How to Win Federal Government Contracts

Federal agencies publish their contract opportunities on SAM.gov, the government's System for Award Management. Winning one of those contracts is less about knowing someone and more about process: being registered, being findable under the right codes, spotting the right opportunities early and submitting a proposal that does exactly what the solicitation asks. This guide covers federal contracts only. State and local governments run their own procurement systems with their own rules.

1. Register your business in SAM.gov

Before an agency can award you a contract, your business generally needs an active entity registration in SAM.gov. Registration is free. You sign in with a Login.gov account, then enter your legal business name, address, banking details for payment, ownership information and the representations and certifications that agencies rely on, including whether you are small for each industry code you list.

• Unique Entity ID (UEI). SAM.gov assigns every entity a 12-character UEI. It replaced the DUNS number as the government-wide identifier on April 4, 2022.
• CAGE code. Registration also gives you a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code, which agencies use to identify your business and facility.
• Renewal. A registration has to be renewed every year. If it lapses, you can lose eligibility for new awards until it is active again.

Validation of your entity details can take time, so register well before you need to submit an offer.

2. Pick your NAICS codes

Agencies label each solicitation with a NAICS industry code, and SBA ties a size standard to every code. The codes you list in SAM.gov determine where you count as small and help buyers find you during market research. List every code that describes work you can genuinely do, with your main line of business as the primary. Our NAICS codes guide explains how to choose, and you can browse live opportunities by code on the NAICS hub.

3. Check your small business status and certifications

If you are small under the size standard for a code, you can compete for small business set-asides in that industry. Separate SBA certifications open further set-asides and sole-source routes: the 8(a) Business Development program, HUBZone, Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB and EDWOSB) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Each has its own eligibility rules and application. Our set-asides guide explains what each one does.

4. Find the right opportunities

SAM.gov is the official place to find federal opportunities, and you can search it directly. CapitolBids searches the same public notices with filters for keyword, agency, NAICS code, product or service code, set-aside, notice type, state, value and deadline, and a free account adds email alerts so new matching notices come to you. You can also browse by agency or by place of performance.

Not every federal purchase is advertised as a public notice:

• Small purchases at or below the micro-purchase threshold (defined in FAR Part 2 and adjusted periodically) are often made with a government purchase card without a posted notice.
• Orders under existing contract vehicles, such as the GSA Multiple Award Schedule or governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs), are often competed only among the companies that already hold those contracts.

Getting onto those vehicles, or teaming with a company that holds them, is a longer-term route to work that never appears in a public search.

5. Get in early

By the time a solicitation is posted, the requirement is largely set. Earlier notices give you more influence. A sources sought notice or request for information is market research: the agency is asking who can do the work, and the answers can decide whether the contract is set aside for small businesses. A short, specific capability statement in response costs little and puts you on the buyer's radar. A presolicitation notice tells you a solicitation is coming, which gives you time to plan, find partners and ask questions. Our notice types guide explains each stage.

6. Read the whole solicitation

Many negotiated solicitations follow the Uniform Contract Format. Three sections matter most:

• Section C: the statement of work or performance work statement, describing what the government is buying.
• Section L: instructions to offerors, including volumes, page limits, formatting and how and when to submit.
• Section M: the evaluation factors, which tell you how proposals will be scored and whether award goes to the lowest priced technically acceptable offer or to the best value after a tradeoff.

Commercial solicitations are often shorter, on Standard Form 1449, with instructions and evaluation criteria in addenda. Whatever the format, read every amendment: agencies change deadlines and requirements by amending the notice on SAM.gov, and questions from other bidders are often answered there too.

7. Build past performance

Agencies weigh what you have delivered before. Federal performance evaluations are recorded in CPARS, and commercial and state work can count where the solicitation allows it. Under the FAR, a firm with no record of relevant past performance generally should not be rated favorably or unfavorably on that factor, so a lack of federal history is not automatically disqualifying. Common ways to build a record:

• Start with smaller contracts and simplified acquisitions, where competition and proposal effort are lighter.
• Subcontract to a prime contractor. Large primes often need small business subcontractors to meet their subcontracting plans.
• Team or form a joint venture. SBA's Mentor-Protégé Program lets a small business partner with an experienced contractor.

8. Write a compliant proposal

Evaluators score what is in front of them against Section M, and a proposal that misses a required element can be rejected before anyone reads its strengths. Practical habits:

• Build a compliance matrix that maps every instruction in Section L and every factor in Section M to a place in your proposal.
• Use the agency's own language and structure, and answer each requirement directly with specific evidence.
• Respect page limits, formats and file naming rules exactly.
• Submit early, by the method the solicitation names. Late proposals are generally not considered, and SAM.gov is usually not where offers are submitted.

9. Learn from every result

Whether you win or lose, ask for a debriefing when the solicitation type allows it; the window to request one is short. Study award notices in your market to see who wins, at what price and from which agencies. Our guide to finding who won a federal contract shows where that information lives, and the supplier directory collects the companies named in award notices.