FAR 52.214-25—Step Two of Two-Step Sealed Bidding.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 52.214-25 is the solicitation provision used in step two of the two-step sealed bidding process. It tells bidders that the invitation for bids is part of step two under FAR subpart 14.5, limits award eligibility to firms whose step-one technical proposals were found acceptable, and requires the contracting officer to identify the specific step-one request for technical proposals by reference. It also addresses the situation where a bidder submitted multiple technical proposals in step one, allowing that bidder to submit a separate bid for each technical proposal that the Government accepted. In practice, this provision ties the price competition in step two to the technical screening completed in step one, so only technically acceptable solutions compete on price. Its purpose is to preserve the benefits of sealed bidding while avoiding price competition on technically unacceptable approaches, and it gives both the Government and bidders clear notice of who may bid and on what basis.
Key Rules
Step-two sealed bidding only
The provision must be used to announce that the solicitation is the second step of a two-step sealed bidding acquisition under FAR subpart 14.5. This signals that technical acceptability has already been addressed in step one and that step two is focused on bids for award.
Only acceptable step-one offerors may compete
The contracting officer may consider only bids from bidders whose step-one technical proposals were determined acceptable. A bidder that did not receive an acceptable technical determination in step one is not eligible for award in step two.
Step-one solicitation must be identified
The contracting officer must insert the identification of the step-one request for technical proposals in the blank provided. This links the step-two IFB to the correct earlier technical-proposal solicitation and helps establish the record for eligibility determinations.
Multiple acceptable proposals allowed
If a bidder submitted more than one technical proposal in step one, the bidder may submit a separate bid for each proposal that the Government found acceptable. Each acceptable technical solution can therefore be priced separately in step two.
Award is limited by technical acceptability
The provision makes technical acceptability a threshold condition for price competition and award. The Government does not reopen technical evaluation in step two except to the extent needed to confirm that the bid corresponds to an acceptable step-one proposal.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Issue the step-two invitation for bids using this provision, correctly identify the step-one request for technical proposals, and ensure that only bids from offerors with acceptable step-one technical proposals are considered for award. The contracting officer must also track which technical proposals were accepted so bids can be matched to the correct acceptable proposal.
Bidder/Contractor
Submit a bid in step two only if it previously received an acceptable technical determination in step one. If multiple technical proposals were submitted and accepted, the bidder may submit separate bids for each acceptable proposal and must ensure each bid clearly corresponds to the correct technical solution.
Agency/Technical Evaluators
Evaluate step-one technical proposals and determine which proposals are acceptable for purposes of step two. Their acceptability determinations control who may compete in the second step and which technical solutions may be priced.
Practical Implications
This provision creates a hard gate between technical evaluation and price competition, so bidders cannot cure an unacceptable technical proposal by offering a lower price in step two.
The contracting officer must keep the step-one and step-two records aligned; a missing or incorrect reference to the step-one request can create confusion or protest risk.
Bidders with multiple acceptable technical proposals can compete more than once, but only for the specific solutions the Government accepted, so proposal-to-bid matching matters.
A common pitfall is treating step two like a normal IFB without checking step-one acceptability; award eligibility is narrower here than in ordinary sealed bidding.
For contractors, the key practical issue is that technical proposal quality in step one determines whether they can bid at all in step two, so step-one submissions are critical.
Official Regulatory Text
As prescribed in 14.201-6 (t) , insert the following provision: Step Two of Two-Step Sealed Bidding (Apr 1985) (a) This invitation for bids is issued to initiate step two of two-step sealed bidding under subpart 14.5 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (b) The only bids that the Contracting Officer may consider for award of a contract are those received from bidders that have submitted acceptable technical proposals in step one of this acquisition under _________________[ the Contracting Officer shall insert the identification of the step-one request for technical proposals ] . (c) Any bidder that has submitted multiple technical proposals in step one of this acquisition may submit a separate bid on each technical proposal that was determined to be acceptable to the Government. (End of provision)