Last verified November 9, 2026
New York City spent about $42.3 billion with outside contractors in Fiscal Year 2025, on everything from community services to construction. Human services contracts alone totaled $15.6 billion. Human services means programs that serve people directly, such as after-school and youth programs, senior services, homeless shelters, and family support. Of the City's total contracting, $6.9 billion went to certified minority- and women-owned businesses. New York State paid $3.3 billion to certified MWBEs in 2024–25, and its goal is that 30% of eligible State contract spending goes to them.
Getting a share starts with registration. This guide is for nonprofits and for-profit businesses that want to contract with the City. It covers each step and links every portal. Looking for money while you register? Browse current NYC funding opportunities.
Here's the path, in order:
Form your organization and get an EIN. The City only registers established organizations with an EIN.
PIP (Payee Information Portal). This gets you paid. Nonprofits and for-profits both need it. Do it first.
PASSPort. This gets you found and cleared. Nonprofits and for-profits both need it. Create your account, then get Filed.
HHS prequalification (nonprofits that serve people directly). Required to respond to most City human services RFPs.
NYS M/WBE certification. For-profit businesses only. Nonprofits are not eligible. It's free and gets you counted toward State participation goals. Selling to the City? Add City certification through SBS.
Free help. LaGuardia APEX Accelerator for for-profit businesses, and NYC Small Business Services courses for anyone starting out.
Start with an established organization with an EIN
The City registers established organizations. Before you open any account, you need:
A legally formed entity
An EIN from the IRS
Tax filings
A bank account in the organization's name
A principal who can sign for the organization
If you haven't formed yet, do that first.
For-profit businesses: the NYS Department of State's guide to forming a business corporation walks first-time filers through the Certificate of Incorporation.
Nonprofits: file a Certificate of Incorporation with the Department of State under the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law. See the Department's guide to forming a not-for-profit corporation. Some purposes need another agency's approval before you file.
NYC Small Business Services also runs free business courses, including one on starting out in the City. Get your EIN, then come back.
Know which registrations apply to you
Each registration answers a different question the City has about you. PIP answers "how do we pay you?" PASSPort answers "who are you, and are you cleared to do business with us?" M/WBE certification answers "do you count toward our participation goals?"
Every organization that contracts with the City needs PIP and PASSPort, whether it's a nonprofit or a for-profit business. M/WBE certification is different. It is only for for-profit businesses. Nonprofit organizations are not eligible for M/WBE certification, at the State or City level. If you're a nonprofit, you can skip the M/WBE section below. You still compete for City contracts, and PIP and PASSPort are how you get in.
Step one: PIP gets you paid
Nonprofits and for-profit businesses both need this step.
The Payee Information Portal is how the City sends you money. In PIP, vendors can register for Electronic Funds Transfers/Direct Deposit, view financial transactions, and more. It also gives you a NYC Vendor Number.
Do it first. The City's own guidance is to create a PIP account first before setting up a PASSPort account. Go to the PIP site, click Activate, and search your organization's name. If it already shows "Yes" under Activated, you're done. The PIP website has a new-vendor tutorial, and the help desk is at [email protected].
Step two: PASSPort gets you found and cleared
Nonprofits and for-profit businesses both need this step.
PASSPort is where the City runs its contracting. This is where you find opportunities, complete disclosures, and respond to solicitations. Setup takes two steps. First you create a NYC.ID with a valid email address, then you request an account using those credentials.
Start at the PASSPort login and follow the City's Create a PASSPort Account guide. Whoever submits the request becomes your Vendor Admin, so use a principal or someone authorized to act for the organization. The City recommends having more than one Vendor Admin so the account doesn't depend on a single person.
Then comes the part that takes time: Vendor Enrollment, also called getting Filed. You complete basic information, add contacts, answer disclosures, upload documents, and sign and submit the package. Until your status shows Filed, City agencies can't start any contracting action with you. The Beginner's Guide to PASSPort walks through each section, and the MOCS Getting Started page gives the overview. For technical problems, submit a ticket to the MOCS Service Desk.
Human services nonprofits need one more step. If your organization runs programs that serve people directly, such as youth programs, senior services, shelters, or family support, the City calls that "human services." To respond to most City human services RFPs, you need an approved HHS Prequalification application in PASSPort, in addition to being Filed. Small nonprofits with City Council discretionary awards can use a simpler Discretionary prequalification instead. Prequalification must be renewed, and nonprofits that file annual NYS Charities Bureau reports must update it every year. The Mayor's Office of Nonprofit Services lays out the sequence in Get Ready to Contract, and MOCS has the HHS Prequalification guide.
Don't wait until you've found a contract to start. Approval takes time, and you want to be Filed when the right solicitation appears.
Step three: M/WBE certification gets you counted
This step is for for-profit businesses only. Nonprofits are not eligible for M/WBE certification and can skip ahead.
Why it matters. The State's goal is that 30% of its eligible contract spending goes to certified MWBEs. State agencies had $10.46 billion in eligible spending in FY 2024–25, and $3.333 billion of it went to MWBEs, about 32%. The goal applies to agency spending as a whole, not to every individual contract. In practice, agencies and prime contractors with participation goals go looking for certified firms to meet them. The State also raised its MWBE discretionary purchasing threshold to $1.5 million, so agencies can buy directly from certified firms on larger purchases.
The City runs its own program. Participation goals are set contract by contract under Local Law 1, and the City awarded a record $2.2 billion to M/WBEs under it in FY2025.
Who qualifies. If women or minority-group members who are citizens or permanent residents own, operate, and control at least 51% of your business, you can apply for State certification. It's free: the NYS MWBE program application process is free of cost.
Before applying, check the basics. Each qualifying owner needs a personal net worth of $15 million or less after allowable deductions, which include the primary residence, your stake in the firm, and up to $750,000 in retirement savings. The firm can have no more than 300 employees, should have operated for about a year, and needs Authority to Do Business in NYS from the Department of State. You'll also need personal and business tax returns for each owner.
How to apply. ESD's eligibility page lists everything. When you're ready, apply through the New York State Contract System under "Certify or Recertify with New York." Certification runs five years.
Selling to the City? State certification does not cover City contracts. The City runs its own M/WBE program through Small Business Services. If you're already certified by Empire State Development, apply through SBS Connect and choose the FastTrack option, which asks for less than a full application. NYC SBS: Certify with the City has the details. Most businesses selling to both the City and the State should get the State certification first.
You don't have to do this alone
LaGuardia APEX serves for-profit businesses. It does not serve nonprofits.
LaGuardia Community College's APEX Accelerator has helped businesses sell to government since 1999, and its services are free to businesses of any size. The team provides one-on-one counseling, contracting training, bid and contract reviews, bid opportunity matching, and networking events with government buyers. It also helps with federal, NYC, and NYS M/WBE certification, which makes it the best first call if you're unsure where you stand.
Call (718) 482-5306 or email [email protected], Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. You can register as a client here.
Nonprofits: start with the Mayor's Office of Nonprofit Services' Get Ready to Contract page, and use the MOCS Service Desk for PIP and PASSPort questions.
Where SAG fits in
Registration gets you in the door. Winning and getting paid is a different job.
SAG has experience with government contracting. We advise businesses and nonprofits on the process, from choosing which opportunities to pursue to managing the contract once you win it, so you win the work and get paid for it. That means procurement strategy, contract management, and the planning that keeps cash flowing while you wait on City payment cycles. We build the plan and stay to carry it out.
See how we help small businesses and how we help nonprofits, and read about NYC contract financing and loan programs.
Want help selling to the government?
If you're registered, or about to be, and you want to sell products or services to the government, book a call with SAG. We'll review what you sell, where you stand, and map the first three contracts worth pursuing.
Keep reading:
Sources: NYC MOCS: 2025 Citywide Indicators Report · NY Governor: Record $3.3 Billion in State MWBE Spending (Nov 18, 2025) · NYC Mayor's Office: FY2025 M/WBE Results (Dec 2025) · NYC Contracting Roadmap · NYC Mayor's Office of Nonprofit Services: Get Ready to Contract · MOCS: Submit the HHS Prequalification Application · Create a PASSPort Account · Getting Started with PASSPort · NYC SBS: Certify with the City · NYC SBS: Business Courses · NYS Department of State: Forming a Business Corporation · NYS Department of State: Not-for-Profit Certificate of Incorporation · ESD: MWBE Eligibility Requirements · ESD: Beginning the MWBE Certification Process · LaGuardia APEX Accelerator