SBD 4, the Bidder's Disclosure, explained

What every question on SBD 4 means, who counts as "in the service of the state", why an unsigned SBD 4 is an automatic disqualification, and how to fill it in correctly.

What SBD 4 is

SBD 4 is the Bidder's Disclosure. Since National Treasury revised the standard bidding documents in 2022, it combines three older forms into one: the declaration of interest (the old SBD 4), the declaration of past supply-chain practices (the old SBD 8) and the certificate of independent bid determination (the old SBD 9). Municipalities, which use the MBD series, may still issue MBD 4, MBD 8 and MBD 9 as three separate forms — the questions are the same.

It is two pages long and it is the single most common reason a small business is disqualified: not because the answers were wrong, but because the form was left out, left incomplete, or not signed. Section 3.2 of the form itself says the bid "will be disqualified if this disclosure is found not to be true and complete in every respect". Evaluators apply that literally.

Section 1: the definitions that matter

The form defines "the State" broadly: national and provincial departments, public entities, constitutional institutions, municipalities and municipal entities, provincial legislatures and Parliament. A "person in the service of the state" is anyone employed by any of those, plus municipal councillors, members of legislatures, board members of municipal entities and members of accounting authorities of public entities.

Two things people get wrong here. A teacher, nurse, police officer or municipal clerk is in the service of the state. And a director who resigned from a government job last year is not — the question is about the present.

Section 2: the three questions

2.1 — Is the bidder, or any director, trustee, shareholder, member, partner or person with a controlling interest, employed by the state?

Answer YES if any of those people currently holds a government job of any kind, at any level. If yes, the table under 2.1.1 must list every such person: full name, ID number, their role in your business, and their state employee (Persal) number if they have one.

Answering YES is not automatically fatal. SBD 1 Part B says no bids will be considered from persons in the service of the state or companies with directors who are — so for a director it usually is. But disclosing it honestly is always better than being found out: a false declaration can lead to restriction from doing business with the public sector for up to ten years. If a director is a state employee, the practical answer is that they resign from one of the two roles before you bid.

2.2 — Do you, or anyone connected with the bidder, have a relationship with a person employed by the procuring institution?

"Procuring institution" means the specific department or municipality issuing this bid. "Relationship" is read widely: family, business partner, close friend, former colleague. If your cousin works in the finance department of the municipality you are bidding to, the answer is YES, and 2.2.1 asks for the particulars — name, position, and the nature of the relationship. Disclosure lets the institution manage the conflict; concealment, if discovered, ends the bid and possibly the relationship's job.

2.3 — Do the bidder or its people have an interest in any other related enterprise, whether or not it is bidding for this contract?

This is the collusion question. If a director of your company is also a director or shareholder of another company that supplies the same goods or services — or one that is bidding on this same tender — answer YES and describe it under 2.3.1. Two companies with a common director both bidding on one tender without disclosing it is treated as bid rigging, and the form says suspicious bids are referred to the Competition Commission.

Section 3: what you are certifying

The declaration in section 3 is the part evaluators check for a signature. By signing you certify seven things. Read them; they are enforceable:

1. You have read and understood the disclosure.
2. You accept disqualification if it is not true and complete.
3. You arrived at your bid independently, without consultation or agreement with any competitor. Talking to your own joint-venture partners is fine.
4. No consultation with competitors about quality, quantity, specifications, prices or how prices were calculated, market allocation, whether to bid, bidding to lose, or delivery terms.
5. You have not disclosed and will not disclose your bid terms to any competitor before the official opening or award.
6. No arrangements with any official of the institution, and you were not involved in drafting the specification. If you helped the department write the terms of reference, you generally cannot bid on them.
7. You understand that suspicious bids are reported to the Competition Commission (section 59 of the Competition Act allows administrative penalties), may be referred to the NPA, and may lead to restriction from public-sector business for up to ten years under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

Filling it in correctly

• Answer every YES/NO. A blank box is read as incomplete, and incomplete means disqualified.
• Write the signatory's full name in section 3 where it says "I, the undersigned, (name)". A signature over a blank name line has been rejected.
• Sign, date, and give the position (Director, Member, Owner) in the block at the end. Sign in ink; a typed name is not a signature.
• If a YES needs particulars and the space is too small, attach a page, reference it ("see annexure A"), and initial the annexure.
• In a joint venture, each partner completes and signs its own SBD 4. One form for the JV is not enough.
• Use the copy of SBD 4 that came in the bid pack. If the pack lists it as required but did not include it, the wording is Treasury's and our free generator produces it.

Next steps

More guides

• How to apply for a government tender in South Africa (2026)
• Why most bids are rejected before anyone reads the price