Individual purchases of goods and services totaling $10,000.00 or less per supplier within a single 12-month period may generally be purchased directly by departments without going through Procurement Services.

• While formal competition is not required at this level, departments are encouraged to consider available pricing or supplier options to foster competition.
• Be sure to check UVA’s Goods & Services Guide to see if your purchase request is prohibited from department purchase or if there are recommended purchasing methods.

Purchase requests in this range require competitive procurement. Departments are responsible for making sure that competitive procurement requirements have been satisfied for their purchase request in one of the following ways:

• Use a UVA Contract Supplier (preferred option):
  If a supplier already has an active UVA Contract, resulting from a Request for Proposal (RFP), competition has already been completed. Departments can proceed with their purchase request without additional competition. 
  For questions about UVA Contract Suppliers, please contact Procurement Services’ Sourcing Team at [email protected].
• Use a Cooperative Contract:
  Some suppliers hold contracts that were competitively awarded by another institution and allow other public bodies and universities, including UVA, to use them. These cooperative contracts can meet UVA’s competition requirements. Procurement Services’ Sourcing Team can help determine whether a cooperative contract can be used at [email protected]
• Request Quotes from Multiple Suppliers (Request for Quotes – RFQ):
  If no contract is available, departments must solicit at least three (3) quotes from different suppliers. The award must go to the supplier with the lowest total cost that meets the requirements.
• Use an approved Special Case Exemption:
  For certain types of purchase requests under $200,000.00, UVA allows approved exemptions that satisfy competition requirements. These are intended to simplify purchasing while still following policy. A full list is available below in the Special Case Exemptions section.

Purchase requests in this range require stricter competitive procurement. Departments are responsible for making sure that competitive procurement requirements have been satisfied for their purchase request in one of the following ways:

• Use a UVA Contract Supplier (preferred option):
  If a supplier already has an active UVA Contract, resulting from a Request for Proposal (RFP), competition has already been completed. Departments can proceed with their purchase request without additional competition. 
  For questions about UVA Contract Suppliers, please contact Procurement Services’ Sourcing Team at [email protected].
• Use a Cooperative Contract:
  Some suppliers hold contracts that were competitively awarded by another institution and allow other public bodies and universities, including UVA, to use them. These cooperative contracts can meet UVA’s competition requirements. Procurement Services’ Sourcing Team can help determine whether a cooperative contract can be used at [email protected].
• Use an Approved Special Case Exemption:
  For certain types of purchase requests greater than $200,000.00, the Commonwealth of Virginia allows approved exemptions that satisfy competition requirements. These are intended to simplify purchasing while still following policy. A full list is available below in the Special Case Exemptions section.

• Departments must submit an Emergency Procurement Justification Form describing the nature of the emergency to Procurement Services.
• Procurement Services will validate and then approve the emergency procurement.

• Departments must submit an Emergency Procurement Justification Form describing the nature of the emergency to Procurement Services.
• Procurement Services will validate and then approve the emergency procurement.
• Procurement Services will post the purchase publicly on the Commonwealth of Virginia’s eProcurement site – eVA.

• Departments must submit a Sole Source Justification Form along with their purchase request, describing the nature of the sole source to Procurement Services.
• Procurement Services will determine price reasonableness and validate the sole source before approval.

• Departments must submit a Sole Source Justification Form along with their purchase request, describing the nature of the sole source to Procurement Services.
• Procurement Services will determine price reasonableness and validate the sole source before approval.
• Procurement Services will post the purchase publicly on the Commonwealth of Virginia’s eProcurement site – eVA.

1. Fees associated with participation in athletic games, tournaments, and events including team travel, lodging, registration fees, and game guarantees
2. Referees, officials, and umpires for athletic events
3. Televised or radio programs (e.g., athletic events, televised conferences, etc.) whereby specific stations are selected because of market demographics
4. Artists, performing artists, speakers, lecturers, writers, musicians, designers (e.g. set designers, musical design/composition, sound design artists), choreographers, photographers, and videographers
5. Fees associated with the rental or purchase of historical artifacts or original works of art. (Fees may include transportation and/or storage costs)
6. Print or electronic books and subscriptions, printed materials, reprints, film rentals, videocassettes, DVD, slide presentations, online streaming, etc., when only available from the producer or protected distributors
7. Meeting and conference hosting services, to include: space/facility rental, associated lodging, catering, audiovisual support, and other meeting and conference-related expenses.
8. Conference attendance, to include: conference registration, course fee, seminars fee, training fee, and tuition
9. Academic, Enrollment, and Research consulting, and related services
10. Contributions / donations / sponsorship made by a university
11. Honoraria
12. Maintenance contracts for high-cost, sophisticated equipment where there is no known competitor and service must be purchased from the manufacturer of the equipment (i.e., void warranty)
13. Transplants, related transplant services, implants, and human body parts for academic research and medical education.
14. Services provided by public and private hospitals, medical practices, medical clinics, and individuals that are licensed and authorized by law to engage in the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of human illness, injury, physical disability, mental health, special needs, substance abuse, or emotional condition
15. Pass through procurements (examples include contracting for alumni functions for which the institution is reimbursed by the alumni and materials purchases for students by a faculty member using state funds and for which the students fully reimburse the institution)
16. Purchases from the Federal government, states and their agencies, academic institutions (public and private), public bodies, and non-profit organizations.
17. Specialized software licenses and applications, websites, browser plugins, subscriptions, electronic databases, software-as-a-service (SAAS), and maintenance or upgrades of existing software already purchased
18. Academic testing and evaluation services
19. Accreditation fees
20. Equipment testing or evaluation (limited to purchases of quantities considered necessary for complete and adequate testing)
21. Training sessions, instructional services, and workshops
22. All travel, domestic and foreign, for individuals or groups to include: air, lodging, ground transportation, meals, and special services (e.g., currency exchange services)
23. Purchases made by a university employee or agent while located in another country and the required goods/services are purchased from a vendor located in that country and the purchased goods/services will be used in the country where they are purchased
24. Advertisements in newspapers, magazines, journals, radio, television, social media, digital platforms, etc.
25. Facilitators and Mediators
26. Real estate leases
27. Utilities – electricity, natural gas, water, etc.

The following purchases have been exempt from competition by the Commonwealth of Virginia:

28. Purchases of used equipment
29. Purchases from governmental sources
30. The purchase of goods or services that are produced or performed by or related to:
    • Persons, or in schools or workshops, under the supervision of the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired
    • Nonprofit sheltered workshops or other nonprofit organizations that offer transitional or supported employment services serving the handicapped
    • Private educational institutions
    • Other public educational institutions
31. Speakers and performing artists
32. Memberships and Association dues
33. Sponsored research grant sub-awards and contract sub-awards, not to include the purchase of goods or services by the Institution
34. Grant-funded research purchases where the supplier, product, and/or service is directly named in the approved grant submission (documentation required)
35. Group travel in foreign countries
36. Conference facilities and services
37. Participation in intercollegiate athletic tournaments and events including team travel and lodging, registration and tournament fees
38. Royalties
39. The purchase of legal services, provided that the Office of the Attorney General has been consulted, or expert witnesses, or other services associated with litigation or regulatory proceedings