Sources Sought — Sources Sought Notice
Also known as: Market survey, capability survey
What It Is
A Sources Sought notice is a market-research tool, posted under FAR Part 10, that a contracting officer uses before a solicitation exists to identify capable potential sources and to gauge the level of small-business and SDVOSB interest in an upcoming requirement. It is not a solicitation: no contract is awarded, no proposal or price is required, and responding is voluntary. Instead the government asks interested firms to submit a short capability statement describing their experience, NAICS code, business size and socioeconomic status, and ability to perform. The contracting officer uses the responses to decide how to compete the buy — including whether the rule of two is met and the requirement can be set aside for SDVOSBs.
When You See It
- Early in the acquisition lifecycle, weeks or months before a solicitation, while the agency is still conducting market research under FAR Part 10.
- On SAM.gov filtered to the 'Sources Sought' notice type, often tied to a specific NAICS code and draft requirement description.
- When an agency is deciding whether enough small businesses or SDVOSBs exist to support a set-aside under the rule of two.
Key Features
| Feature | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Market research, not a solicitation | It is issued under FAR Part 10 to identify sources; no contract results from a Sources Sought notice and no offer or binding price is requested. |
| Capability statement response | Firms respond with a short capability statement — relevant experience, NAICS, size, socioeconomic status (SDVOSB), and ability to perform — not a priced proposal. |
| Drives the set-aside decision | Responses help the contracting officer apply the rule of two — a reasonable expectation of two or more capable SDVOSBs at a fair price supports an SDVOSB set-aside. |
| Voluntary but strategic | Responding is optional and does not obligate you, but a strong response can shape how — and to whom — the requirement is ultimately competed. |
What It Means for an SDVOSB
This is the single highest-leverage notice for an SDVOSB, because it is where set-asides are made or lost. If two or more capable SDVOSBs respond at a fair market price, the contracting officer can — and under SBA's order of priority often must — set the requirement aside for SDVOSBs instead of competing it full-and-open. Responding to a Sources Sought is how you put your firm into that count and shape the requirement before it is locked into a solicitation. Lead your capability statement with your SBA VetCert certification and the matching NAICS code, and tie your past performance directly to the draft scope.
How to Respond
- Respond by the stated deadline with a concise capability statement (typically 1–3 pages) addressed to the points the notice asks for.
- State your SDVOSB status and SBA VetCert certification, your UEI, and that the assigned NAICS code matches your business — confirm you qualify as small under it.
- Map two or three relevant past-performance examples directly to the draft scope, showing you can self-perform the work.
- If you can perform as a prime, say so explicitly — the contracting officer is counting capable SDVOSB primes for the rule of two.
Common Pitfalls
- Ignoring Sources Sought notices because 'there's no contract yet' — by the time the solicitation posts, the set-aside decision has usually already been made.
- Submitting a generic capability statement that doesn't address the specific draft scope or NAICS code in the notice.
- Failing to clearly state SDVOSB status and the ability to perform as a prime, so you are not counted toward the rule of two.
Run the Numbers
Frequently Asked
What is the difference between a Sources Sought notice and an RFP?
A Sources Sought notice is market research under FAR Part 10 — the government is identifying capable firms and gauging small-business interest before any solicitation exists, and you respond with a capability statement, not a priced offer. An RFP (Request for Proposal) is the actual solicitation under FAR Subpart 15.2: it requests binding proposals the government will evaluate and from which it will make an award. Sources Sought comes first and helps decide whether the eventual RFP will be set aside for SDVOSBs.
Why should an SDVOSB respond to a Sources Sought notice if there's no contract to win?
Because Sources Sought responses are how the contracting officer applies the rule of two. If two or more capable SDVOSBs respond at a fair market price, the agency can set the requirement aside for SDVOSBs rather than competing it openly. Responding puts your firm into that count and lets you shape the requirement before it is finalized — so it directly affects whether a set-aside (and a winnable competition) exists at all.
Primary Sources
- FAR Part 10 — Market Research
- FAR 5.205 — Special situations (presolicitation/market research notices)
- SAM.gov — Contract Opportunities
Plain-English reference, not legal advice. How a notice or solicitation is structured, and which procedures apply, is set by the specific posting, and the FAR is periodically amended — always read the actual notice and solicitation in SAM.gov and confirm its terms with the contracting officer before relying on this.
Change log (1)
- LaunchedPublished the federal solicitation & notice types reference covering the notice and solicitation types an SDVOSB encounters on SAM.gov — the Sources Sought notice, RFI, presolicitation and special notices, the Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ), Invitation for Bid (IFB), the combined synopsis/solicitation, the Broad Agency Announcement, the sole-source Justification, and the award notice — each with a key-features table, a how-to-respond checklist, common pitfalls, an SDVOSB-specific angle, FAQPage, Article, Dataset, and BreadcrumbList structured data, primary-source FAR citations, and cross-links into the glossary, forms reference, clauses, contract types, how-to guides, FAQ, and the set-aside eligibility, win-probability, and price-to-win calculators.