How to Bid on New Jersey School Transportation Contracts in 2027: Routes, Bonds, and Drivers

New Jersey sets school transportation contract rules in two places: Title 18A, chapter 39 of the statutes, and chapter 27 of the Department of Education’s code, N.J.A.C. 6A:27. This page walks a van company through the special education and out-of-district routes that districts and coordinated transportation agencies put out to bid.

For school routes in general, see special needs student transportation contracts. For licensing your company and vans, start with how to start a NEMT business in New Jersey.

How New Jersey buys school routes

Each district board of education must assess its transportation needs before school opens, in time to advertise. If its transportation will cost more than the bid threshold in a school year, it must bid it (N.J.S.A. 18A:39-3). From July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027, the threshold is $24,200 (Local Finance Notice 2025-08). The Governor resets it every odd-numbered year, effective July 1.

The bidding rules are strict:

• Notice. The board advertises once in a newspaper circulating in the district at least 10 days before bids are due.
• Opening. Bids are opened in public at the advertised time, and none are taken late.
• Award. The route goes to the lowest responsible bidder, by board vote at a public meeting.
• Approval. The executive county superintendent approves every transportation contract, whether or not state aid is involved.

Real timelines are short. Northern Valley Regional High School District in Bergen County dated its notice May 29, 2026 and took bids for its 2026-2027 special education and nonpublic routes until 10 a.m. on June 10, 2026. Willingboro, in Burlington County, opened bids on June 11, 2026 for three school years, 2026-2027 through 2028-2029.

Not every route goes through a full bid. Here are the four ways a district can buy one:

Contract type	When it is used	The limit
Bid contract	Any anticipated route over the threshold	Lowest responsible bidder. Up to four years.
Multi-year contract	A bid contract longer than one year	From year two, up to 7.5 percent a year over the original yearly amount
Renewal	Same terms, same school, originally bid	Capped at the CPI rise, 3.58 percent for 2026-2027, except for added aides or riders
Quoted contract	A route that comes up after school opens	At least three quotes, per diem. Over the threshold only until a bid is done.

Quoted routes are the mid-year way in. When a route comes up after school opens, the district or agency collects at least three quotes instead of bidding (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-9.12). In its June 2, 2026 minutes, the Hunterdon County Educational Services Commission approved three quoted special education routes for May 5 to June 30, 2026, at $300 to $382 per day, with no aide.

Get set up before the first bid

The Department of Education’s fact sheet, How to Become a School Bus Contractor, lists the order of steps as of October 2026. Do not skip ahead of the first four.

1. Get a business registration certificate from the Division of Revenue. A copy goes in with every bid.
2. Get a memorandum of understanding and a contractor code from the Office of Student Protection. The code is used for your drivers’ criminal history checks.
3. Attend the mandatory new contractor training run by the Office of School Bus Safety, and keep the certificate.
4. Get a vendor code from the Office of Student Transportation. It is used for contract bidding.
5. Schedule vehicle inspections with the Motor Vehicle Commission’s School Bus Inspection Unit at 609-633-9473.
6. Line up insurance that meets the district’s limits. See the insurance section below.
7. Call the executive county superintendent’s office in the county where your company is based. Its transportation coordinator reviews your steps and walks you through the annual certification.
8. File the annual certification of drivers and aides with the county office before you carry any student.

Then read N.J.A.C. 6A:27 and the department’s sample bid specifications, which the fact sheet points every new contractor to.

Coordinated transportation agencies bid many of the routes

A district has to use a coordinated transportation services agency, or CTSA, for students going to a special education or vocational school outside the district (N.J.S.A. 18A:39-11.1 and N.J.A.C. 6A:27-10.1). The exceptions are narrow: the district can do it for less, can share the route with another district, the agency’s route does not fit the district’s ride-length or rider-assignment policies, or the agency cannot coordinate it (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-10.2). A brand-new out-of-district placement goes to the CTSA first.

CTSAs are the district boards, educational services commissions, jointure commissions, county special services school districts, and other agencies the Commissioner lists. The Department of Education posts the list on its contract information page. The Monmouth-Ocean Educational Services Commission, for example, is the CTSA for both Monmouth and Ocean counties.

When a CTSA buys rides from contractors, it follows the same bidding and bonding laws as a district (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-10.4). That means one CTSA bid can cover routes for students from many towns. To get those notices:

• Ask to be added to the bidder list. The officer who sends out specifications must keep a list of everyone who takes a copy, so addenda reach you.
• Watch the agency’s legal notices and board minutes. Bid notices, quoted routes, and renewals all appear there.
• Call the transportation supervisor and ask when the agency bids its routes and how it handles routes that open mid-year.

What goes in a New Jersey route bid

You bid on the district’s own bid sheet, never your own. The code sets what that sheet asks for (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-9.3):

• Price basis. Routes to and from school are bid per diem or per annum, and per route. Out-of-district special education routes may also be bid per vehicle, per student, or per mile.
• Adjustment price. Every route carries a separate price for adding or cutting miles, or students or vehicles on out-of-district routes. A bid without it cannot be considered.
• Aides. A route that needs an aide is bid per diem, with the aide’s daily cost listed separately. Adding or removing an aide costs the same.
• Bulk and combination bids. A district may group routes. A bulk bid gives a percentage off when you win every route in it, and a combination bid serves several routes with one vehicle.

The packet you hand in includes:

1. The bid sheet, with the adjustment price for every route
2. A business registration certificate
3. A bidder’s questionnaire and consent of surety
4. A statement of ownership disclosure naming every person with any ownership interest, as N.J.S.A. 18A:39-3 requires
5. An affirmative action questionnaire and a non-collusion affidavit
6. Proof you can get the required auto insurance
7. A CTSA membership form, when the specifications include one
8. The bid guarantee

The bid guarantee and performance bond

The guarantee is a certified check, a cashier’s check, or a bid bond, and nothing else (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-9.5). It must be at least 5 percent of the bid and never more than $50,000. Guarantees come back within 10 business days of the opening, except for the three lowest bidders. You lose it if you win and refuse to sign.

If you win, you post a performance surety bond for at least one year of the contract before it starts (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-9.6). A per diem route is bonded at the per diem times the school days in the calendar, or times 180. The district picks the form: a corporate bond from a surety authorized by the Department of Banking and Insurance, or a personal bond signed by two New Jersey residents. Talk to a surety agent before bid day so you know how much you can bond. See performance bonds.

Rules that trip up first-time bidders

• You may not write the specifications. Bidders and their agents may not draft specifications or route descriptions (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-9.4).
• No alternate bids. Unsolicited alternates are not considered, and nothing can change after the opening.
• No other riders. The department’s sample specifications let only enrolled students, chaperones, and school staff ride, and bar using a route’s vehicle for anything else during the route’s scheduled times. A Medicaid trip cannot ride along.
• Records for five years. The sample specifications require you to keep contract records for five years after final payment, open to the State Comptroller.
• Political contributions. A contractor with more than $50,000 in public contracts in a calendar year files a yearly disclosure with the Election Law Enforcement Commission.

How routes are awarded, and how a contractor loses them

The award happens in public. The minutes that award a contract must list the contractor’s name, the route numbers, and the route costs of every bidder (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-9.10). A district that skips the low bidder needs its attorney’s written statement justifying the award. So past results sit in the minutes, and you can see what each route went for. For how to pull those records, see how to find out who won a government ride contract.

A board cannot simply pass over you. To reject the lowest bid as not responsible, it must give you a hearing and find you lack the experience, money, equipment, or facilities to do the work. A dispute over an earlier contract is not enough on its own.

It can disqualify a low bidder for up to three years for prior negative experience (N.J.S.A. 18A:39-11.3), meaning any of these:

• The executive county superintendent found you nonperforming after a hearing.
• You defaulted, and the board had to hire another contractor.
• You defaulted, and the board had to turn to your surety.
• You own any interest in a contractor with that history, or in one that is debarred.

Debarment is statewide. The Department of Education can debar a contractor for one to five years for causes such as using a disqualified driver, failing school bus inspection rules, or poor performance on pupil contracts (N.J.S.A. 18A:39-11.5). The list is on the department’s website, every board must check it before an award, and a debarred contractor cannot get a renewal either.

If you fall short during the contract, the board must tell you in writing. A repeat can lead to a hearing, and a breach lets the board call your surety or cancel the contract. Plan for spares. Willingboro’s 2026 bid charges $500 for each avoidable late arrival of more than 10 minutes at the first stop.

Which vans can carry New Jersey students

New Jersey splits student vehicles by the number of people the manufacturer designed them to carry, including the driver (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-7.4 and 7.5):

• School bus. Designed for 11 or more people. It must meet MVC school bus construction rules.
• Small vehicle. Designed for 10 or fewer people, and rated at 3,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or more. Lighter vehicles cannot carry students.

The Department of Education’s contractor fact sheet, as of October 2026, explains the plates. A school bus gets an S1 plate when it carries 17 or more passengers and an S2 plate at 16 or fewer, and a small school vehicle gets an S2 plate. The fact sheet adds a third option, the dual-purpose vehicle, whose main job is not school transportation. It lists vans and cars, taxis and limousines, and medical transport vehicles. A dual-purpose vehicle keeps its regular plates, but it must be designed for 9 or fewer passengers besides the driver and display a valid school bus inspection sticker. Ask the School Bus Inspection Unit to confirm your van qualifies before you bid it.

Every vehicle that carries students is inspected by the MVC’s School Bus Inspection Unit before it starts and then twice a year, and must show the current sticker (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-7.1). First-time S1 or S2 plates need the inspection before registration, and the unit wants written notice at least 24 hours ahead if you cannot make an inspection. Districts add their own rules on top. Willingboro’s 2026 bid accepts vehicles from model year 2014 or newer, and wheelchair lift vehicles from 2016 or newer.

The MAV route for students with medical needs

New Jersey has a separate path that fits a licensed MAV company. Under N.J.S.A. 18A:39-20.1(b), a board can authorize a certified mobility assistance vehicle technician to carry a student with medical needs in a MAV. The law defines that as a school-age child with a life-threatening condition who needs more individualized and continuous care.

That trip is exempt from the registration, equipment, inspection, and maintenance rules for school buses, and the technician does not need a school bus driver license. Each year before the first trip, the technician files a criminal history background check and a check of alcohol and drug-related motor vehicle violations with the executive county superintendent. For the MAV license itself, see the New Jersey state guide, and for technician training, see New Jersey MAV crew training.

Drivers and aides

Driver rules follow the plates. The Department of Education says anyone driving a vehicle registered as a school bus or school vehicle, whatever its size, needs a CDL with S and P endorsements, citing N.J.A.C. 13:21-23.5. Drivers of vehicles with taxi, livery, medical transport, or no-fee plates are exempt from the CDL rule, but they still need a criminal background check if they have regular contact with students. For livery rules, see New Jersey livery license.

For drivers who need a school bus license, the checks come first:

• Fingerprint check. Before employment, and at each license renewal, the driver submits fingerprints to the Commissioner of Education and pays the cost (N.J.S.A. 18A:39-19.1). The Commissioner sends a written finding of qualification or disqualification.
• Approval before the route. You file a transmittal form with the Office of Student Protection and receive its approval letter before you assign a newly hired driver to a route (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-12.1).
• Yearly list. Before transportation starts each school year, you give the county superintendent each driver’s name, license, and background check certification (N.J.S.A. 18A:39-18). The sample specifications set August 31.
• Training. Run a safety program twice each calendar year covering student management, emergencies, evacuation drills, loading, stop safety, checking for students left aboard, and student records, plus defensive driving and railroad crossings for drivers (N.J.S.A. 18A:39-19.1a). Every driver and aide also completes the state’s special needs training before the first route, and certifies it to you within five business days (N.J.S.A. 18A:39-19.3).

Aides need a criminal history check too (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-12.1), and the sample specifications add tuberculosis testing for drivers and aides. Mistakes are expensive. Assigning a driver without meeting these rules carries fines of up to $5,000 per driver for a first offense, $10,000 for a second, and $15,000 for a third, even if you did not know (N.J.S.A. 18A:39-20).

Insurance

Every company that carries students, including a subcontractor, must carry auto liability of at least $1,000,000 combined single limit per occurrence for every vehicle used (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-1.6). The insurer must be authorized in New Jersey, and the certificate must name the district and any CTSA as additional insureds. A copy goes with every contract and renewal sent for county approval.

Treat $1,000,000 as the floor. The Department of Education’s contractor fact sheet lists $1,500,000, and districts may require more. Willingboro’s 2026 bid asks for $5,000,000 combined single limit. Get a quote at the limit in each bid’s specifications before you price the route.

How to bid on school routes in New Jersey, step by step

1. Finish the setup steps. Get the business registration certificate, contractor code, training certificate, and vendor code, in that order.
2. Decide your vehicles. Choose S2-plated school vehicles, dual-purpose vans the inspection unit confirms, or the MAV route for students with medical needs, and book MVC inspections.
3. Match drivers to plates. Start fingerprint checks and the special needs training early, and get CDLs with S and P endorsements where the plates require them.
4. Get on the lists. Ask every district and your county’s CTSA to add you as a bidder, and watch their legal notices all year.
5. Read past minutes. Note what each route went for and who won it.
6. Line up a surety and an insurer. Know your bond capacity and premium before bid day.
7. Price per route. Include the adjustment price, the aide per diem, and your miles to the first stop. Compare it with your cost per trip.
8. Submit a complete, sealed bid before the hour in the notice, with the guarantee and every form.
9. Be ready for quotes. Keep a spare van and driver for the routes that open after school starts. For other waiver and agency work in the state, see New Jersey DDD transportation.