FAR 19.202-4—Solicitation.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 19.202-4 tells contracting officers how to structure solicitations so small business concerns have a fair and practical chance to compete. It specifically addresses three solicitation-related actions: giving offerors the maximum practicable time to respond, providing specifications/plans/drawings or telling offerors where to find them, and supplying small businesses—on request—with a copy of the solicitation, a government contact for questions, and citations to the major Federal laws or agency rules that apply to performance of the contract. The section is aimed at increasing response from small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns. In practice, it means the contracting officer must remove avoidable barriers to participation and make the solicitation package understandable and accessible. The rule is not just about publishing an opportunity; it is about ensuring the opportunity is usable by the intended small business audience. For contractors, especially small businesses, it creates a right to request key solicitation information and helps them identify compliance obligations before bidding.
Key Rules
Maximize response time
The contracting officer must allow the maximum amount of time practicable for submission of offers. This means the response period should be set to support broad small business participation, not merely the shortest administratively convenient timeline.
Provide technical documents
Specifications, plans, and drawings should be furnished with the solicitation, or the solicitation should clearly tell offerors where those materials may be obtained or examined. This ensures small businesses can evaluate the requirement and prepare a responsive offer.
Respond to small business requests
Upon request from any small business concern, the contracting officer must provide a copy of the solicitation for any contract to be let. The section is designed to make solicitation access easier for small firms that may not otherwise have ready access to the opportunity.
Identify a contact person
The contracting officer must provide the name and telephone number of an agency contact who can answer questions about the prospective contract. This gives small businesses a direct point of contact for clarifications and administrative help.
List applicable legal requirements
The contracting officer must provide adequate citations to each major Federal law or agency rule the small business must comply with in performing the contract, except for laws or rules that apply to all businesses generally when doing business with the Government. This helps firms understand contract-specific compliance burdens before they bid.
Focus on small business access
The overall requirement is to encourage maximum response from small business categories identified in the rule, including veteran-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, HUBZone, small disadvantaged, and women-owned small businesses. The solicitation process should therefore be designed to reduce information gaps and unnecessary barriers.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Set solicitation response times to allow the maximum practicable period, provide or point to specifications/plans/drawings, and furnish requested solicitation copies, contact information, and applicable legal/regulatory citations to small business concerns.
Small Business Concern
Request the solicitation and related information when needed, use the provided contact to ask questions, and review the cited laws and agency rules that apply to contract performance.
Agency
Support contracting officers by maintaining accessible solicitation materials and accurate references to applicable laws, rules, and points of contact so small businesses can compete effectively.
Practical Implications
This section is about access and readiness: small businesses can only compete if they can see the requirement, understand the technical documents, and know the compliance obligations before proposal submission.
A common pitfall is giving too little response time, especially for complex procurements or when small businesses may need extra time to review drawings, assemble pricing, or coordinate subcontractors.
Another frequent issue is failing to provide complete or easy-to-find specifications, plans, or drawings, which can lead to incomplete proposals, misunderstandings, or avoidable protests and questions.
Contracting officers should make sure the listed contact is current and responsive; an outdated or unreachable contact can undermine the purpose of the rule and frustrate competition.
The legal-citation requirement is especially useful for small firms new to federal work, because it helps them distinguish contract-specific obligations from general business compliance requirements.
Official Regulatory Text
The contracting officer shall encourage maximum response to solicitations by small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns by taking the following actions: (a) Allow the maximum amount of time practicable for the submission of offers. (b) Furnish specifications, plans, and drawings with solicitations, or furnish information as to where they may be obtained or examined. (c) Provide to any small business concern, upon its request, a copy of solicitations with respect to any contract to be let, the name and telephone number of an agency contact to answer questions related to such prospective contract and adequate citations to each major Federal law or agency rule with which such business concern must comply in performing such contract other than laws or agency rules with which the small business must comply when doing business with other than the Government.