Field guides

Plain-language guides to interested-vendor lists, teaming and the federal construction rules that decide how a small firm gets found.

Federal construction is a relationship market with paperwork around it. A firm wins work because somebody knew it could do the job and could bond it, and because the paperwork that makes it eligible was already in order. These guides cover both halves: how an interested-vendor list actually works and how to use one to find a partner, and the rules — set-asides, size standards, the subcontracting plan — that shape who is allowed to compete.

They are written for the person who has to make the call this week: the estimator deciding whether to bid, the project manager assembling a team, or the owner deciding whether a set-aside is worth pursuing. Each guide names the source it rests on, so you can read the regulation itself rather than our summary of it, and each links back to the live registry so you can act on it the same day.

We are an independent registry, not a government service and not a law firm. Everything on Interested Vendors is general information. For a decision that turns on your own facts, engage a qualified government-contracts professional.

• How federal interested-vendor lists work
  The government's Interested Vendor List is per-solicitation, contracting-officer controlled and sign-in only. Here is what an independent, aggregated registry adds, and what it does not.
• Finding a federal construction teaming partner
  A practical method for using an interested-vendor list to build a teaming or subcontracting relationship before the response deadline.
• What FAR 19.702 requires on subcontracting
  Who must have a small-business subcontracting plan, the thresholds that trigger it, and the $2 million construction figure — cited to the clause.
• Reading a federal construction solicitation
  What to check first — set-aside, NAICS, place of performance, response date and bond requirements — before you decide to bid or to team.
• Set-aside pairing on federal construction
  How small-business set-asides shape teaming on construction work, and how to signal the certifications that make your firm a useful partner.

Browse live federal construction solicitations Open the Demand Desk — $59 one-time By agency By NAICS