Frequently Asked Questions

SAM.gov (the System for Award Management) is the US government's official website where federal agencies publish their contract opportunities, from early market research through to award. It is free to search. CapitolBids loads the public SAM.gov contract opportunities data every day and makes it searchable in one fast index, with buyer profiles and email alerts on top.

Federal agencies advertise their contract opportunities on SAM.gov. You can search there directly, or use CapitolBids to search the same notices by keyword, buyer and value, browse them by NAICS code, and set email alerts so new opportunities matching your keywords or target agencies reach you automatically.

No. CapitolBids covers US federal contract opportunities only. State, local and education procurement is published across thousands of separate systems with no national feed, so it is out of scope.

Yes. SAM.gov is free to search, and anyone can view published contract opportunities without paying. What CapitolBids adds is fast full-text search, buyer and supplier profiles, and email alerts — free with an account. The underlying notices are public data; the product is the speed with which you can work with them.

CapitolBids currently tracks 456,812 federal contract notices from SAM.gov. Right now 17,363 opportunities are open for bids. Figures update with every daily load.

SAM.gov publishes a fresh extract of its contract opportunities data every day. We check for it every hour and load it as soon as it appears, so new and updated notices usually show up here the same day they are published.

You can set up alerts based on keywords, buyers, or value ranges. When new opportunities matching your criteria are published, we'll email you so you can respond quickly.

Federal notices are classified with a NAICS code, which describes the industry, and usually a PSC (Product and Service Code), which describes what is being bought. Following the handful of NAICS codes that describe your business is more reliable than keyword searching alone. On CapitolBids you can browse every NAICS sector and industry to see its live opportunities.

A federal notice typically includes the title and description, the department, agency and contracting office, the notice type, NAICS and PSC codes, any small business set-aside, the response deadline, the place of performance, attachments, and a point of contact. Award notices also record the awardee and the award amount. On CapitolBids every notice links back to its official page on SAM.gov, so you can verify the detail and respond as the notice instructs.

CapitolBids holds every notice currently active on SAM.gov, plus archived notices from fiscal year 2026. The index is updated daily.

The main types are: Sources sought and special notices: market research and announcements, often before a requirement is final. Responding can shape the requirement. Presolicitation: advance notice that a solicitation is coming. Solicitation and combined synopsis/solicitation: the opportunity is open, with instructions and a deadline for offers. Award notice: who won and for how much. CapitolBids indexes all of them, so you can follow an opportunity from market research through to award.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used to classify businesses by industry, with codes of two to six digits: the first two digits are the sector, and each extra digit narrows it down. Federal buyers assign one NAICS code to each opportunity, and it also determines the small business size standard that applies.

A Product and Service Code (PSC) describes what the government is buying, rather than the industry of the seller. Where NAICS tells you which kind of business the buyer has in mind, the PSC tells you the product or service itself.

A set-aside reserves a contract, or part of one, for a particular group of businesses, so only they can compete. Common set-asides are for small businesses in general and for the SBA's programs, such as 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, and women-owned small businesses. Each notice on SAM.gov states whether it is set aside and for whom.

In most cases, yes: to be awarded a federal contract a business generally needs an active entity registration in SAM.gov, which gives it a Unique Entity ID (UEI). Registration with SAM.gov is free. You do not need a CapitolBids account to bid, and CapitolBids cannot register you.

A solicitation advertises an opportunity that is open for offers, setting out the requirement, the deadline, and how to respond. An award notice is published after the contract is awarded and records who won and the amount. CapitolBids indexes both.

Without an account you can search as a preview, read the full description of any notice, and browse the buyer, supplier, and NAICS directories, all for free. Attachments, points of contact, the AI analysis, and email alerts require an account. A free account unlocks everything, with no card required: unlimited search, complete notices, alerts, saved searches, tracking, CSV export, and the market intelligence suite. It stays free — there's no trial clock and no charge. AI contract analysis is the one Pro-only feature.

Yes. CapitolBids is a discovery and monitoring tool, not a bidding system. With a free account, every notice links to its official page on SAM.gov; you respond exactly as the notice instructs.

No. CapitolBids is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by SAM.gov, the General Services Administration, or any federal agency. The notice data is a US government work in the public domain (17 U.S.C. § 105), which is why we can republish it.

Yes. You can export any search or buyer and supplier profile to CSV for your pipeline or capture team. CSV export is free with an account; it is not available on limited guest access.

A free account gives you full access to the tools - unlimited searches, email alerts, saved searches, CSV export, and complete contract details. No credit card is required, and it stays free. AI contract analysis is the one Pro-only feature.

Yes, at any time, from your account settings. There is nothing to cancel and no fee. Deleting your account removes your alerts, saved searches and bookmarks.