The Purchasing Division administers the West Virginia Purchasing Certification program, which provides professional development and recognition to procurement officers who are pe rmanently employed by agencies that fall primarily under the authority of West Virginia Code § 5A-3.  Procurement officers from agencies exempt in full or in part from this authority are not eligible to participate, unless 75% or more of their job duties relate to transactions under the Purchasing Division’s authority.  There are two levels of this Certification Program:  Basic and Advanced.  Below are the requirements for each level as well as for recertification.

Requirements:  Effective July 3, 2023

Step 1:  Submit the completed West Virginia Procurement: Basic Certification registration form to the Communication and Training Section of the Purchasing Division at Purchasing.Training@wv.gov.

Step 2:  Submit the completed verification letter signed by the immediate supervisor and agency head to certify the candidate has achieved one year of experience in public procurement, which must be attained within two years of the date the agency purchaser enters the program, AND that the scope of work that he or she performs involves a level of 75% or greater of public procurement responsibilities in a professional, not support-level, role subject to Purchasing Division authority (under West Virginia Code §5A-3); OR that he or she participates in the processing of 75% of the purchases for his or her respective spending unit in a professional, not support-level, role subject to Purchasing Division authority (under West Virginia Code §5A-3). 

If applicable, confirmation may also be sought by the department's designated procurement officer. The certification candidate's official date of participation in the program is defined as the date in which the Purchasing Director signs and dates his or her verification form. The Purchasing Director has final authority to accept or reject an agency procurement officer into the Procurement Certification Program.

Public procurement responsibilities at a professional level include but are not limited to: overseeing the agency's compliance with purchasing law, regulations, and procedures; ensuring vendors are registered; preparing and approving specifications; preparing requests for quotations, requests for proposals, and other types of purchasing transactions; evaluating bids and awarding contracts/purchase orders; and more.

Support-level procurement responsibilities include but are not limited to holding a Purchasing Card, issuing delivery orders, and receiving commodities and services.

Step 3:  Attend at least one of the last two Agency Purchasing Conferences AND complete 12-hour curriculum of courses pre-determined by the Purchasing Division.  In addition, three hourse of elective courses of the certification candidate's choosing are required.  The total course requirement is 15 hours.  

The curriculum courses are:

• Contracting Basics

• Market Research

• Statewide Contracts

• RFQs from A to Z

• Preparing and Evaluating RFPs

• Inspection Services

• wvOASIS Procurement

• Alternative Purchasing Methods

• Forms and Documentation

• Blackout Period (online module)

• Stringing (online module)

• Compliance Checklist (online module)

• Construction Purchases (online module)

Workshops attended at the conference count toward the 15-hour requirement. Additionally, any class or learning session completed multiple times in any one calendar year, regardless of format, will only receive credit once toward the certification requirements. Learning sessions may include in-person workshops, webinars, online training modules, and special Purchasing Division certified events (i.e. Purchasing Division Open House, special agency trainings, etc.). Purchasing Division certified events are pre-approved by the Purchasing Division.

 West Virginia Procurement: Advanced Certification (WVPAC)

Requirements: Effective January 2, 2020