Turn BidNet Direct into an API

What you can build on BidNet Direct

• Search open solicitations

  Build this

  Runs a solicitation search with your keywords and filters and reads the open bids in the results, with each one's issuing agency and closing date.

  Takes

  Keywords, state (optional), category code (optional)

  Returns

  Title, reference number, issuing agency, state, published date, closing date, status

• Read a solicitation's addendums and documents

  Build this

  Opens one solicitation and reads Basic Information, Time Left to Bid, Categories, Addendums and Documents, and whether it accepts electronic submission.

  Takes

  Solicitation title or reference number

  Returns

  Title, issuing agency, closing date, time left to bid, categories, addendums with dates, document names, electronic submission accepted

• Get a solicitation's Plan Holder List

  Build this

  Reads the Plan Holder List of one solicitation: the suppliers who downloaded its documents, and when.

  Takes

  Solicitation title or reference number

  Returns

  Supplier name, downloaded at

• Place a bid through EBS

  Build this

  Opens a solicitation that accepts electronic submission, selects Place Bid, adds your documents under Submission and completes the Confirmation step.

  Takes

  Solicitation reference number, bid documents

  Returns

  Solicitation title, submission status, confirmed at

Automate BidNet Direct with a workflow

A workflow runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

• New solicitations for your categories, every morning

  Build this

  Starts

  Every weekday at 7:00

  Step 1

  For each keyword and category code you name, search open solicitations.

  Step 2

  Keep the solicitations that were not there on the last run.

  Step 3

  Email you the list with title, issuing agency, state and closing date.

• New addendums on the bids you are preparing

  Build this

  Starts

  Every weekday at 12:00

  Step 1

  For each solicitation on your list, read its addendums and closing date.

  Step 2

  Keep the solicitations whose addendums or closing date changed since the last run.

  Step 3

  Post each one, with the new addendums and the closing date, to your webhook.

• Who downloaded the bids you are watching, weekly

  Build this

  Starts

  Every Monday at 8:00

  Step 1

  For each solicitation on your list, get its Plan Holder List.

  Step 2

  Keep the suppliers that were not on the list on the last run.

  Step 3

  Email you the new plan holders, grouped by solicitation.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a method, it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Search open solicitations” would look like.

curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "bidnetdirect.com/search_open_solicitations",
    "input": {
      "keywords": "road salt",
      "state": "Colorado"
    }
  }'

{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "keywords": "road salt",
    "solicitations": [
      {
        "title": "Bulk deicing salt, 2026 to 2027 season",
        "reference_number": "AC-2026-114",
        "issuing_agency": "Acme County",
        "state": "Colorado",
        "published_date": "2026-11-10",
        "closing_date": "2026-12-01T14:00:00-07:00",
        "status": "Open"
      }
    ],
    "count": 1
  }
}

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

BidNet Direct’s own options

Sovra's pages for BidNet Direct describe no API or integration for suppliers. You work in the website: free Basic registration for member agency bids, paid plans that add states, email alerts matched to your category codes, and EBS for solicitations that accept electronic bids.

Read on November 12, 2026: Bidnet Direct for suppliers, Sovra pricing for suppliers.

Signing in to BidNet Direct

Sovra describes BidNet Direct as one account for all your opportunities, and your organization can add users and assign them roles. With Fous you sign in once through BidNet Direct's own sign-in with your own account: the login is sealed with AES-256, never returned by the API or written to logs, and an expired session is signed back in.

Worth knowing

Not every solicitation takes electronic bids

Each solicitation states whether electronic submission is accepted, so a bid method should check that before it selects Place Bid.

A bid counts only after Confirmation

A red Bid Not Submitted indicator stays on the solicitation until the Confirmation step is complete. Read it back after every submission.

Submit 12 to 24 hours before closing

Sovra recommends submitting a bid 12 to 24 hours before the closing deadline, to leave time for troubleshooting.

Free accounts see member agency bids

Basic registration covers bids from member agencies, which post exclusively on BidNet Direct. Bids from other sources need a Local, Regional or National plan.

More in Government: US state and local procurement

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• Bonfire
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• PlanetBids
• Cal eProcure
• COMMBUYS
• eVA
• MyFloridaMarketPlace Vendor Information Portal
• NC eProcurement
• SFS Vendor Portal

Other industries: CDTFA Online Services, Sunbiz, Rexel France, ShiftWise Flex, PCSE Online, AXA Connect.