How to Find Federal Contracts

The U.S. federal government offers one-time and recurring procurement contracts.

Federal contracts are public institutional requests by U.S. government agencies for services and products. Submission of contract bids are generally requested from the public to fulfill a variety of needs -- from procuring large quantities of operational supplies to developing special technological equipment based on agency specifications. There are a variety of ways to learn about federal contracts and to join in the competitive process of bidding for these government contracts.

Things You'll Need

• Service or product
• Contractor registration
• Small business certification

Instructions

1. Register as a contractor and obtain small business certification, if applicable. Before searching for federal contracts learn the requirements needed to bid on federal procurements. Small business certification offers special consideration for historically disadvantaged businesses owned by certain groups such as minorities, women and veterans. Visit the "Government Contracting" resources page at Business.gov, a web portal that aims to help small and medium-sized businesses find, understand and comply with government regulations. Here, you'll learn the steps needed for registration, such as obtaining a D-U-N-S number (a unique nine-digit identification number for each physical location of your business) and federal government certification requirements.

2. 

   Most government contract opportunities can be found on online federal government websites.

   Visit the Federal Business Opportunities website. Federal contract solicitations with values of at least $25,000 are published at this site. This includes government agency details regarding procurement needs and detailed information on the process for bidding and deadlines.

3. Find U.S. Government Services Administration (GSA) contracts at the GSA website. GSA is the largest government-wide contractor. It focuses on procuring commercial supplier products and services needed by nearly all of the government agencies. Administered by the GSA Schedules Program, these contracts are also called Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) and Federal Supply Schedules. These federal contracts can be recurring and long-term procurements.

4. Locate federal contractor teaming and subcontracting opportunities. The Contractor Team Arrangement (CTA) program allows two or more GSA Schedule contractors to work together for government fulfillment needs. CTAs can be found at the GSA website. Subcontracting opportunities from existing federal contracts are listed at the GSA Subcontracting Director. Subcontracting opportunities directed to small businesses are found at the U.S. Small Business Administration Subcontracting Network (SBA SUB-Net).

5. Purchase publications that specialize in federal contract information. This includes industry-specific magazines such as the monthly Contracts Bulletin for Military Requirements magazine. A book resource for federal contract information is the "The Definitive Guide to Government Contracts: Everything You Need to Apply for and Win Federal and GSA Schedule Contracts," published in 2010 by author Malcolm Parvey.

Tips & Warnings

• This article is for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for legal or tax advice.

References

• Business: Government Contracting
• FedBizOpps: Federal Business Opportunities
• GSA: GSA Schedules
• GSA: Contractor Team Arrangements
• GSA: Subcontracting Directory
• U.S. Small Business Administration: Subcontracting Network

Resources

• "The Definitive Guide to Government Contracts"; Malcolm Parvey; 2010