FAR 52.214-19—Contract Award-Sealed Bidding-Construction.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 52.214-19 is the sealed bidding construction award provision that tells offerors how the Government will evaluate bids and what standards apply before award. It covers four main topics: evaluation without discussions, award to the responsible bidder whose bid is responsive and most advantageous based on price and stated price-related factors, the Government’s right to reject any or all bids and waive informalities or minor irregularities, the Government’s ability to accept any item or combination of items unless the solicitation or bid restricts that choice, and the rule allowing rejection of materially unbalanced bids as nonresponsive. In practice, this provision reinforces the core sealed bidding principles of fairness, transparency, and award based on the bid as submitted rather than post-bid negotiation. For contractors, it means bid pricing must be carefully structured and fully compliant because there is generally no opportunity to correct or explain a bid after opening. For contracting officers, it provides the legal basis to protect the Government from nonresponsive, unbalanced, or otherwise unsuitable bids while preserving competition and competition-based award decisions.
Key Rules
No discussions before award
The Government evaluates sealed bids without discussions and awards based on the bid submitted. Offerors should not expect clarifications, negotiations, or the chance to revise pricing after bid opening.
Award to responsible responsive bidder
Award goes to the responsible bidder whose bid conforms to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the Government, considering only price and any price-related factors stated in the solicitation. Responsibility and responsiveness remain separate requirements that must both be satisfied.
Right to reject or waive
The Government may reject any or all bids and may waive informalities or minor irregularities. This gives the contracting officer flexibility to protect the Government’s interests, but only for defects that are not material to responsiveness or competition.
Partial award allowed
The Government may accept any item or combination of items unless the solicitation or the bid contains a restrictive limitation. Bidders should understand that the Government may make award on less than the full bid if the solicitation permits it.
Materially unbalanced bids
The Government may reject a bid as nonresponsive if prices are materially unbalanced between line items or subline items. A bid is materially unbalanced when some prices are significantly below cost and others significantly overstated, and there is reasonable doubt the bid will produce the lowest overall cost or the structure is tantamount to an advance payment.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Evaluate sealed bids without discussions, determine responsiveness and responsibility, apply only the stated price and price-related factors, decide whether to reject or waive minor defects, determine whether partial award is permitted, and reject materially unbalanced bids when the legal standard is met.
Bidder/Contractor
Submit a fully responsive bid that conforms to the solicitation, price work carefully and consistently, avoid restrictive conditions unless intended, and ensure the bid is not materially unbalanced in a way that could lead to rejection.
Agency
Structure the solicitation clearly, identify any price-related evaluation factors and any restrictions on partial award, and support fair, defensible award decisions consistent with sealed bidding rules.
Practical Implications
Bidders have little room to fix mistakes after opening, so pricing, line-item structure, and compliance with every solicitation requirement are critical.
A bid can be low in total price and still be rejected if it is materially unbalanced or otherwise nonresponsive.
Contracting officers must distinguish carefully between minor irregularities that can be waived and material defects that cannot.
If the solicitation allows award by item or combination of items, bidders should price each line item with the possibility of partial award in mind.
Because evaluation is limited to price and stated price-related factors, unstated preferences or post-opening explanations generally cannot be used to change the outcome.
Official Regulatory Text
As prescribed in 14.201-6 (m) , insert the following provision: Contract Award-Sealed Bidding-Construction (Aug 1996) (a) The Government will evaluate bids in response to this solicitation without discussions and will award a contract to the responsible bidder whose bid, conforming to the solicitation, will be most advantageous to the Government, considering only price and the price-related factors specified elsewhere in the solicitation. (b) The Government may reject any or all bids, and waive informalities or minor irregularities in bids received. (c) The Government may accept any item or combination of items, unless doing so is precluded by a restrictive limitation in the solicitation or the bid. (d) The Government may reject a bid as nonresponsive if the prices bid are materially unbalanced between line items or subline items. A bid is materially unbalanced when it is based on prices significantly less than cost for some work and prices which are significantly overstated in relation to cost for other work, and if there is a reasonable doubt that the bid will result in the lowest overall cost to the Government even though it may be the low evaluated bid, or if it is so unbalanced as to be tantamount to allowing an advance payment. (End of provision)