guide says an agency can update a solicitation any time before the deadline, you are emailed, and your bid is marked Incomplete or out of date. The service applies the amendment when you open the bid and lists what changed, and bids without all amendments applied are marked out of date or non-responsive when the agency downloads them. Draft files exported before an amendment cannot be imported afterward. For DOT lettings, TDOT says addenda and amendments to the electronic bid files are posted on Bid Express and must be acknowledged through the electronic bidding program, and it lists failure to acknowledge addenda or apply amendments as grounds for rejection. MnDOT says addendum files are posted on Bid Express and that bidders acknowledge addenda by importing those files into the electronic bid file.

Arrange the bid bond early. Infotech's vendor FAQ says electronic bid bond verification replaces paper bonds: you get a unique code from a bonding agency through S2000, Inc. or Tinubu Surety and include it with your bid, and surety companies use the code to verify the bond. Infotech's comparison sheet says your bonding agent needs the solicitation or proposal number plus your business number on bidexpress.com, or the bidder number the DOT assigned you on bidx.com. BidX's FAQ says electronic verification there requires an approved Digital ID and that a paper bond works only where the agency accepts one. Agencies set the guaranty: TDOT and MnDOT each require a proposal guaranty of five percent of the bid, which can be a bid bond or a cashier's or certified check.

Submit, and withdraw if you need to, before the deadline. Infotech's guide says Submit Bid warns you about errors or unapplied amendments, asks for your name on electronic signature solicitations, and emails a confirmation. It also says you can change or withdraw a bid after submitting it, that the agency sees only your last submission, and that a withdrawn bid is not seen. Infotech states that submitted bids sit in a digital lockbox the agency cannot access before the opening. On bidx.com, TDOT says a submission receipt is emailed to the account that submitted the bid, a new submission overwrites the earlier one, and losing your Security Key can stop you from viewing or withdrawing an active bid. After opening, agencies can post apparent bids and bid tabulations, according to Infotech's guide.

If you bid on several portals, compare this workflow with our guides to BidNet Direct registration, Bonfire registration, OpenGov Procurement, and CivCast registration. Federal work runs through SAM.gov registration, and our hub of portal registration guides covers more state and local systems.

How ConstructionBids.ai helps

ConstructionBids.ai brings public construction bids from thousands of portals into one searchable feed with deadline alerts, which can sit alongside your Bid Express routine. Keep checking Bid Express directly for the lettings and solicitations its agencies post there.

Creating a Bid Express account to get a Digital ID, track amendments, and submit bids is still required; we don't replace it. Keep using Bid Express where agencies require it, for the Digital ID, the bid form, amendments, and the bid itself. Use ConstructionBids.ai to find the work across portals and keep bid dates in front of your team. ConstructionBids.ai plans are $59, $79, and $99 a month, with a 7-day trial of Command. Start your free trial to see matched bids from thousands of portals.