Bid Protests: What to Do in the First 72 Hours After Losing an Award

By Eugene Bondar, Esq.

You bid a public contract, you came in strong, and the award went to someone else — on terms that don’t add up. Maybe the winner’s price is implausible. Maybe the specs were quietly tailored. Maybe your bid was tossed on a technicality the agency waived for someone else. Whatever the theory, understand this first: bid protest clocks are measured in days.

Hour zero: request the debriefing and the documents

Ask the agency — in writing, immediately — for the award decision, the bid tabulation, and any debriefing the rules provide. Protest deadlines often run from when you knew or should have known of the defect, and a paper trail showing diligence protects your timeline.

Day one: preserve your own file

Lock down your bid, your communications with the agency, and your notes from any pre-bid conferences. If the solicitation had defects, your contemporaneous questions about them matter.

Day two: get a legal read on the theory

Not every losing bid supports a protest. The viable theories are specific: the agency violated its own solicitation, applied unstated evaluation criteria, accepted a non-responsive bid, or made an award tainted by conflict or favoritism. Disappointment is not a theory — but you’d be surprised how often a real one is sitting in the tabulation sheet.

Day three: decide with your eyes open

A protest can delay the award, force corrective action, or position you for the re-bid. It can also cost relationship capital with an agency you want to sell to next year. The right decision weighs both — quickly.

We’ve seen procurement from the government’s side of the table, and we move at protest speed. If an award doesn’t add up, call us today — the consultation is free.

Related services: Government Procurement & Public Contracts

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