DOT prequalification

Definition

The state approval a contractor needs before it may bid public paving work at all.

Why It Matters

It gates access to public work and it is tied to bonding capacity, which means it is an asset that does not automatically come with the business. Confirm early what a change of ownership does to the rating and to the surety relationship, because both can be reviewed on a sale. Where public work is a large share of revenue, that review is the deal risk, and it runs on the agency's timetable rather than yours.