Owner sector

Federal construction bids

Federal agencies buy construction through the Federal Acquisition Regulation, by sealed bid or by negotiated proposal. These are the package types contractors prepare for them.

Bid package types for federal ownersA sheet index. The federal sector branches into 3 groups of bid package types, Proposals and qualifications, 3; Public bids, 4; Task-order contracts, 1. 8 package types in all, each linked to its page.

Federal

The federal bid package types, by group.

How they buy

How federal owners procure work.

Sealed bidding awards the contract to the responsible bidder whose conforming bid is most advantageous on price and price-related factors, and bids are opened publicly. Negotiated procurement under Part 15 works differently: the solicitation states its evaluation factors and their relative importance, and the agency may hold discussions before award.

Architect-engineer selection has its own process. Agencies evaluate firms on qualifications such as specialized experience, capacity and past performance, and price is not among the criteria. Multiple-award task order contracts give each awardee a fair opportunity to be considered for each order, with stated exceptions.

Agencies may test the market before a solicitation, and federal procurement notices are posted on SAM.gov. Responses to requests for information are not offers. Each solicitation states its own requirements, so read the solicitation and confirm the current regulation text.

Send the solicitation details.

We confirm availability, scope, price and timing before any work begins.