Private consulting firms that desire to perform work or services for the Department must be prequalified to perform that type of work prior to submitting their Letter of Interest. Once prequalified, private consulting firms must renew their status annually and requalify every three (3) years. For more details, see the discussion at About Prequalification.

All applications for prequalification must be completed online. In order to complete the application online, please read the following instructions on how to use the Online Prequalification System prior to applying. When you apply online, select the Private Consultant option even if you will be performing as a Subconsultant. The Bidder and Subcontractor options offered on our web application are referring only to contractors who work in construction or maintenance (highways, airports, etc.) They are not for consulting services.

Private Consulting Firm’s must be prequalified for the type of work they wish to perform before submitting their Letter of Interest, unless stated otherwise in the advertisement. Firm’s that submit a Letter of Interest as part of a team must be individually prequalified for the type of work they wish to perform, whether they are acting as the lead consultant or as a subconsultant.

Please note that prequalification of Private Consulting Firms is by individual office location. If your firm has multiple office locations within North Carolina, you may submit one application to represent all of your North Carolina offices in lieu of having each North Carolina office prequalified separately. If a North Carolina office is approved for a discipline of work, then all offices in North Carolina are considered approved for that discipline of work. However, any offices located outside of North Carolina must submit a separate prequalification application for each office.

Instructions for web application

Online Application for Prequalification
https://apps03.dot.state.nc.us/Vendor/Prequal

Beginning July 1, 2011, the Department will no longer accept paper applications for Private Consulting Firms. All firms wishing to submit an application must submit their application through the Online Prequalification System at the link above. If you have any questions regarding prequalification as a Private Consultant or about the Online Prequalification System, please contact the person below.

• Disciplines and Units Available for Prequalification
• Geotechnical Work Codes
• Requirements for Lab Approval
• Further Information for Private Consultants