How do you bid on a government contract?
To bid on a federal contract, register in SAM.gov, choose the NAICS codes you can perform, find an opportunity that fits, make a bid/no-bid decision, build a compliance matrix from Sections L and M, write to the evaluation criteria, price it, and submit exactly as the solicitation instructs, before the deadline.
Get eligible before you get busy
An active SAM.gov registration is required to receive an award, and some solicitations check it at submission. Register first, confirm your NAICS codes and size status, and add any certifications you hold, such as 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB or SDVOSB, since those decide which set-asides you can compete for.
Bid fewer, better
A small contractor typically spends 40 to 60 hours on a proposal. The single biggest improvement most firms can make is to bid less often and choose better, using award history, eligibility and past performance fit to decide before writing anything.
Know what kind of offer you are making
A request for quotation usually wants a price and a short technical response. A request for proposals is a negotiated procurement scored on technical approach, past performance and price. An invitation for bids is sealed bidding, where the lowest responsive, responsible bid wins.
Compliance comes before quality
Evaluators score against Section M, but only after confirming you followed Section L. A strong proposal sent to the wrong address, over the page limit or after the deadline is often not evaluated at all.
Your first contract is the hardest one
Without past performance, small set-asides, simplified acquisitions, subcontracting to a prime, and teaming arrangements are the usual way in. Commercial work similar in size and scope usually counts as past performance if you describe it the way an evaluator needs to read it.
How to bid on a government contract
- Register in SAM.gov — Get a Unique Entity ID and complete an active entity registration. You cannot receive an award without it.
- Choose your NAICS codes and size status — List the NAICS codes for work you can actually perform and confirm you are small under each size standard.
- Find an opportunity that fits — Search SAM.gov Contract Opportunities by NAICS and set-aside, and read the full notice and attachments.
- Decide bid or no-bid — Check award history, eligibility, past performance fit, price realism and time left before investing any writing hours.
- Shred the solicitation — Pull every requirement from Section L, Section M, the statement of work and amendments into a compliance matrix.
- Write to the evaluation criteria — Structure the response around Section M factors, using specific past performance with agency, value and outcome.
- Price it — Build the price from labor, wage determination rates where they apply, materials and indirect rates, and compare it with what the government paid last time.
- Submit exactly as instructed — Use the format, page limits, address and deadline in Section L. Late or non-compliant offers are usually not evaluated.
In the product
How the agent drafts from your own past performance
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