Sources Sought Notice: What It Is and How to Answer

What a sources sought notice is

It is a request on SAM.gov for companies to say they can do a job, posted before the agency decides how to buy it. Agencies use it as market research under FAR 10.002. One purpose the FAR lists there is finding out whether small businesses can meet the need at fair market prices. The notice is not a solicitation, and nobody can win a contract from it. VA’s Eastern Kansas notice says it is not an invitation for bid, a request for quotation or a request for proposal, and the government will not pay for the replies.

SAM.gov files these notices under the type Sources Sought. Our government contracts guide covers the SAM.gov registration you need before you can reply.

What does a ride company send back?

A capability statement with specific numbers, not a brochure. VA’s 2026 notices ask for much the same things, and the Zablocki Medical Center’s list in Milwaukee is a good baseline:

Who you are. Legal name and any DBA, address, a contact person, and your SAM Unique Entity ID. See UEI.
Size. Your business size under the notice’s NAICS code. Zablocki and Hines use 485991 with a $19 million size standard, while Wilmington, which includes ambulances, uses 621910 with $22.5 million. See NAICS codes.
Experience. Years carrying medical patients and current contracts, with a contact and a description of volume and service area for each.
Capacity. Fleet size and type, including how many wheelchair vans are rear-loaded and side-loaded, and the number of drivers employed.
Quality control. Examples of the procedures you use now.

Some notices go deeper. The Orlando and C.W. Bill Young (Bay Pines) notices use the same seven parts: UEI and CAGE code, a Florida license, five years of past contracts with trip volumes and no-show rates, fleet age and ownership, driver onboarding time, a plan to close any capacity gap, insurance limits and where you operate. Orlando caps the reply at 5 pages and Bay Pines at 10. Both warn that a generic capability statement with no supporting detail will not establish capability, and neither asks for insurance certificates or vehicle registrations yet. Eastern Kansas’s also asks for the CAGE code, a tax ID, and general pricing for market research, such as a typical per-trip base rate, mileage rate and wait-time rate.

How many days do you get?

Usually one to two weeks. Seven VA ride notices from 2026 gave between 3 and 19 days from posting to the response date.

Bay Pines: July 13 to July 16, 3 days.
Hines: May 29 to June 5, 7 days.
Zablocki: May 29 to June 8, 10 days.
Orlando: July 13 to July 24, 11 days.
Wilmington: July 16 to July 30, 14 days.
DC Medical Center: February 19 to March 6, 15 days.
Eastern Kansas: March 25 to April 13, 19 days.

Four of the seven windows were shorter than the ten business days SAM.gov tells new registrants to allow before a registration is active, so finish the registration before a notice appears.

How do the replies shape the contract?

They tell the agency whether a set-aside is workable. FAR 19.502-2(b) requires a total small business set-aside when there is a reasonable expectation of offers from at least two responsible small businesses at fair market prices, and market research is how an officer tests that. Hines shows the sequence. The sources sought notice (May 29, 2026) left the set-aside blank, and said replies could lead to a set-aside for a socio-economic program, a small business set-aside or full and open competition. VA’s RFQ with the same number appeared on June 11, 2026 as a 100 percent set-aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

VA’s Altoona wheelchair van solicitation shows the tier system that follows. Under 38 U.S.C. 8127 it evaluated service-disabled veteran-owned firms first, then veteran-owned, HUBZone and 8(a), women-owned, and other small businesses, and moved down only when no award could be made at a higher tier. Wilmington’s notice states the aim plainly: to learn whether enough qualified service-disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned, small or large firms exist to set aside one five-year contract.

Before you reply

Treat the reply as a short proposal. Use the notice number in the subject line, answer each numbered item in order, mark anything proprietary, and send it by the date and time given, since some notices say phone calls will not be accepted as a response. If you plan to use subcontractors, say how, because several notices ask how you will meet the limits on subcontracting.

Notices like Orlando’s ask for annual trip volume for each contract. HealthRide’s payer summary shows completed trips and cancellations for each payer over any period, and the trip log exports to a spreadsheet or PDF, so those totals are quick to pull. See reports.

Frequently asked questions

Must I reply to a sources sought notice to bid later?

No. VA's DC Medical Center notice (36C24526Q0301) says a response is strictly voluntary and not required to take part in a later RFQ. It also says everyone must respond separately to any solicitation that follows. The notice adds that the replies may significantly influence the acquisition strategy.

Is a sources sought notice the same as an RFI?

The labels overlap. FAR 15.201(e) describes a request for information as a way to gather capabilities, price or delivery information when the government does not presently intend to award a contract. VA's ride notices are usually market research for a contract it expects to buy, and Orlando's was titled Request for Information and Sources Sought Notice. Neither is an offer.

Do I need a UEI and a CAGE code before I reply?

You need the UEI for every notice and the CAGE code for some. All seven VA ride notices posted in 2026 ask for the SAM Unique Entity ID, and Eastern Kansas, Orlando and Bay Pines also ask for the CAGE code. Both come from the SAM.gov registration, so finish it before a notice appears.

Will the agency tell me what it decided?

Probably not directly. The DC notice says respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Watch SAM.gov for a solicitation under the same notice number, and check whether it carries a set-aside.

Sources sought notice: the federal market check that tells you a ride contract is coming