This Section provides a summary of the Office of the State Comptroller’s (OSC) contract approval thresholds as well as certain thresholds below which a State entity is authorized to make purchases without a formal competitive process (including discretionary purchasing thresholds) for the following entities: State agencies, the Office of General Services (OGS), State agencies serviced by the OGS Business Services Center (BSC), OGS centralized contracts, authorized user purchases from OGS centralized contracts, State University of New York (SUNY), SUNY Construction Fund, SUNY health care facilities, City University of New York (CUNY), and CUNY Construction Fund. (See OSC Approval Thresholds Summary for additional information.)

OSC APPROVAL THRESHOLDS

The following sets forth the applicable OSC contract approval thresholds for the identified entity as well as the applicable law: 

State Agency contracts over $50,000 (State Finance Law (SFL) § 112(2))

OGS contracts over $85,000 (SFL § 112(2)) except for OGS contracts for commodities and services over $150,000 procured under SFL § 163 (SFL § 163(6-a))

OGS Business Service Center Customer (BSC) Agency transactions processed by BSC over $150,000 (SFL § 163(6-a))

OGS Centralized Contracts over $125,000 (SFL § 112(2))

Authorized user / State Agency / SUNY / CUNY purchases from OGS Centralized Contracts over $200,000 (SFL § 112(2))

SUNY contracts for commodities, services, construction and printing over $75,000 (Education Law § 355(5))

SUNY Health Care Facility contracts for commodities and services over $150,000 (Education Law § 355(16)(b))

SUCF contracts and leases over $75,000 (Education Law § 373(12))

CUNY contracts for commodities, services, construction and printing over $150,000 (Education Law § 6218(a))

CUCF contracts and leases over $150,000 (Education Law § 6275(9))

The approval threshold in State Finance Law § 112(3), which covers contracts where the State agrees to give consideration other than the payment of money, is over $25,000 for all State agencies (see Section 7 - Revenue and Repayment Agreements of this Chapter, for additional information).
 

CONTRACTS NOT SUBJECT TO COMPTROLLER APPROVAL

Contracts valued under the approval threshold or otherwise not subject to approval by the State Comptroller should be given the unique contract prefix designated for such agreements and should be created in the Statewide Financial System (SFS) with the appropriate Audit Type (see Section 2.B.1 – Contract Prefixes of this Chapter, for additional information).

DISCRETIONARY PURCHASING THRESHOLDS

The following sets forth the applicable threshold below which the identified entity is authorized to make certain purchases without a formal competitive process (including discretionary purchasing thresholds), as well as the applicable law:

State Agency purchases of commodities or services not exceeding $150,000 (SFL § 163(6))

OGS purchases of commodities or services not exceeding $150,000 (SFL § 163(6))

OGS Business Service Center Customer Agency transactions of commodities or services processed by the BSC not exceeding $150,000 (SFL § 163(6))

SUNY purchases of commodities or services not exceeding $150,000 (SFL § 163(6))

SUNY Health Care Facility purchases of commodities or services not exceeding $150,000 (Education Law § 355(16)(b))

CUNY purchases of commodities and services not exceeding $150,000 (Education Law § 6218(a))

CUNY construction contracts not exceeding $20,000 (Education Law § 6218(b))

SUCF construction contracts less than $150,000 (Education Law § 376(8))

Please note that the thresholds set forth herein do not address procurements that may be governed under other sections of law and/or public authority procurement guidelines not specifically identified, including but not limited to grants, construction, architecture, engineering and surveying services, etc.
 

State Finance Law § 163(6) also establishes the following thresholds:

Discretionary purchases of commodities or services from Small Business Concerns; purchases of Recycled or Remanufactured commodities or technology:

State Agencies (including OGS) Not exceeding $500,000

Discretionary purchases of commodities or services from certified Minority or Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs); or certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses (SDVOBs):

State Agencies (including OGS) Not exceeding $1,500,000

For commodities that are food, including milk and milk products or animal or plant fiber products, that are grown, produced, harvested or processed in New York State or textile products manufactured from animal or plant fiber grown or produced predominantly in New York State:

State Agencies (including OGS) Not exceeding $200,000

Please note: the discretionary thresholds above solely apply to permit agencies to purchase services and commodities without conducting a formal competitive process and do not affect the thresholds set forth above under “OSC Approval Thresholds.” For information on OSC prior approval of purchases from OGS centralized contracts exceeding the OSC approval threshold, see Section XI.8.A Centralized Contracts.

Process and Document Preparation:

Once an agency has determined that a transaction is subject to prior approval by OSC, the agency selects the appropriate Audit Type. SFS uses the Audit Type to route the transaction to OSC for prior approval, and to direct the transaction to the appropriate audit team in OSC’s Bureau of Contracts (BOC).

REV. 06/23/2026