Blanket purchase agreement (BPA): how agencies buy rides as needed, with no promised volume
Overview
A blanket purchase agreement (BPA) is a standing arrangement in which a federal buyer orders services as needs come up, at prices agreed in advance. The buyer is bound only by the calls it places and promises no volume. The Air Force's 2026 Guam shuttle BPA says outright that it is not a contract. VA has solicited one for ambulance and stretcher rides.
On this page
What a blanket purchase agreement is
A blanket purchase agreement (BPA) is a standing arrangement between a buyer and a company that has already agreed to its prices. The federal rule describes it as a way to fill repeated needs by opening “charge accounts” with qualified sources (FAR 13.303-1). When a ride is needed, an authorized person places a call against the agreement, and the company is paid the agreed price for that call. The wider picture of how agencies buy rides is in government NEMT contracts.
A BPA promises no work. The Air Force’s August 2026 solicitation for shuttle service at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam says the agreement does not obligate funds and does not guarantee that any call will be made. The call carries the specifics, such as the pickup point, the vehicle type and the dates, and each call must cite the BPA number.
Federal buyers have begun working from the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, which describes BPAs for commercial services at 12.201-1(e)(3). The Guam solicitation cites Part 12 for its BPA. The codified text at FAR 13.303 covers the same ground in more detail, and this page draws on both.
How a BPA call works
A call is one order placed against the agreement by someone the buyer has authorized, at the prices already agreed.
- Who can place one. The BPA lists the people allowed to buy, with a dollar limit for each, and the buyer gives that list to the vendor (FAR 13.303-3). The Guam solicitation warns that a request from anyone else is an unauthorized commitment and the vendor risks not being paid.
- How big a call can be. An individual purchase may not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, $350,000, unless agency rules allow more (FAR 13.303-5). Guam sets its largest call at $1,400,000 and its smallest at $2,500.
- What you charge. The price list is agreed first. Guam’s list sets an hourly rate for each vehicle type across five ordering periods, every call is firm-fixed-price, and the rates must be as low as or lower than what the vendor charges its best customers for similar service.
- When you invoice. At least monthly, with delivery tickets that show the BPA number, the purchase number, the date and an itemized list of what was furnished (FAR 13.303-3). Guam asks for monthly invoices through the Wide Area Work Flow system.
Single award or several
A buyer may set up a BPA with one firm or with several, and several keeps competition open (FAR 13.303-2). A BPA does not excuse the buyer from competing the work: the rule says its existence does not justify buying from only one source or avoiding small business set-asides (FAR 13.303-5(c)).
The Guam BPA is a multiple-award agreement with up to five holders. Calls under $350,000 rotate alphabetically, and a holder without the vehicle type needed can be passed over for that call while keeping its place at the top of the list. Calls over $350,000 are competed among the holders. The Air Force can add holders during the ordering period and can remove one whose prices stop being fair and reasonable or whose performance is poor.
A VA example for stretcher and ambulance rides
In January 2024, VA’s Network Contracting Office 9 announced a planned five-year BPA for non-emergency ambulance service at the Louisville VA Medical Center and its clinics. It covered stretcher, basic life support, advanced life support and critical care transports around the clock, in five ordering periods from March 15, 2024 through March 14, 2029, under full and open competition. An earlier December 2023 notice said the BPA would use ordering periods instead of option years so that prices could change each year.
How a BPA is reviewed, changed and ended
A BPA must be reviewed at least once a year, and the buyer is told to watch for market changes that call for new arrangements (FAR 13.303-6). The Guam solicitation allows price list changes only with 15 days’ notice and the contracting officer’s approval. Either side may cancel the whole BPA on 30 days’ written notice at no cost, and calls already placed must still be finished.
Reading the contract number
The ninth character of a federal contract number says what kind of instrument it is: A for a BPA, D for an indefinite-delivery contract, F for an order placed under either, and P for a purchase order (FAR 4.1603). The difference that matters most is the minimum. An IDIQ contract must guarantee a stated minimum, and a BPA guarantees none. For how VA buys ride service, see VA transportation contracts. For the other routes public buyers use, see government NEMT contracts.
Where software helps
In HealthRide, invoices are built from your completed trips and priced from each payer’s rates, and every trip record keeps GPS-recorded miles and timestamps. Together they give you the backup for a monthly invoice. See invoicing.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a federal BPA count as a contract?
- Not in the usual sense. The Air Force's August 2026 Guam shuttle solicitation says the BPA is a written understanding that does not obligate funds, and that the government is bound only by the calls it places. Each call is the binding document, and it must cite the BPA number. The government is not required to use the agreement at all.
- How is a BPA different from an IDIQ contract?
- An IDIQ contract must guarantee a stated minimum amount of work, so the buyer is bound to order at least that much. A BPA guarantees nothing. The buyer can also place a call with another BPA holder or skip the agreement. Federal contract numbers show the difference: an A in the ninth position marks a BPA, and a D marks an indefinite-delivery contract.
- How large can a single BPA call be?
- The limit is written into each BPA. The general federal cap on an individual purchase is the simplified acquisition threshold, $350,000, unless agency rules allow more. The Guam shuttle BPA sets its largest call at $1,400,000 and competes any call over $350,000 among its holders.
- Can I join a BPA after it has been awarded?
- Sometimes. The Guam solicitation reserves the right to add vendors at any time if the buyer sees a benefit and the new vendor's prices are fair and reasonable. The federal rule also tells a contracting officer who lacks enough BPAs for competition on a purchase to ask other sources for quotes and to set up more BPAs when the need will recur.
- How often does a buyer review a BPA?
- At least once a year. The federal rule requires the contracting officer to review each BPA annually, update it if needed, and watch for market changes that call for new arrangements. Expect the buyer to reconsider prices and suppliers on that cycle.
