Federal agencies post thousands of small construction jobs every year: roof repairs at a ranger station, new HVAC at a VA clinic, electrical upgrades on a base. Many are set aside so only small businesses can bid. The work is ordinary trade work. What scares contractors off is the paperwork. Here is the whole process in plain English.
1. Get registered in SAM.gov (free)
SAM.gov is the government's vendor system. You need an active registration to be awarded a federal contract, and it gives you a Unique Entity ID (UEI). Registration is free. Anyone who charges you just for registering is selling you something you can do yourself.
Start early: between identity checks and bank details, it often takes a few weeks. During registration you also answer the standard "representations and certifications" once, so you don't have to repeat them on every bid.
2. Find jobs that fit you
All federal opportunities over $25,000 are posted on SAM.gov. Filter by your trade code (NAICS), your state, and set-asides you qualify for. Small contractors do best on jobs that are:
- within a few hours' drive, so travel doesn't eat the margin;
- set aside for small businesses, so you aren't competing with national firms;
- under $150,000, so no payment and performance bonds are needed while you build a track record.
Our open jobs list does this filtering for you every morning, in plain English.
3. Read the notice like a checklist
A solicitation package looks long, but most of it is standard clauses. The parts that matter for your bid:
- The due date, time and time zone, and how to submit (email, a portal, or sealed paper). Late bids are almost never accepted.
- The scope of work and drawings. This is what you are pricing.
- The bid schedule: the line items and options you must price.
- Instructions to offerors: what to include and how the winner is picked (lowest price, or "best value" weighing price and experience).
- The wage determination: the minimum hourly rates you must pay on the job (see our Davis-Bacon guide).
- Site visit and questions deadline. Go to the site visit if there is one; it's where you find the surprises.
4. Price it like any other job, then check the wage rates
Take off quantities, get supplier quotes, and build labor hours the way you normally do. Then make sure every worker's rate is at least the wage determination rate for their trade, including fringe benefits. Add overhead and profit, and remember mobilization, dumpsters, lifts, permits and the time it takes to do weekly certified payroll.
You always set the price. Nobody else knows your crew's speed or your margins.
5. Fill in the forms and assemble the package
Construction bids usually use the SF-1442. Smaller quotes often use the SF-18 or SF-1449. Typically you also include:
- a short cover letter;
- the completed bid schedule;
- a signed SF-30 for each amendment, or the amendments acknowledged on the bid form;
- past performance and a short work plan, if the notice asks for them;
- a bid bond, if the job requires one (common above $150,000).
6. Submit early and get a receipt
Send it a day early, the exact way the notice says, and ask the contracting officer to confirm they received it. Then check SAM.gov once more for any last-minute amendments.
The mistakes that lose most first bids
- Missing an amendment, so the bid is "non-responsive" no matter the price.
- Submitting after the deadline, or to the wrong email address.
- Leaving a bid line or option blank.
- Pricing labor below the wage determination.
- Not signing the form.
None of these are about being a good contractor. They're paperwork, which is exactly the part we take off your plate.