This guide is the checklist behind a bid in the Dominican Republic: each registration, document and signature, in the order a tender asks for them, and who can lawfully handle each one. For how Dominican procurement works overall (thresholds, procedures, evaluation, payment and challenges), see How to bid for public tenders in the Dominican Republic.
Before you bid
1. Your own SECP user. The Sistema Electrónico de Contrataciones Públicas, run by the Dirección General de Contrataciones Públicas (DGCP) at comunidad.comprasdominicana.gob.do, is where you register as a supplier, download pliegos, ask questions and submit offers. Every person, whether your staff or an adviser, creates a personal user.
- Cost, time and validity: free, the same day, indefinite.
- What only you do: your own staff create their own users. Nobody shares a login.
- From abroad: the same, with a passport or a home-country tax ID.
2. Your RNC (Dominican companies). The Registro Nacional de Contribuyentes number from the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII) is needed for domestic RPE registration and for invoicing locally. A local accountant or lawyer registers the company; your legal representative signs the DGII forms or a power for the professional. The activities on the RNC should match the tender.
3. A current Certificado de Registro Mercantil (Dominican companies). Issued by the Cámara de Comercio y Producción where the company is domiciled, it proves existence, corporate purpose and authorised signatories, and the DGCP takes your supplier activities and signatories from it. A generic corporate purpose can’t be classified, so make sure yours covers what you sell. It has an expiry date: you or your lawyer renew it at the chamber, or your RPE becomes outdated.
4. RPE registration. Only suppliers in the Registro de Proveedores del Estado, who are not disqualified, may bid. It records your legal capacity, activities, tax and social-security status, beneficial owners and payment account.
- Cost and time: free; 2 business days online through the SECP, 4 business days in person.
- The file (domestic): your RNC; the application form, which includes the declaration that you are not prohibited from contracting and are up to date with tax and labour obligations; your current registro mercantil; the last registered shareholders’ meeting with its attendance list; the beneficial-ownership declaration, and the IR-2 when shareholders are companies; and a signed and stamped bank certification.
- Who signs: your legal representative signs and stamps the application form, dated no more than 30 calendar days before filing; it needs no notarisation. Someone filing in person for you must bring a notarised power (step 7).
- Validity: it doesn’t expire, but it becomes outdated when an expiring document lapses, such as the registro mercantil or the MIPYME certificate. Changes must be notified within 30 calendar days.
- From abroad: a provisional registration (see If your company is from abroad).
5. The beneficial-ownership declaration. Ley 47-25 requires the RPE to identify the natural persons who ultimately own or control you. It is the DGCP’s form, filled from your shareholding chain and the IR-2 annexes, and signed by your legal representative. It is free, done the same day, and must be updated within 30 calendar days of any change.
6. Tax and social-security status. You must be up to date with the DGII and, if you have registered employees, with the Tesorería de la Seguridad Social (TSS). The DGCP and buyers check both directly through interoperability.
- If the check fails: attach the most recent DGII certification to the online RPE application, and a TSS certification where needed. You download each with the company’s own access.
- MIPYMES may bid with up to 6 months’ arrears, attaching a DGII certification showing when the arrears began.
- What only you do: pay the taxes and contributions.
7. A notarised power, if someone else acts for you. It lets a person other than your legal representative carry out RPE procedures in person, and act in bids where the pliego allows. Your legal representative signs it before a notario público; it is valid for as long as it states. Signed abroad, it is notarised and apostilled, then translated if needed.
8. MIPYME certificates, for Dominican small firms. The Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y MIPYMES (MICM) certifies micro, small and medium status, which opens the 20% MIPYME reservation, removes the bid security, limits guarantees to insurance fianzas, cuts the performance guarantee to 1% and brings a 30% advance. A separate MICM certificate for MIPYMES led by women opens the 10% reservation for them and is uploaded to the RPE as “mipyme mujer”. You apply to the MICM; the current certificate is uploaded to the RPE so the category shows. Both have an expiry date.
With your bid
9. Sobre A: credentials and technical offer.
- Experience and technical credentials: proof of professional, technical and ethical qualifications, reliability, experience and staff, normally judged pass/fail and scored only where the contract’s complexity justifies it. Reference letters are drafted for you; you ask your former clients to sign them.
- Financial statements and solvency, where the pliego asks: evidence of your financial resources and that you are not in bankruptcy or liquidation, prepared or certified by a CPA, usually for the last fiscal year or years, and signed by your legal representative. Requirements must be proportional, and documents already in the RPE or in interoperable systems can’t be asked for again.
10. Sobre B: price, bid security and the collusion-free declaration.
- The declaration: a sworn statement that the offer is genuine, made in good faith and free of collusive practices. It is mandatory, drafted from the pliego’s form, and signed by your legal representative the same day; it needs a notary only if the pliego says so.
- The bid security (garantía de mantenimiento y seriedad de la oferta): 1% of the offered amount, in the pliego’s currency, from a bank (garantía or consignación bancaria) or an insurer (fianza), at a premium or fee they set. It is valid from the opening of technical offers until contract signature. It isn’t required from MIPYMES, nor in works lotteries, reverse auctions or direct selection. If the buyer finds a material error or the wrong currency, it can let you cure it within 1–5 business days. Digitally signed guarantees are valid. You sign the application and pay the premium.
11. A consortium act, if you bid jointly. Joint bidders establish by notarial act that they act as one, their joint and several liability, their roles and a single representative. A lawyer drafts it, and each member’s legal representative signs before a notary. Every member must be in the RPE; the consortium may hold a provisional RPE and needs a definitive one before signing. A supplier can make only one bid per procedure, consortia included (art. 36 of Ley 47-25).
12. Signing and submitting. Digitally signed offers, guarantees, certifications and contracts are valid under Ley 126-02, using certificates from accredited providers, and buyers can’t demand a wet-ink version of a validly signed digital document. Your legal representative signs with their own certificate and PIN, or by hand. The offer is submitted electronically on the SECP before the deadline, by a user linked to your RPE.
If you’re in line for award
A Dominican supplier with a current RPE has nothing new to register. A foreign winner must apply for definitive RPE registration within 10 business days of the award notice and hold it before signing the contract or purchase order. It is free.
| Document | Issued by | Who can get it for you | Valid for | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definitive RPE application and the DGCP sworn declaration for foreign legal persons | DGCP form, signed by your company | Prepared and filed for you | As a domestic RPE | Your legal representative signs the form and the declaration |
| Home tax ID and corporate documents (corporate purpose; management body with names, passports and posts; shareholding composition) | Your home registry or your company | The list is drawn up for you | — | Obtain them from the home registry |
| Bank certification of the payment account: number, type, currency (DOP, USD, EUR) and holder, signed and stamped | Your bank | — | — | Request it from your own bank |
| Apostille or consular legalisation, and Spanish translation | Home apostille authority or the Dominican consulate; a translator from a competent authority of the home country or of the Dominican Republic | A translator, such as an intérprete judicial | — | Request the apostilles at home |
Corporate documents that a foreign company signs in the Dominican Republic need no apostille, but the foreign documents that show who may sign for it do.
Before the contract and the first invoice
The performance guarantee (garantía de fiel cumplimiento). 4% of the award, or 1% for MIPYMES, mandatory above the DOP equivalent of US$10,000. A bank or insurer issues it in your name (MIPYMES: an insurance fianza only), at a premium or fee they set, and you sign the application or counter-guarantee. Deliver it within 5 business days of the award notice, or 10 for international tenders and foreign winners. It stays in force until the contract is settled (for works, until defects are checked) and is renewed yearly on multi-year contracts. If it arrives late, the buyer can call your bid security and award to the runner-up.
The contract. Only your authorised signatory signs it, digitally with their own certificate or by hand.
Payment. Payments go through the National Treasury to the bank account registered in the RPE: at registration for a Dominican supplier, at definitive registration for a foreign one. Foreign accounts with SWIFT are allowed; a provisional RPE can’t register an account.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| SECP user | Each person creates their own | Your staff create their own users; never share one |
| RNC | A local accountant or lawyer | Sign the DGII forms or a power |
| Registro mercantil | You or your lawyer renew it at the chamber | Keep it current |
| RPE application (provisional, domestic or definitive) | Prepared for you; filed by a linked user, or in person under a notarised power | Your legal representative signs and stamps the form |
| Beneficial-ownership declaration | Filled in for you from your shareholding chain | Your legal representative signs |
| DGII and TSS certifications, if needed | — | Pay what is due; download them with your own access |
| MIPYME certificates | The current certificate is uploaded for you | Apply to the MICM |
| Notarised power | Drafted for you; a notario público notarises it | Your legal representative signs before the notary |
| Sobre A credentials and technical offer | Drafted for you; a CPA prepares or certifies the statements | Ask former clients for reference letters; sign the statements |
| Collusion-free declaration | Drafted from the pliego’s form | Your legal representative signs |
| Bid security and performance guarantee | A bank or insurer issues them | Sign the application and pay the premium |
| Consortium act | A lawyer drafts; a notary executes it | Each member’s legal representative signs |
| Submitting the offer | A user linked to your RPE, such as a bid consultant | Authorise the link |
| Apostilles and translation | A translator | Request the apostilles at home |
| Contract | — | Your authorised signatory signs |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Abogado | Colegio de Abogados de la República Dominicana (CARD); Suprema Corte de Justicia (exequátur) | Represent you before the DGCP under a notarised power, for example filing the RPE in person; draft the consortium agreement and powers of attorney; review pliegos and draft questions, subsanaciones and the recurso de reconsideración or recurso jerárquico impropio; advise on beneficial-ownership declarations and corporate documents |
| Notario público | Ley 140-15 del Notariado; Colegio Dominicano de Notarios | Notarise the power for a representative who files RPE procedures; execute the notarial act binding consortium members jointly; attend offer openings and works lotteries where required |
| Intérprete judicial or a competent authority of the issuing country | Poder Judicial (appointment of intérpretes judiciales) | Translate foreign corporate documents into Spanish for the RPE and bids |
| Insurer or bank | Superintendencia de Seguros; Superintendencia de Bancos | Issue the 1% bid security, the performance guarantee and advance or defect guarantees; issue the bank certification for your payment account |
| Bid consultant (gestor de licitaciones) | Not a regulated profession | Work on the SECP under their own user linked to your RPE; download pliegos, send questions, assemble Sobre A and Sobre B and submit the offer on your instruction; handle subsanación requests and RPE updates |
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need a Dominican company, a local agent or a Dominican domicile to bid: a foreign company bids on a provisional supplier registration. Who may bid from abroad, and on what terms, is explained in How to bid for public tenders in the Dominican Republic. For the paperwork:
- Provisional RPE: the online application form (general data and the declaration of no prohibition) plus your home-country tax identification document, or a passport for an individual. It is free, with a published service time of 2 business days online, and lasts until definitive registration is required. No bank account can be registered on it.
- Tax number: the DGCP asks foreign companies for their home tax ID, so no RNC is needed for the RPE.
- Company documents: home-country equivalents of the registro mercantil, covering corporate purpose, management body and shareholding.
- Beneficial ownership: declared through your shareholding composition and the DGCP’s sworn declaration for foreign legal persons. If your home law requires confidentiality, you file that law instead.
- DGII and TSS: don’t apply unless you register locally or have Dominican employees.
- Powers and signatures: a power signed abroad is notarised, apostilled and translated if needed. Validation of foreign digital certificates wasn’t confirmed, so a foreign signatory can sign by hand and apostille where needed.
- Apostille and translation: an apostille or Dominican consular legalisation, and a Spanish translation by a competent authority of your home country or of the Dominican Republic.
- Financial statements and experience: home audited statements, apostilled and translated as the pliego requires; foreign experience is accepted as the pliego allows, translated into Spanish. A collusion-free declaration signed in Spanish needs no translation.
- Consortia: foreign members sign through their representative, and the consortium needs its definitive RPE before signing.
- Award: definitive RPE within 10 business days of the award notice; the performance guarantee within 10 business days; payments to the foreign SWIFT account registered at definitive registration.
- MIPYME status and the women-led MIPYME certificate aren’t open to foreign companies.
Pitfalls
- Never share a login or a certificate. Every person works from their own SECP user; your digital certificate and PIN stay with your signatory.
- The linking form needs the right signature. It must be signed by the person authorised under your current registro mercantil, or the corporate documents on file for a foreign supplier; the DGCP checks that signatory against your RPE.
- One bid per procedure. A supplier can’t bid twice in the same procedure, including through a consortium.
- Foreign winners: mind the definitive RPE. Apply within 10 business days of the award notice and have it before signing.
- MIPYME benefits need a current MICM certificate. Procedures reserved for MIPYMES are, in practice, closed to foreign firms.
- The bid security goes inside Sobre B.
- The performance guarantee deadline is short: 5 business days (10 for foreign winners or international tenders), or you lose the award and the bid security.
- Check the foreign-document list with the DGCP. Decreto 52-26 calls for a new RPE regulation, so the list may change.
- Keep the RPE current. Expiry dates on the registro mercantil and the MIPYME certificate make it outdated, and changes must be notified within 30 calendar days.
- Digital signatures count. Buyers can’t demand wet ink, but only your own signatory signs.
Doing it with askTender
In the Dominican Republic, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on SECP (Portal Transaccional) and works under their own login. You keep your own login, and sign what only you can sign: the RPE forms and declarations, any power, the collusion-free declaration, the guarantee applications and the contract. The askTender Desk prepares the RPE file, Sobre A and Sobre B and the declarations; askTender Partners, such as an abogado, a notario público or an intérprete judicial, do the steps their licence covers.
Questions
Can a foreign company bid in the Dominican Republic without registering locally?
Yes. A foreign company with no legal domicile in the country applies online for a provisional RPE registration, which is free and has a published service time of 2 business days. It needs only the application form, with the declaration of no prohibition, and its home-country tax identification document. If it wins, it applies for definitive registration within 10 business days of the award notice and must have it before signing.
What goes in Sobre A and Sobre B?
Sobre A carries your credentials and technical offer: experience, references and, where the pliego asks, financial statements and professional licences. Sobre B carries the price, the 1% bid security and the sworn declaration that the offer is free of collusive practices.
Do I need a bid security in the Dominican Republic?
In most procedures, yes: 1% of the offered amount, from a bank or an insurer, placed inside Sobre B and valid from the opening of technical offers until contract signature. It is not required from MIPYMES, nor in works lotteries, reverse auctions or direct selection.
Can someone else submit my offer on the SECP?
Yes, but never with your login. Each person creates their own SECP user, and a user is linked to your RPE through the DGCP’s linking form, signed by the person authorised under your current registro mercantil. That user can then submit offers and update the RPE for your company.
Are digital signatures accepted on Dominican bids?
Yes. Under Ley 126-02, digitally signed offers, guarantees, certifications and contracts are valid, and buyers may not demand a wet-ink version of a validly signed digital document. Your legal representative signs with their own certificate, or by hand.
How long do I have to deliver the performance guarantee?
5 business days from the award notice, or 10 for international tenders and foreign winners. It is 4% of the award (1% for MIPYMES) and is mandatory above the DOP equivalent of US$10,000. Missing the deadline lets the buyer call your bid security and award to the runner-up.
Sources
- DGCP: supplier registration (Registro de Proveedores del Estado)
- DGCP: linking a user to a registered supplier
- DGCP: user-linking form
- Ley 47-25 de Contrataciones Públicas (DGCP)
- Decreto 52-26: regulation of Ley 47-25 (DGII)
- DGCP Circular DGCP44-PNP-2026-0004 on digital signatures
- DGII: registering for an RNC
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.