SBA SubNet (Subcontracting Network)
SubNet
Also known as: SubNet, SBA Subcontracting Network
Visit SubNet →Operated by SBA (Office of Government Contracting)
At a Glance
- Official site
- web.sba.gov/subnet
- Run by
- SBA, Office of Government Contracting
- When you use it
- To find subcontract work on large prime contracts
- Cost
- Free to search and to post
- Who posts
- Large prime contractors seeking small-business subcontractors
What It Is
SubNet, SBA's Subcontracting Network, is the system that connects large prime contractors looking for small-business subcontractors with the small businesses that want that work. Large primes on contracts that carry a small-business subcontracting plan under FAR 52.219-9 use SubNet to advertise subcontracting opportunities, and small businesses — including SDVOSBs — search it to find work they can perform as a subcontractor rather than a prime. Because the subcontracting-plan requirement obligates large primes to set and report goals for subcontracting to SDVOSBs and other socioeconomic categories, SubNet is one of the concrete places where that demand shows up. It is the subcontracting counterpart to Contract Opportunities: rather than pursuing a prime award, a firm uses SubNet to get onto a large contract as a subcontractor, which is often the more realistic entry point for a smaller or newer SDVOSB.
When You Touch It
- To find subcontract work — search opportunities posted by large primes seeking small-business subs.
- When prime awards are out of reach — subcontracting is often the entry point onto large contracts.
- To reach primes with SDVOSB goals — primes with FAR 52.219-9 plans need SDVOSB subcontractors to meet them.
- To build past performance — subcontract work creates the track record that supports later prime bids.
Key Features
| Feature | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Where primes post sub opportunities | Large primes advertise subcontracting opportunities on SubNet, so it aggregates subcontract demand in one place. |
| Tied to subcontracting plans | The demand is driven by FAR 52.219-9 subcontracting plans, which obligate large primes to award work to small businesses including SDVOSBs. |
| The subcontracting entry point | For a smaller or newer SDVOSB, SubNet is a realistic way onto a large contract without having to win it as a prime. |
| Free to search and post | Both small businesses searching for work and primes posting opportunities use SubNet at no cost. |
What It Means for an SDVOSB
SubNet is where an SDVOSB turns the large-prime subcontracting-plan requirement into actual work. Every large prime on a contract over the subcontracting-plan threshold must set and report a specific SDVOSB subcontracting goal, which creates standing demand for veteran-owned subcontractors on contracts far bigger than you could win as a prime — and SubNet is one of the places that demand is advertised. The play is to make yourself the SDVOSB a prime wants to name: a clean capability statement, a current SAM/DSBS profile, and responsiveness. There is a compliance bonus, too — when you subcontract on a set-aside as a similarly situated SDVOSB, the work you perform can count toward the prime's limitations-on-subcontracting compliance, which makes SDVOSB-to-SDVOSB teaming valuable on both sides.
Watch Out For
- Overlooking subcontracting — chasing only prime awards ignores a large, accessible stream of subcontract work.
- A weak capability statement — primes screen fast, so a vague profile gets passed over.
- Confusing the subcontracting plan (a prime obligation) with the limitations on subcontracting (a set-aside self-performance limit).
- Not keeping SAM/DSBS current — primes cross-check the firms they find on SubNet against those systems.
Run the Numbers
Frequently Asked
What is SBA SubNet?
SubNet is SBA's Subcontracting Network, an online system where large prime contractors post subcontracting opportunities and small businesses search for subcontract work on large federal contracts. Primes that carry a small-business subcontracting plan under FAR 52.219-9 use it to find small-business subcontractors — including SDVOSBs — to help meet their subcontracting goals. It is free to use for both posting and searching.
How is SubNet different from SAM.gov Contract Opportunities?
SAM.gov Contract Opportunities is where the government posts prime-contract solicitations — the work you pursue as a prime contractor. SubNet is where large prime contractors post subcontracting opportunities — the work you pursue as a subcontractor on someone else's prime contract. For a smaller or newer SDVOSB, SubNet is often a more realistic entry point onto large contracts than competing for the prime award directly.
How does subcontracting help an SDVOSB win future work?
Subcontracting builds past performance and relationships. Performing well as a subcontractor gives you a documented federal track record you can cite when you later bid as a prime, and it puts you in front of primes who need SDVOSB subcontractors to meet their FAR 52.219-9 goals. When you subcontract on a set-aside as a similarly situated SDVOSB, your work can also count toward the prime's limitations-on-subcontracting compliance, which makes you a more valuable teaming partner.
Primary Sources
- FAR Subpart 19.7 — The Small Business Subcontracting Program
- FAR 52.219-9 — Small Business Subcontracting Plan
- SBA SubNet — Subcontracting opportunities
Plain-English reference, not legal advice. Government systems are periodically consolidated, renamed, or migrated to new addresses, and the FAR/DFARS sections that govern them are amended from time to time — always confirm the current system, its URL, and its requirements against the official site and the actual solicitation before relying on it, and consult qualified counsel for your specific situation.
Change log (1)
- LaunchedPublished the federal contracting systems & databases reference covering the online systems an SDVOSB registers in, is found in, and is evaluated through — SAM.gov (FAR Subpart 4.11), the Unique Entity ID (FAR 52.204-6), VetCert (13 CFR Part 128), SAM.gov Contract Opportunities (FAR 5.201), the Dynamic Small Business Search (FAR 19.202-2), SBA SubNet (FAR Subpart 19.7), the Federal Procurement Data System (FAR Subpart 4.6), USAspending.gov (FFATA/DATA Act), CPARS (FAR Subpart 42.15), FAPIIS (FAR 9.104-6), the Supplier Performance Risk System (DFARS 252.204-7019/7020), the electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (FAR 52.219-9), and the FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FAR 52.204-10) — each with an at-a-glance quick-facts card showing the official site and operating agency, a when-you-touch-it list, a key-features table, an SDVOSB-specific angle, watch-outs, FAQPage, Article, Dataset, and BreadcrumbList structured data, primary-source citations, and cross-links into the glossary, how-to guides, forms, clauses, FAQ, and the set-aside eligibility, size-standard, win-probability, price-to-win, and subcontracting calculators.