Bidding & Procurement
18% of this examHow projects get from documents to a signed contract: bid bonds, addenda, alternates and allowances, and the public-bidding rules. Questions test document vocabulary and the rules that keep competitive bidding fair — including what happens when a bidder makes a mistake.
Core concepts
The bid bond backs the promise to sign
A bid bond (AIA A310, commonly 5–10% of the bid) guarantees that the winning bidder will enter into the contract and furnish the required performance and payment bonds. Recovery is typically limited to the difference between the low bid and the next bid.
Addenda change the documents before bids open
An addendum is a written modification to the bidding documents issued before bid opening. It binds every bidder and must be acknowledged in the bid — missing an acknowledgment can make a bid non-responsive.
Alternates and allowances flex the scope and price
An alternate is a separately priced add or deduct to the base bid that the owner may accept at award. An allowance is a placeholder sum in the contract for items not yet selected (A201 §3.8); when the real cost is known, a change order adjusts the difference.
Public awards and bid mistakes
Public contracts go to the lowest responsive AND responsible bidder — a low bid can be rejected for either failing. A bidder who promptly proves a genuine clerical mistake (not an error in judgment) may usually withdraw without forfeiting bid security, but may never revise the bid upward after opening.
Key facts to know cold
Where it lives in your books
The real exam is open book. Knowing which book — and which tab — answers this domain is worth as much as memorizing it.
AIA Documents
A201 article numbers are the map: Art. 3 contractor, Art. 7 changes, Art. 8 time, Art. 9 payments, Art. 11 insurance, Art. 12 corrections, Art. 14 termination, Art. 15 claims. Most Contract Admin questions cite one of these.
12 recommended tabs
Contractor's Manual
This is your home base on exam day. Learn its table of contents — most candidates lose time flipping because they never learned which chapter holds which statute.
8 recommended tabs
Lookup strategy
- · Bidding vocabulary (addenda, alternates, bid security) lives in AIA A701 Instructions to Bidders; allowances are A201 §3.8.
- · Public bidding rules are statutory — the Contractor's Manual chapters on public construction bidding cover responsive/responsible and bid-mistake doctrine.
Reading isn't learning — retrieval is.
12 questions in this domain, each with an explanation and source.