How to read a solicitation
A federal solicitation is long because it is a contract waiting for a signature. Once you know where each thing lives, you can read one in an hour and decide fast.
Notice types on SAM.gov
Everything the government posts about a buy shows up on SAM.gov as a notice with a type. The type tells you what stage the buy is at and what, if anything, you should send back.
Notice types and what to do with them
| Notice type | What it means | Your move |
|---|---|---|
| Sources sought | Market research before a buy is shaped. Not a solicitation. | Respond in one page if you can do the work. |
| Presolicitation | A heads up that a solicitation is coming, often with a draft scope. | Follow the notice. Start reviewing the requirement. |
| Solicitation | The formal request: an RFQ, IFB, or RFP with a due date. | Read it in full. Decide bid or no bid. Ask questions before the deadline. |
| Combined synopsis/solicitation | Synopsis and solicitation in one notice, common for commercial items and simplified buys. | Same as a solicitation. Often shorter, with clauses listed by number. |
| Award notice | Who won and, usually, the contract number and amount. | Record the winner. This is your incumbent for next time. |
| Special notice | Industry days, program announcements, or anything that does not fit another type. | Read it. Attend industry days when the buyer is one you want. |
| Justification | Explains why a buy is being made without full competition. | If you could compete, respond and say so. |
Three kinds of solicitation
The label on a solicitation tells you which rules apply. A request for quotation, RFQ, is used for simplified acquisitions under FAR Part 13. You submit a quote, and the government may issue a purchase order. Most small parts buys, including DLA bid board work, are RFQs.
An invitation for bid, IFB, is sealed bidding under FAR Part 14. Price decides. Bids are opened publicly and the low responsive, responsible bidder wins. These are less common for parts today but still appear.
A request for proposal, RFP, is negotiated procurement under FAR Part 15. The government evaluates technical factors, past performance, and price against stated criteria, and may hold discussions. Larger supply contracts and most services are RFPs.
Commercial item buys under FAR Part 12 can use any of these formats with a lighter set of clauses. The combined synopsis and solicitation is the usual shape.
The sections of a solicitation
Larger solicitations follow the uniform contract format, with lettered sections. Once you learn the letters you can jump straight to what matters.
- Section A is the cover form with the solicitation number, due date, and contracting office.
- Section B lists the line items, quantities, and where you enter price. This is what you are being asked to sell.
- Section C holds the description, specifications, or statement of work.
- Section D covers packaging and marking. For defense parts this often points to military packaging standards that add cost.
- Section E covers inspection and acceptance, including first article requirements and whether inspection is at your plant or at destination.
- Section F gives delivery dates and the delivery point, including FOB terms.
- Sections G and H cover contract administration and special requirements.
- Section I lists the FAR and DFARS clauses, many by reference only. Look up any you do not know on acquisition.gov.
- Section J is the list of attachments.
- Section K is representations and certifications, now mostly handled through SAM.gov.
- Section L tells you how to prepare and submit your offer. Follow it to the letter.
- Section M tells you how the offer will be evaluated.
A combined synopsis and solicitation or a simple RFQ may not use these letters, but the same content is there in some order. Find the line items, the spec, the delivery terms, the clauses, and the submission instructions.
Attachments, the technical data package, and export control
For a parts buy, the attachments are the requirement. Drawings, specifications, a statement of work, packaging data, and any contract data requirements are usually separate files. Open every one before you quote. A drawing note can add a special process, a first article, or a certification that changes the price.
Some technical data is export controlled or otherwise restricted. SAM.gov marks these attachments as controlled, and you must be certified through the Joint Certification Program, using DD Form 2345, to download them. DLA hosts its restricted data in a separate system. If you are not certified, start the process now, because it takes time and you cannot quote what you cannot see. See ITAR, EAR, and DFARS basics.
Read the drawing title block for the CAGE of the design authority and for any approved source list. If a source control drawing names approved suppliers and you are not one of them, you will need source approval before an award, and the solicitation will usually say so.
Questions, amendments, and the follow button
Most solicitations set a deadline for questions. Send yours in writing to the contact on the notice. Answers are posted for everyone, usually as an amendment, so ask precisely and do not reveal your approach. A good question fixes a problem in the drawing package before it becomes a dispute after award.
Amendments change the solicitation. They may extend the due date, change quantities, replace a drawing, or answer questions. You must acknowledge every amendment in your offer, usually by signing the amendment form or by noting the numbers on your quote. An offer that misses an amendment can be rejected.
Use the follow feature on SAM.gov for every notice you are working. You will get an email when an amendment or a new attachment appears. Check the notice page again the day before the deadline anyway.
A short checklist before you quote
Confirm the set-aside and the NAICS code, and that you are small under it. Confirm the due date, the time zone, and the submission method. Open every attachment. Note first article, packaging, marking, and inspection requirements. Look up every clause you do not recognize. Check FOB terms and delivery dates against your lead time. Then price it. See pricing a government bid.
Section L and Section M decide more offers than Section C
Shops lose on format and missed instructions more often than on capability. Build your response in the order Section L asks for, and make it easy to score against Section M.
Related guides
- Sources sought and RFIsThe notice that comes before the solicitation.
- Pricing a government bidTurning the line items and terms into a number.
- ITAR, EAR, and DFARS basicsWhy some attachments are locked and how to get access.
- DLA DIBBSHow the DLA bid board differs from a SAM.gov solicitation.
See who was last awarded in your NAICS
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