8(a) STARS III

8(a) STARS III is one of the federal government's most heavily used small business IT vehicles, reflecting the government-wide policy priority of directing IT spending to small businesses. The vehicle is Best-in-Class (BIC), giving agencies a strong incentive to use it over agency-specific IDIQs. Nearly every federal civilian agency has tapped STARS III for cloud migration, application development, cybersecurity, and IT support services — creating a broad and consistent addressable market for qualifying small businesses across all IT disciplines.

1. 1Agency confirms the IT requirement falls within STARS III functional areas (FA1: IT Services for Systems, FA2: IT Services for Health IT, FA3: Emerging Technology) and selects the relevant functional area.
2. 2Agency determines the competition scope — full STARS III competition, socioeconomic set-aside (e.g., 8(a)-specific), or sole-source for qualifying small 8(a) awards below thresholds.
3. 3Agency prepares an RFP or streamlined RFQ and posts it to GSA eBuy, alerting all STARS III holders in the selected functional area.
4. 4STARS III holders respond with technical proposals and pricing; agencies evaluate on best-value criteria (technical + price) or LPTA.
5. 5Agency awards the task order and funds it from its IT budget; the task order value counts against STARS III's $15B ceiling.

• 1$15B ceiling and approximately $5B+ in annual task order volume
• 2Restricted to SBA small businesses — all orders are de facto small business set-asides
• 3Best-In-Class (BIC) designated — agencies are encouraged to use STARS III first for small business IT
• 4STARS III IT functional areas are broader than STARS II — more opportunities to compete
• 5Open to all federal civilian agencies and authorized DoD components
• 6New entrants can compete for task orders immediately upon contract award

• ✓Company must qualify as a small business under the applicable SBA size standard at time of award
• ✓Must have at least one NAICS code aligned with the proposed functional area
• ✓Demonstrated past performance in IT services or solutions relevant to the functional area proposed
• ✓Must be an active contract holder — new awards under STARS III are required to compete for task orders
• ✓Additional socioeconomic certifications (8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB) required to compete in the corresponding set-aside pool
• ✓Must maintain SAM.gov active registration and small business size standard throughout the ordering period

• 1Position around FA3 (Emerging Technology) if you deliver AI, RPA, or cybersecurity capabilities — agencies are rapidly increasing spend in these areas.
• 2STARS III civilian agency spending is heavily concentrated in DHS, DoD civilians, HHS, and VA — target these agencies for task order relationships.
• 3Combine your STARS III contract with OASIS+ SB for professional services coverage — agencies often prefer vendors holding multiple vehicles.
• 4Pursue sub-pool certifications (HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB) while on STARS III to capture set-aside task orders with less competition.
• 5Review USASpending for expiring STARS II task orders — many will be re-competed as STARS III task orders, giving you a predictable pipeline.
• 6Mentor-protégé JVs are eligible to compete for STARS III task orders — use this to grow your team's IT depth without headcount costs.

• What is 8(a) STARS III and who is eligible?+
• What IT services are covered under STARS III?+
• Can large businesses use STARS III?+
• How is STARS III different from GSA Polaris?+
• How do agencies issue task orders under STARS III?+
• What is the STARS III ceiling and ordering period?+
• Is STARS III a Best-In-Class vehicle?+
• How can SamSearch help STARS III holders win task orders?+