California Judicial Branch Contract Law

On March 24, 2011, Senate Bill 78 was enacted creating a new Part 2.5 of the Public Contract Code (PCC) designated the California Judicial Branch Contract Law (JBCL). With certain exceptions, the JBCL requires that superior and appellate courts, the Judicial Council, and the Habeas Corpus Resource Center comply with provisions of the PCC that are applicable to state agencies and departments related to the procurement of goods and services.

PCC 19206 of the JBCL requires the Judicial Council to adopt and publish a Judicial Branch Contracting Manual incorporating procurement and contracting policies and procedures that these judicial branch entities must follow. On August 26, 2011, the Judicial Council adopted the Judicial Branch Contracting Manual (Manual) to comply with PCC 19206. The effective date of this Manual is October 1, 2011.

Notification to the California State Auditor

Under PCC 19204(a), any JBE contract with a total cost estimated at more than $1 million is subject to the review and recommendations of the California State Auditor to ensure compliance with the California Judicial Branch Contract Law. Each JBE must notify the State Auditor, in writing, of the existence of any such contract within 10 court days of entering into the contract. The date of “entering into the contract” is the date on which the contract is fully executed by all parties. CSA has set up the following electronic mailbox for JBEs to provide notice to the State Auditor of contracts with a total cost estimated at more than $1 million: Judicial.branch.contracts@auditor.ca.gov. (Exempted from this requirement are administrative or infrastructure IT projects with total costs estimated at more than $5 million which are subject to reviews and recommendations as specified in GC 68511.9 and do not need to be reported to CSA under PCC 19204(a)).

Judicial Branch Contracting Manual (revised effective October 1, 2024)

The Judicial Branch Contracting Manual contains policies and procedures for judicial branch entities to follow when procuring goods and services.

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Judicial Branch Contracting Manual by Chapters

Introduction (10/1/24)
Chapter 1 Purchasing Authority (10/1/24)
Chapter 2 Procurement Planning (10/1/24)
Chapter 3 Socioeconomic and Environmental Programs (10/1/24)
Chapter 4 Competitive Solicitation Overview (10/1/24)
Chapter 5 Non-Competitively Bid (NCB) Procurements (10/1/24)
Chapter 6 Leveraged Procurement (10/1/24)
Chapter 7 Protests (10/1/24)
Chapter 8 Contracts (10/1/24)
Chapter 9 Disbursements and Payment Programs (10/1/24)
Chapter 10 Receiving, Inspection, and Acceptance or Rejection of Goods and Services (10/1/24)
Chapter 11 Contract Administration (10/1/24)
Chapter 12 Reporting Requirements (10/1/24)
Abbreviations and Acronyms (10/1/24)
Glossary (10/1/24)

Forms

These samples were written to be compliant with the Judicial Branch Contract Law (Pub. Contract Code §§19201-19210) and the Judicial Branch Contracting Manual as they existed on the date the samples were prepared.

The following zip files contain redlined versions of updated samples, showing changes from the previous versions:

February 2021
April 2021
January 2022
January 26, 2022
July 2022
December 2023

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Sample Local Contracting Manual

Local Contracting Manual (5/4/15)
Policies for Possible Inclusion in the Local Contracting Manual (9/6/12)

Sample Solicitation Documents

Please note: the sample documents below do not contain provisions relating to prevailing wage requirements. For further information, please see the Prevailing Wage Requirements document in the Other Resources section of this page.

Sample Invitation for Bid (IFB) for Non-IT Goods

IFB Document (12/21/16)
Administrative Rules (Attachment 1) (5/4/15)
Bidder’s Acceptance of Terms and Conditions (Attachment 3) (5/4/15)
Darfur Contracting Act Certification (Attachment 4) (9/14/15)
Iran Contracting Act Certification (Attachment 6) (5/4/15) Note: only for procurements of $1,000,000 or more
Unruh Civil Rights Act and FEHA Certification (Attachment 7) (7/20/17) Note: only for procurements of $100,000 or more

Sample Request for Proposal (RFP) for Non-IT Services

RFP Document (7/28/22)
Administrative Rules (Attachment 1) (1/3/14)
Proposer’s Acceptance of Terms and Conditions (Attachment 3) (1/3/14)
General Certifications (Attachment 4) (1/3/14)
Darfur Contracting Act Certification (Attachment 5) (9/14/15)
Iran Contracting Act Certification (Attachment 7) (1/3/14) Note: only for procurements of $1,000,000 or more
Unruh Civil Rights Act and FEHA Certification (Attachment 8) (7/20/17) Note: only for procurements of $100,000 or more

Sample Invitation for Bid (IFB) for IT Goods

IFB Document (11/20/18)
Administrative Rules (Attachment 1) (4/18/16)
Bidder’s Acceptance of Terms and Conditions (Attachment 3) (4/18/16)
Small Business Declaration (Attachment 4) (4/30/21)
Iran Contracting Act Certification (Attachment 6) (4/18/16) Note: only for procurements of $1,000,000 or more
Unruh Civil Rights Act and FEHA Certification (Attachment 7) (7/20/17) Note: only for procurements of $100,000 or more
Darfur Contracting Act Certification (Attachment 8) (11/20/18)

Sample Request for Proposal (RFP) for IT Goods and Services

RFP Document (7/28/22)
Administrative Rules (Attachment 1) (12/16/13)
Proposer's Acceptance of Terms and Conditions (Attachment 3) (12/16/13)
General Certifications (Attachment 4) (12/16/13)
Small Business Declaration (Attachment 5) (04/30/21)
Iran Contracting Act Certification (Attachment 7) (12/16/13) Note: only for procurements of $1,000,000 or more
Unruh Civil Rights Act and FEHA Certification (Attachment 8) (7/20/17) Note: only for procurements of $100,000 or more
Darfur Contracting Act Certification (Attachment 9) (11/20/18)

Sample Contract Terms & Conditions

Please note: the sample documents below do not contain provisions relating to prevailing wage requirements. For further information, please see the Prevailing Wage Requirements document in the Other Resources section of this site.

JBCL Appendix

JBCL Appendix (1/26/22)

Miscellaneous JBCM Documents

Sample Sole Source Request (6/11/12)

Sample DVBE Program

The documents below provide guidance and sample forms for the establishment and management of a disabled veteran business enterprise ("DVBE") program. For information about DVBEs, see chapter 3 of the JBCM.

Step by step guides

Establishing a DVBE Program (2/22/13)
Running a DVBE Procurement (1/12/22)

Sample rules and procedures

DVBE Rules and Procedures (1/12/22)

Sample Forms

DVBE Waiver Form (2/10/21)
Bidder Declaration (3/13/19)
DVBE Declaration (10/3/17)
Post-Contract Certification Form (1/12/22)

Sample language for solicitation documents and contracts

Sample DVBE webpage

DVBE webpage text (2/22/13)

Sample Small Business Preference Program for IT Goods and Services

Public Contract Code section 12102.2(c) requires that a five percent small business preference be accorded to all qualifying small businesses in the procurement of IT goods and services. The following documents are provided to assist JBEs in complying with Public Contract Code section 12102.2(c).

Sample procedures

Small business preference procedures (7/27/18)

Sample Forms

Small business declaration (10/3/17)
Post-contract report (12/16/13)

Sample language for solicitation documents and contracts

Small business preference language for highest scored bid solicitations (e.g., RFPs) (12/16/13)
Small business preference language for lowest responsible bidder solicitations (e.g., IFBs) (12/16/13)
Small business preference contract clause (12/16/13)

Other

Steps in establishing a small business preference program (12/16/13)

Judicial Council Reports

Supplemental Information/Other Resources

New Public Contract Code requirements (December 2022)

Prevailing Wage Requirements (January 2022)

Update on DVBE Requirements (January 2022)

AB 3364 and reporting requirements (February 2021)

AB 230 and new DVBE requirements (December 2019)

AB 2764 Alters IT Procurements (March 2019)

Surplus Materials
This webpage, which is on the password protected Judicial Resources Network website, was created by the Judicial Council to provide the California judiciary with a central location for listing surplus goods and equipment available for sale, transfer or exchange. The site is currently managed by the Judicial Council's Trial Court Administrative Service office.

Procurement Services
This webpage, which is on the California Courts website, provides a list of Judicial Council master agreements. The site is currently managed by the Judicial Council's Finance office.

California Judicial Branch Contract Law

Reports & Publications