Unauthorized Purchases

The Chief Procurement Officer for UC Berkeley has delegated purchasing authority for common goods and services to campus departments up to a limit of $10,000 using BearBUY or a bluCard under the Low-Value Purchasing Authorization (LVPA). Any purchase that is made outside the LVPA is subject to review and determination of financial responsibility. Purchases that appear to be “split order” purchases to circumvent the LVPA and purchases made for personal use and have no university business purpose are also subject to review. Additionally, a Purchase Order (PO) must be dispatched before the Supplier starts providing its services or ships its goods to ensure the Supplier has accepted and is bound to the “UC Terms & Conditions of Purchase(link is external).”

RESTRICTIONS: The following goods and services purchases are outside the LVPA regardless of cost. These goods and services must be reviewed by an SCM Buyer and gain additional campus approvals before the purchase has been made. 

Important Things to Know Before Getting Started

Before processing a BearBUY requisition for an unauthorized purchase, Supply Chain Management requires a justification for why the unauthorized purchase was made.


The Unauthorized Purchase Justification Form must be filled out to explain and confirm the following:

  1. Why the unauthorized procurement action was taken.
  2. Whether or not the price paid is considered fair and reasonable and the basis for making that determination.
  3. The actions taken to preclude future unauthorized purchases.
  4. An affirmation that the department understands it will assume all risks for the unauthorized transaction(s) related to legal claims, damages, wage requirements, data security breaches, and/or intellectual property rights.
  5. The departmental Dean/CFO/Vice Chancellor has reviewed and signed the Unauthorized Purchase Justification Form.

As a Reminder to the Purchaser...

BFB-BUS43(link is external) states:

Responsibility for Unauthorized Purchases: An individual who has not been delegated purchasing authority and who makes an unauthorized purchase of goods or services shall be responsible for payment of the charges incurred. The unauthorized individual may be required to pay either the full amount whenever the purchase is found to cover unneeded items or items whose purchase would not otherwise be authorized and the transaction cannot be canceled, or the amount of any cancellation charges incurred when cancellation can be arranged. The unauthorized individual may be required to pay the difference between the charges such individual incurred and those the University may reasonably have incurred if the purchase had been properly executed. The unauthorized individual may be required to reimburse the University for the unauthorized purchase of goods or services. Reimbursement or payment of unauthorized purchases requires policy exception by a location’s policy exception authority and/or designee(s).

Individuals who violate policy may be subject to disciplinary action including written warnings, mandatory training, loss of purchasing authority, probation, termination, and criminal prosecution.