﻿ XI.2.A Thresholds

You are here: Chapter XI Procurement and Contract Management > 2. Comptroller Approval of Contracts and General Contracts Processing > A. Thresholds


This Section provides a summary of the Office of the State Comptroller’s (OSC) prior approval thresholds (State Finance Law, § 112) and agency discretionary buying thresholds (State Finance Law, § 163).


State Finance Law Section 112(2)(a) defines the following OSC prior approval thresholds for contracts entered into by State agencies and the Office of General Services (OGS):

  State Agencies Over $50,000
  OGS Over $85,000

Contracts awarded by the State University of New York, City University of New York and hospitals operated by the Department of Health may be subject to higher thresholds or may be exempt from the State Comptroller’s approval altogether.

The threshold in State Finance Law Section 112(3), which covers contracts where the State agrees to give consideration other than the payment of money, is ten thousand dollars for all agencies. See Chapter XI, Section 7 - Revenue and Repayment Agreements for additional information.


Contracts which are under the threshold requiring review by or are not subject to approval by the State Comptroller should be given the unique contract prefix designated for such agreements (see Chapter XI, Section 2B - Contract Prefixes) and should be created in the Statewide Financial System (SFS) with the appropriate Audit Type.


State Finance Law Section 163(6) provides for purchases of services and commodities without a formal competitive process as follows:


  State Agencies Not exceeding $50,000
  OGS Not exceeding $85,000

These thresholds may not apply to procurements governed under other sections of law including but not limited to construction, architecture, engineering and surveying services, printing, etc.

Section 163(6) also establishes the following thresholds for purchases of commodities or services from Small Business Concerns or certified Minority or Women Owned Business Enterprises, or purchases of Recycled or Remanufactured commodities or technology:


State Agencies Not exceeding $200,000
OGS Not exceeding $200,000

Process and Document Preparation:

Once an agency has determined whether a transaction is subject to prior approval by OSC, the agency selects the appropriate Audit Type (or PO Type if the transaction is a stand-alone purchase order). SFS uses the Audit Type/PO Type to determine whether the transaction is routed to OSC for prior approval, and if so, to which audit team in OSC’s Bureau of Contracts (BOC) it will be directed. The Audit Type/PO Type also allows BOC to route received documents to the correct audit team.



Guide to Financial Operations
REV. 03/19/2012