RFP, RFQ and IFB: which federal solicitation is which, and what each asks back

On the solicitation's own form. Standard Form 33, Solicitation, Offer and Award, has a box for the type of solicitation, with sealed bid (IFB) and negotiated (RFP) to mark. Standard Form 1449, the form for commercial products and commercial services, has a box for the method of solicitation, with request for quote (RFQ), invitation for bid (IFB) and request for proposal (RFP). A solicitation for commercial products or services is assembled, as far as practicable, from that form (FAR 12.303).

A notice on SAM.gov carries a type of its own, such as Solicitation or Combined Synopsis/Solicitation. That is the kind of notice, not the kind of solicitation. How to find federal contracts and Firmenza's blog post on notice types go through the notice types. The attachments on a federal solicitation says which of a solicitation's documents describes the work.

A sealed bid, opened in public and judged on price. Sealed bidding is a method of contracting that uses competitive bids, public opening of bids, and awards. Bidders submit sealed bids to be opened at the time and place the solicitation states. Bids are evaluated without discussions. After the public opening, the award goes to the responsible bidder whose bid conforms to the invitation and will be most advantageous to the Government, considering only price and the price-related factors in the invitation (FAR 14.101). Contracting officers use sealed bids when there is time for them, the award will turn on price and price-related factors, no discussions with the bidders are needed, and more than one bid is reasonably expected (FAR 6.401).

A bid has to follow the invitation closely. To be considered for award, a bid must comply in all material respects with the invitation for bids. A bid sent on the bidder's own form or by letter may be considered only if the bidder accepts all the terms and conditions of the invitation, and an award on it would not vary from them (FAR 14.301). Contracting officers prepare invitations for bids in a uniform contract format to the maximum practicable extent, with Section L as instructions, conditions and notices to bidders and Section M as the evaluation factors for award (FAR 14.201-1).

A proposal, in a negotiated acquisition. RFPs are used in negotiated acquisitions to communicate Government requirements to prospective contractors and to solicit proposals. An RFP for a competitive acquisition describes, at a minimum, the Government's requirement, the anticipated terms and conditions, the information the proposal has to contain, and the factors and significant subfactors that will be used to evaluate it, with their relative importance (FAR 15.203). Contracting officers may ask for competitive proposals when sealed bids are not appropriate (FAR 6.401).

So an RFP asks for more than a price. The instructions and the evaluation factors usually sit in Sections L and M, and Sections L and M of a solicitation says what each one tells an offeror.

A quotation, which is not an offer. A quotation cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. When the Government issues an order in response to a supplier's quotation, the order is the Government's offer to buy certain supplies or services on stated terms. A contract is formed when the supplier accepts that offer. The supplier may be asked to accept in writing, or may accept by furnishing what was ordered or by going ahead with the work until substantial performance has occurred. Until it is accepted, the Government may change or withdraw its offer by written notice (FAR 13.004).

Requests for quotations also turn up inside contracts that already exist. Under multiple-award BPAs on a schedule, for an order above the simplified acquisition threshold, the ordering activity sends a request for quotation to all the holders that offer the supplies or services (FAR 8.405-3). IDIQ, BPA, GWAC and schedule contracts explains those vehicles.

What it is called: an invitation for bids belongs to sealed bidding, a request for proposals to a negotiated acquisition, and a request for quotations to simplified acquisition.

What goes back: a bid, a proposal or a quotation. A bid and a proposal are offers. A quotation is not.

How it is judged: a bid on price and price-related factors, without discussions. A proposal on the factors and subfactors the RFP states, with their relative importance. A quotation becomes a contract only when the supplier accepts the Government's order.

Where each says so: the box on the solicitation's own form, and its own instructions.

It cannot say whether a business should answer a solicitation, what to offer or how to write the response. Whether to bid is always the business's own decision, and each solicitation's own text says what it requires.

One thing is the same for all three. An offeror has to be registered in SAM when it submits an offer or quotation, and at the time of award, with the exceptions the FAR lists (FAR 52.204-7).