BSDQ Explained for SMEs: Québec's Construction Bid Depository

If you run a specialized construction SME in Québec (electrical, building mechanics, roofing, masonry and many other trades), you'll cross paths with the BSDQ sooner or later. Plenty of contractors confuse it with SEAO, when in fact the two govern two very different stages of the same project.

What the BSDQ is

The BSDQ, short for Bureau des soumissions déposées du Québec (Québec bid depository), is a private non-profit organization created nearly 60 years ago by construction contractors. It was set up through an agreement among three industry organizations: the Association de la construction du Québec (ACQ), the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec (CMEQ) and the Corporation des maîtres mécaniciens en tuyauterie du Québec (CMMTQ).

Its role is to govern how bids are transmitted in construction, to keep competition healthy and fair. According to the BSDQ, the courts recognize the public character of its Code de soumission (bidding code), described as a « contrat collectif favorisant l'honnêteté et le maintien d'une saine concurrence dans le domaine de la construction » (a collective contract fostering honesty and the maintenance of healthy competition in the construction field).

BSDQ or SEAO: don't confuse the two tiers

This is the most common mix-up, and clearing it up saves you time.

SEAO is the government's electronic tendering system: the platform where a public body publishes its calls for tenders and where those competing for its contract (a general contractor, or a direct supplier) bid. The award rules themselves come from the LCOP or the LCOM, depending on the body.

The BSDQ, on the other hand, is a private system specific to the construction industry. It governs the relationship between specialized contractors and the general contractor, whether the project is public or private.

On a public worksite, the two coexist: the general contractor receives its specialized subcontractors' bids through the BSDQ, and uses them to prepare the offer it submits to the public body in the call for tenders (published on SEAO). They're two different doors, at two different levels of the same project.

One important detail: since electronic transmission was adopted, bids addressed directly to the buyer are excluded from the BSDQ Code. The BSDQ covers bids between contractors, not the final bid sent to the buyer.

Which trades are covered

Unless the project owner requires it, the Code doesn't cover every trade, or every region, in the same way. The specialties subject to the Code include electrical work and building mechanics (plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning), along with several construction specialties such as reinforcing and structural steel, roofing, masonry, ornamental metals, metal cladding, thermal insulation and interior systems.

The specialties that actually apply vary by region. The BSDQ provides a tool, the Boussole, that lets you check, by region, which specialties are subject to the Code and which filing guides apply. Check your situation there before you bid.

How it works: the Code de soumission and the TES

Everything runs through the Code de soumission (bidding code), the full set of BSDQ rules, and through the TES (Transmission Électronique des Soumissions, electronic bid transmission), the online platform that became mandatory on February 1, 2013 (it replaced the old sealed-envelope filing).

The key rules to know:

• Registration is mandatory on both sides. To transmit a bid or take possession of one, both the subcontractor and the general contractor must be registered with the BSDQ. An unregistered contractor can neither submit nor receive. The bidder must also hold a valid contractor's licence issued under the Building Act (Loi sur le bâtiment) (article C-1 of the Code).
• You choose your recipients. The subcontractor decides which general contractors to send its bid to, and can even offer different prices from one general contractor to the next.
• No negotiation. The system prohibits any back-and-forth of offers and counter-offers: the contract is entered into at the prices and conditions of the bid filed, subject to the exceptions set out in the Code, which pushes everyone to give their best price from the start. A bid can only be withdrawn under the Code's conditions, and it stays valid for a period set in advance.
• Security from $100,000. Any bid whose price reaches $100,000 must come with security, even if the bid documents don't require it: a bid bond with a letter of intent, issued by a company listed in Annex II of the Code, or, unless the documents prohibit it in writing, an electronic transfer to the BSDQ's account. In both cases, it equals 10% of the bid price, unless the documents state otherwise in writing. Without that security, the bid is non-compliant (article D-10 of the Code).
• The right to the contract. When it comes with a bid bond, the lowest compliant bid confers the right to obtain the contract. If the security is a transfer, that right requires the bidder to be able to provide a performance bond and a labour and materials payment bond within five business days of the general contractor's request (article D-10). If the lowest compliant bidder did not attach security, the general contractor is no longer required to award it the contract, but can only award it to a bidder that sent it a compliant bid through the BSDQ and whose bid it took possession of, at the prices and conditions of that bid, and never at a price higher than that of the lowest compliant bidder that provided security (article J-2, subject to the Code's exceptions).

The fees

Joining the BSDQ involves fees. For a specialized contractor: an annual membership fee, bid filing fees, withdrawal fees, and a service contribution once a contract is won. For a general contractor, the only recurring fee is the annual membership. The exact amounts are published on the BSDQ's pricing page; check them at the source, since they change over time.

What it means for your SME

If you're a subcontractor in a specialty subject to the Code, the BSDQ isn't an optional formality: it's the channel through which you reach general contractors on major projects, including public worksites. Three useful habits:

1. First check whether the Code applies to your bid. It applies in two cases. First case: the project owner requires it, whatever the nature and price of the work. Second case, without that requirement: the work falls under a specialty subject to the Code in the region where it will be carried out (the BSDQ's Boussole tool lets you check) and four conditions are met: the work is carried out in Québec, more than one offer is requested, the bid price for the specialty is equal to or greater than $20,000, and the documents allow comparable bids.
2. Register early. Registration and getting comfortable with the TES happen ahead of time, not the day before an important filing.
3. Plan for the security. As soon as a bid reaches $100,000, budget for the bid security or the 10% transfer. As with public contracts, the ability to provide security quickly often separates the SMEs that can go after large lots from those that hit a ceiling.

The BSDQ (the subcontractor tier) and SEAO (the public tier) are the two entry points to public construction contracts. A construction SME has every reason to master both, because they govern two different moments of the same project.

Methodology and sources

This article draws on the BSDQ's official sources (the Découvrir, S'engager and Code de soumission sections, bsdq.org, consulted on June 4, 2026). Since the BSDQ is a private organization whose rules evolve through agreements, always verify the exact conditions, the specialties covered in your region and the current fees directly on its website before you bid.

Sources

• Bureau des soumissions déposées du Québec (BSDQ), "Découvrir", "S'engager" and "Code de soumission" sections (preamble, security), bsdq.org, consulted on June 4, 2026; Code de soumission, articles B-1, B-2, C-1, D-10, D-10.1 and J-2, and Annex III, consulted on October 22, 2026.
• BSDQ Code de soumission: electronic bid transmission (TES) mandatory since February 1, 2013; security required for bids of $100,000 or more.