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Bid or no-bid: a day-one checklist for federal solicitations

Run these checks before you spend a week on a bid. Each one says where to look in the solicitation, what a no means and the rule behind it. If any gate is a no, you are done, and that is a good answer.

Written for owners of small firms. This is not legal advice. When the solicitation says something different from this checklist, the solicitation governs for that bid. The FAR sections cited are the codified text on acquisition.gov (FAC 2026-01, effective March 13, 2026). Many agencies now use class deviations under the FAR overhaul, which can move or reword a section, so read the clauses your solicitation lists.

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Why a no-bid on day one is a good answer

The most expensive bid is the one you could never have won. A week of nights on a proposal, then a clearance requirement on page 140 rules you out. A no on day one gives you that week back for a solicitation that fits. Run the gates first. Read the work only if every gate is a yes.

Gates: any no ends it

Eligibility gates, with where to look and the rule behind each
Check Where to look A no means The rule
The set-aside matches a status your firm holds The cover form and the notice's set-aside field on SAM.gov You cannot bid as the prime contractor. You could look for a prime that qualifies and ask to be its subcontractor. Above the simplified acquisition threshold, a buy is set aside for small business when the contracting officer expects offers from at least two responsible small businesses at fair market prices, often called the rule of two (FAR 19.502-2(b)). SBA's programs (8(a), HUBZone, women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned) have set-asides of their own (SBA).
Your firm is under the size standard for the solicitation's NAICS code The NAICS code and size standard on the cover form or in the instructions You are not small for this buy, so you cannot bid on its small business set-aside. The contracting officer assigns one NAICS code and size standard to the solicitation, using the standard in effect on the date it is issued (FAR 19.102). Size counts your affiliates, in employees or average annual receipts (SBA, size standards; table). SBA says the code can be appealed within 10 days of the solicitation's publication.
Your SAM.gov registration is active, and stays active through award Your entity record on SAM.gov, and its expiration date Fix the registration before you bid. An offer from a firm not registered when it submits does not meet the rule. You must be registered in SAM when you submit an offer or quotation and at award (FAR 52.204-7(b)(1); FAR 4.1102(a)). SAM.gov's help pages cover the annual renewal.
Your firm has no active exclusion The exclusions search on SAM.gov Agencies cannot solicit offers from or award to an excluded firm. Agencies shall not solicit offers from, award contracts to, or consent to subcontracts with debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment or voluntarily excluded contractors, unless the agency head finds a compelling reason (FAR 9.405(a)).
You hold any security clearance the work needs A security requirements clause, and for Defense work a DD Form 254 attachment Treat it as a no unless the solicitation says how and when a clearance can be met. Classified buys include a security requirements clause, and Defense buys use the DD Form 254 (FAR 4.403).
You can get the bonds the solicitation asks for The bond clauses and the bid guarantee instructions Without the bond, you cannot submit a bid that counts. Construction contracts over $150,000 need performance and payment bonds (FAR 28.102-1(a)). A bid guarantee is required whenever those bonds are (FAR 28.101-1). Ask your surety early.
You hold the licenses and certifications the solicitation names The work statement, the special requirements and the instructions Unless you can get it before the date the solicitation sets, it is a no. The solicitation itself. Each buy sets its own.

Can you do the work?

Only read this far if every gate was a yes.

  • Read the work statement for each “shall”, “must” and “will”. Our guide to reading the work statement shows what to mark.
  • For each one, name a job where you did it: a federal contract, a commercial customer or a project in your capability statement.
  • Read the evaluation rules for what past performance they ask for, how recent and how similar.
  • No federal past performance yet? In negotiated buys, an offeror with no record of relevant past performance may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance (FAR 15.305(a)(2)(iv)). Check how your solicitation handles it.
  • Work you have not done is a gap. A teaming partner who has done it can fill it.

Can you staff it and price it?

Staffing and price checks
Check Where to look The rule
You can staff the place of performance, and make the site visit if there is one The place of performance on the cover form; a site visit clause or notice Offerors are urged and expected to inspect the site, and not inspecting it is no basis for a claim later (FAR 52.237-1).
Your price works at the wage rates the contract requires The wage determination attachment Service contracts over $2,500 require at least the wages and fringe benefits the Department of Labor found to prevail in the area (FAR 22.1002-2). Construction over $2,000 carries its own prevailing rates (FAR 22.403-1).
If you team, your share of the work meets the limitations on subcontracting FAR 52.219-14 in the clause list On a set-aside, you may not pay subcontractors that are not similarly situated more than 50 percent of what the government pays you for services, 50 percent for supplies (not counting materials), 85 percent for general construction or 75 percent for special trade construction (FAR 52.219-14(e)).
You can price every line and every year The price schedule and its CLINs, including option years The schedule's own format. Price or cost is evaluated in every source selection (FAR 15.304(c)(1)(i)).

Can you make the deadline? Treat late as late.

  • Write down the due date, the time and the time zone. Note how the solicitation wants the bid delivered: email, a portal or a named office.
  • Count back. Leave time for the work, a full read against the instructions, and a day for upload problems.
  • Check SAM.gov for amendments until you submit. An amendment can move the due date.

The late rules have narrow exceptions. Under the commercial instructions and the Part 15 rule, a late offer may be considered only if it arrives before award, considering it would not unduly delay the buy, and one of these is true: it was sent electronically and reached the government's initial point of entry by 5:00 p.m. one working day before the due date; there is acceptable evidence it was under the government's control before the deadline; or it was the only proposal received (FAR 52.212-1(f)(2); FAR 15.208(b)(1)). If an emergency or unanticipated event stops normal government processes, the deadline can move to the same time on the first work day they resume (FAR 52.212-1(f)(4); FAR 15.208(d)).

None of that is a safe harbor. Plan to be done the working day before.

How FedRAG runs the same checks

FedRAG reads the solicitation package and runs the gates for you. Eligibility first: set-aside, SBA size standard, NAICS, facility and staff clearances, bonding, place of performance, certifications, SAM.gov registration and exclusions. Then each work requirement against your own documents. A capability statement and commercial work count as evidence.

It recommends one of four outcomes:

  • Bid
  • Bid with a teaming partner
  • No-bid
  • Not eligible to bid as prime

Every reason cites its page or its SAM.gov record. FedRAG recommends. Your team decides.

For the deadline, every date goes in one ledger with its time zone and its source. Your internal deadline defaults to the late-exception line for an electronic offer (5:00 p.m. the working day before), or to the working day before at the due time for any other offer, with a dry run one working day ahead of it.

The Decide stage. A fact FedRAG could not find on its cited page is marked for review, never shown as matched. Demo copy of a past RFQ, dates moved forward, test company.

See the bid decision and how FedRAG works back from the due time on the home page.

Can you bid on this one?

Bring a SAM.gov notice you’re weighing. FedRAG checks whether you’re eligible to bid, and every reason cites its page or its SAM.gov record.

Run a free bid check

The free check opens with the hosted app. Until then, the founder runs it with you on a 30-minute demo. Bring a SAM.gov notice number if you have one. Nothing else.