If you work in procurement for a Pennsylvania municipality, school district, or authority, COSTARS is probably already part of how your agency buys things, and it applies to flooring the same way it applies to office supplies, road salt, or vehicles.

This guide is part of our complete turnkey government flooring guide.

What COSTARS actually is

COSTARS is Pennsylvania's cooperative purchasing program, administered by the Department of General Services, that allows local public entities, municipalities, school districts, municipal authorities, and certain nonprofits, to purchase goods and services from vendors who have already been competitively awarded a COSTARS contract, without running their own separate bid process for that purchase.

Why this matters for a flooring project specifically

The competitive bidding work is already done at the state level when a vendor holds a COSTARS contract. A local agency purchasing flooring from a COSTARS vendor is generally not required to run its own independent bid for that purchase, since the underlying competitive process already satisfied that requirement. For a facilities manager or business office trying to move a flooring project forward on a tight timeline, this can be the difference between weeks and months.

Who can actually use COSTARS

Registered COSTARS members include municipalities, school districts, county governments, municipal authorities, and other local public entities across Pennsylvania. Membership is free and registration is handled through the COSTARS program directly. If your agency hasn't registered as a COSTARS member yet, that's generally a fast, straightforward step, worth doing before a flooring need becomes urgent rather than during a time crunch.

What this looks like in practice for a flooring purchase

A registered COSTARS member identifies a COSTARS-contracted flooring vendor, requests a quote referencing the applicable COSTARS contract, and purchases directly against that contract's already-established pricing and terms. Purchase documentation typically references the COSTARS contract number, which serves as the agency's procurement compliance record.

What COSTARS doesn't replace

Cooperative purchasing through COSTARS doesn't eliminate the need for good project planning, accurate specifications, or a clear installation timeline, it removes the separate competitive bidding step, not the project management itself. Agencies still benefit from the same specification clarity covered in our guide on how government flooring bids and RFPs work.

Other paths if COSTARS doesn't apply to your project

Not every flooring project fits neatly into cooperative purchasing, larger or more customized projects may still call for a formal bid or RFP, covered in our bids and RFP guide, and prevailing wage requirements still apply to public works installation regardless of the purchasing method, covered in our prevailing wage guide.

Helpful Next Step

If your municipality, school district, or authority is a COSTARS member and has a flooring need, contact Giant Floor to discuss your project and confirm current vendor and contract details for your purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is COSTARS? Pennsylvania's cooperative purchasing program, administered by the Department of General Services, allowing local public entities to buy from pre-approved vendors without running their own separate competitive bid.

Who can use COSTARS to buy flooring? Registered COSTARS members, which include municipalities, school districts, county governments, municipal authorities, and certain nonprofits throughout Pennsylvania.

Does buying through COSTARS eliminate all procurement requirements? It removes the need for a separate independent competitive bid for that purchase, but other requirements like prevailing wage for public works installation still apply.

How does an agency become a COSTARS member? Registration is handled directly through the COSTARS program and is generally free and straightforward for eligible local public entities.