How to Bid on a Government Contract, Step by Step

Cost to register

Free on SAM.gov

Your ID

12-character Unique Entity ID (UEI)

Registration

Renewed every 365 days

Where federal bids are posted

SAM.gov, the official site

Simplified acquisition threshold

$350,000 (from Oct 1, 2025)

Micro-purchase threshold

$15,000 (from Oct 1, 2025)

1. Register your business in SAM.gov

Every business that bids on a federal prime contract registers in SAM.gov, the government's official System for Award Management. Registration is free, and it gives your business a 12-character Unique Entity ID (UEI) and, once validated, a CAGE code. You'll enter your legal business name and address, your tax ID, bank details for payment, and the industries you work in.

Start early, because validation by the IRS and the CAGE office can take a few weeks before your registration is active. Once it's active, renew it every 365 days so you stay eligible to win. SAM.gov never charges for registration, so any company asking for a fee to register you is a paid helper, not the government.

2. Know your industry codes

The government sorts every purchase by NAICS code, a six-digit industry number. A landscaper is 561730, a janitorial company is 561720, and a roofer is 238160. Agencies put one NAICS code on each notice, and that code also sets the small-business size standard for the job.

Pick every code that fits the work you do and add them to your SAM.gov registration. Our search matches plain words like “lawn care” to the right code for you, and each bid shows the code the agency chose.

3. Find bids that fit

Federal agencies post opportunities on SAM.gov, and UX Contract saves the open ones twice a day so you can search them by what you do and where. Each result tells you whether the agency is taking bids now, announcing one that's coming soon, or doing market research. The deadline and who is allowed to bid are shown on every notice.

Smaller purchases often go straight to businesses an agency already knows, so it pays to answer sources-sought notices and introduce yourself to the small business office at agencies near you. Purchases under the micro-purchase threshold of $15,000 can be made with a government purchase card without a posted notice.

4. Check that you can bid

Read the set-aside line first. A total small-business set-aside means only small businesses under the size standard for that NAICS code can win, and other set-asides are reserved for 8(a), HUBZone, women-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. A notice with no set-aside is open to any registered business.

Next, look at the place of performance and the dates. Make sure you can staff the work where it happens, for the whole contract period, at the price you plan to offer.

5. Read the solicitation

Open the official notice on SAM.gov and download every attachment. The statement of work tells you exactly what the agency wants done, and the instructions tell you what to send and how it will be judged. Service contracts often include a wage determination that sets the minimum pay for your workers.

Write down the deadline for questions as well as the deadline for offers. Agencies answer questions in an amendment that everyone can see, and amendments can change the scope or the due date, so check the notice again before you submit.

6. Price it and submit on time

Build your price from your real costs: labor at or above the wage determination, materials, equipment, travel, insurance and your profit. Many small-business contracts are awarded on the lowest price that meets the requirements, while larger ones weigh price together with your plan and past work.

Send your offer exactly the way the notice asks, which may be by email, through an agency portal, or on a standard form such as the SF 1449. Offers have to arrive before the deadline, so submit a day early and keep the confirmation.

7. After you submit

The agency reviews the offers, may ask questions, and then announces the award. Many awards are posted as award notices on SAM.gov, and federal contract awards appears on USAspending.gov, where UX Contract shows who won and for how much.

If you're not picked, you can ask the contracting officer for a debriefing on larger buys to learn how your offer scored. Every bid you send makes the next one faster, and agencies remember the businesses that answered their market research.

Sources

https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration
https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-guide/basic-requirements
https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards
https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-2
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/27/2025-16412/federal-acquisition-regulation-inflation-adjustment-of-acquisition-related-thresholds
https://www.census.gov/naics/

Checked October 2026. Thresholds and rules change; each source above is the official page.