Procurement processes all goods and services contracts outside of construction, copyright, patents, and research.

View a matrix of which office on campus processes which type of agreement

Generally speaking, all services can be submitted on a UCSB Purchase Order without the need of a signed contract. Not sure who can sign? View a list of individuals at UCSB with official Delegation of Authority for contracts.

If a vendor is asking you to sign a Contract, Quote, Agreement, or Statement of Work, please DO NOT Sign. Email us at contracts@bfs.ucsb.edu for the best method is to proceed. We can let you know if you need a Contract, or if you can submit the document using a standard Purchase Order in Gateway.

Procurement is available to process and execute contracts for travel and entertainment *if* a contract is absolutely necessary. Not all suppliers actually require a contract to be signed to hold a room or reservation…use of the Corporate Card can be appropriate in these cases. Contact us at contracts@bfs.ucsb.edu with any questions.

If your vendor absolutely requires a signature on their contract, or if you want us to write a contract, please submit a Contract Request Form in Gateway. Please allow at least 2 weeks lead time; while some contracts can be simple and processed within a week, some are very complex and as a small office we need your help to have ample time for negotiation.

View our Contract Considerations Checklist

Submitting a Contract Request:

  1. If you have a contract that your vendor provided, attach it to your Contract Request Form in Gateway.
  2. If you need the Contracts Department to write a contract, please complete all sections on the Request for Contract (Form I below). Please attach this to the Contract Request Form in Gateway.
  3. If the services are on a federal contract over $10,000 or on a federal grant/cooperative agreement over $50,000, please be sure to attach a completed Form A (below).
  4. Remember, all purchases over $99,999.99 need to be competitively bid.

Form I - Request for Contract
Form A - Federal Funds Price Justification/Source Selection

Is your department going to provide a service to an external client? View information about UC-Provided Services (revenue or income to the UC)

You do NOT need a Contract for the following:

Tips for expediting the contract process

  • Ask the vendor if they will accept a purchase order in lieu of signing a contract
  • Please attach a Form A - Federal Funds Price Justification/Source Selection if using a federal contract fund over $10,000, or federal grant/cooperative funds over $50,000.
  • If your department is asking Procurement Services to write a contract, please attach a fully completed Request for Contract form with all the "who, what, where, when, why" information
  • Know what the Statement of Work is; if you don’t know what the SOW is then it’s likely we won’t know either!
  • If using a supplier-provided contract:
    • ask your supplier to use the legal entity name: The Regents of the University of California (not UCSB, UC Santa Barbara, or the name of an employee)
    • double-check the supplier has entered the correct dates
    • ensure the vendor contract that is sent over is the final version, or the version the department has approved
    • do not also submit a Form I: Request for Contract
    • do not sign the contract, scope of work, quote, or proposal (only Procurement has Signature Authority to bind the Regents into an agreement, and this will hold up the processing as we may need to back-pedal with your supplier)
    • if the supplier and supplier location is the same as a previous contract, please ensure the supplier has included the same changes we made last year. This is the FASTEST way to get your contract processed.
    • Use a comment on your Gateway requisition letting us know your department has read the contract, and can agree to the requirements. As always, we will ensure the contract meets UC policies and has the most favorable terms to the University, but there are certain provisions such as cancellation penalties, attendee guarantees, and use of product that are specific to and subject to the end user's acceptance.
  • If you intend to ask for an Insurance Waiver from Risk Management, please only submit the Contract Request Form after you receive the signed Waiver from Katherine Hullinger or Ron Betancourt.
  • You can always submit the vendor information before you have a contract ready to pass over to Procurement. When you're negotiating with your supplier, feel free to send them our Business Information Form. You can use the completed form for the Gateway Supplier Add Form.
  • View our Contract Considerations Checklist