How to Find Government Bids: Federal, State, Local

Updated November 10, 2026. Facts come from official pages read on that date (listed under Sources). EasBid is an independent bid search service and is not affiliated with any government agency.

Government bids are posted in a few predictable places: federal notices on SAM.gov, state notices on each state's procurement portal, and local notices on city, county, school district and agency sites. The hard part is not knowing where to look but keeping up with hundreds of sites at once. This guide explains each source, the posting rules federal agencies follow, the notice types worth watching, and how to build a search routine that does not eat your week.

Where are federal bids posted?

The FAR defines the governmentwide point of entry as the single place where federal business opportunities above $25,000 can be reached electronically by the public, and it names SAM.gov as that place. FAR 5.101 requires agencies to publicize proposed contract actions expected to exceed $25,000 by synopsizing them there. For actions above $20,000 but not above $25,000, the agency must display a notice in a public place or by other suitable electronic means.

Timing helps you. FAR 5.203 says a notice of a proposed contract action must be published at least 15 days before the solicitation is issued, with shorter periods allowed for some commercial buys. For non-commercial buys above the simplified acquisition threshold, agencies must then allow at least 30 days to respond, and at least 45 days for research and development work above that threshold. If you watch notices, you often know about a bid two weeks before its documents come out.

The FAR describes these notices as open to the public. Bidding as a prime requires an active entity registration, and the official SAM.gov registration checklist says SAM.gov is free to use. See how to register on SAM.gov.

Which federal notice types should you watch?

Not every notice is a bid. Several earlier notices tell you what is coming:

Sources sought and requests for information (RFIs). FAR 15.201 lists RFIs among the ways agencies talk to industry before proposals arrive, and says RFIs may be used when the government does not yet intend to award but wants price, delivery, market or capability information for planning. Responses are not offers. Answering one can help shape whether work is set aside for small business. See sources sought notices explained.
Special notices. FAR 5.205 lets contracting officers post business fairs, long-range procurement estimates, prebid or preproposal conferences, meetings and the availability of draft solicitations.
Presolicitation notices. The synopsis that comes before a solicitation. For construction above the simplified acquisition threshold, FAR 36.213-2 requires presolicitation notices unless waived.
Solicitations and combined synopsis/solicitations. The actual bid. Commercial buys can combine the notice and the solicitation in one posting.
Award notices. Useful for pricing research and for finding primes that may need subcontractors.

Where do states and cities post bids?

Each state runs its own system, and they differ a lot. A few examples from official state pages read for our vendor guides: California uses Cal eProcure; Texas agencies post on the Electronic State Business Daily, and the Comptroller's Centralized Master Bidders List costs $70 a year; Florida uses MyFloridaMarketPlace, which charges vendors a transaction fee on state payments rather than a registration fee; New York posts on the New York State Contract Reporter, which offers a free business account; Michigan, Maryland and Delaware say on their own pages that registration is free. Our state bid portals guide and the state vendor registration guides list each state.

Below the state level, cities, counties, school districts, universities, housing authorities, transit and water agencies usually buy on their own. A state registration rarely covers them. Many post on the buyer's own site or on a hosted bid portal; the notice usually names where to submit.

Do federal grant funds create local bids?

Yes. When a state, city, school district or nonprofit spends a federal award on goods or services, the federal uniform guidance applies. 2 CFR 200.319 says procurement under a federal award must give full and open competition, and 2 CFR 200.320 says formal methods (sealed bids or proposals) with public notice are required above the recipient's simplified acquisition threshold. 2 CFR 200.321 asks recipients to include small, minority, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses on solicitation lists when possible. These bids show up on local portals, not on SAM.gov. Our grants vs. contracts guide explains the difference.

How do you find out what an agency will buy next?

GSA's market research page points to contract data reports on SAM.gov and to a nationwide forecast of federal contract opportunities on the Acquisition Gateway. Past award data shows which agencies buy what you sell, how often, and at what price. Forecasts show planned buys before a notice is posted. Many states publish their own contract lists and spend data too.

SBA adds two routes for small firms: SubNet, where large contractors post subcontracting opportunities, and a directory of prime contractors that have small business subcontracting plans.

How do you set up a search routine that works?

List your NAICS codes and five to ten plain-English keywords buyers use for your work. Our NAICS lookup helps.
Pick the places you can actually serve: your state, nearby states, and federal work in your region.
Run saved searches on each source, or one search that covers many of them. EasBid's bid search pulls open bids from federal, state and local sources into one list with links to the official notice; the free plan includes a weekly email of new matches, and Pro sends alerts hourly.
Read new matches on a fixed schedule, two or three times a week, and drop the ones that fail a mandatory requirement quickly.
Track due dates, question deadlines and pre-bid meetings in one calendar.

Always confirm details on the official notice before you bid. Aggregated listings, including ours, can lag or miss an amendment.

Which bids are easiest for a new vendor to win?

No bid is easy, but some are a better fit for a first award: small dollar buys, small business set-asides, local work near you, and requests for quotations with simple scopes. Under FAR 19.502-2, federal purchases above the $15,000 micro-purchase threshold and up to the $350,000 simplified acquisition threshold set in FAR 2.101 are generally reserved for small business when two or more competitive small firms are expected to offer. Browse small business set-aside bids to see current ones.

Frequently asked questions

Can anyone see bids on SAM.gov?

The FAR describes SAM.gov notices as open to the public electronically. To bid as a prime you need an active entity registration, and the official SAM.gov registration checklist says SAM.gov is free to use.

Are all federal bids on SAM.gov?

Most proposed federal contract actions expected to exceed $25,000 are synopsized there under FAR 5.101. Smaller buys, orders under existing contracts and some exempt actions may not appear.

Where do I find city and county bids?

On each buyer's own purchasing page or hosted bid portal. State registration rarely covers local buyers, so register with each city, county or district you want to sell to.

How much notice do federal bids give?

FAR 5.203 generally requires a notice at least 15 days before the solicitation, and at least 30 days to respond for non-commercial buys above the simplified acquisition threshold. Commercial buys can be shorter.

Does EasBid replace the official notice?

No. EasBid is an independent search service that links to each official notice. Always confirm requirements, amendments and deadlines with the issuing agency.

Sources

FAR 2.101 Definitions (acquisition.gov, read November 10, 2026)
FAR 5.101 Methods of disseminating information (acquisition.gov, read November 10, 2026)
FAR 5.203 Publicizing and response time (acquisition.gov, read November 10, 2026)
FAR 5.205 Special situations (acquisition.gov, read November 10, 2026)
FAR 15.201 Exchanges with industry before receipt of proposals (acquisition.gov, read November 10, 2026)
FAR 36.213-2 Presolicitation notices (construction) (acquisition.gov, read November 10, 2026)
FAR 19.502-2 Total small business set-asides (acquisition.gov, read November 10, 2026)
2 CFR 200.319 Competition (ecfr.gov, read November 10, 2026)
2 CFR 200.320 Procurement methods (ecfr.gov, read November 10, 2026)
2 CFR 200.321 Contracting with small, minority and women's businesses (ecfr.gov, read November 10, 2026)
Conduct market research (GSA) (gsa.gov, read November 10, 2026)
How to win contracts (SBA) (sba.gov, read November 10, 2026)
Entity Registration Checklist (SAM.gov) (sam.gov, read November 10, 2026)
Cal eProcure (California) (caleprocure.ca.gov, read November 10, 2026)
CMBL Frequently Asked Questions (Texas Comptroller) (comptroller.texas.gov, read November 10, 2026)
MyFloridaMarketPlace vendor registration (Florida DMS) (dms.myflorida.com, read November 10, 2026)
New York State Contract Reporter registration (nyscr.ny.gov, read November 10, 2026)
SIGMA Vendor Self-Service (Michigan) (sigma.michigan.gov, read November 10, 2026)
How to do business with the State of Maryland (procurement.maryland.gov, read November 10, 2026)
Vendor registration (Delaware MyMarketplace) (mymarketplace.delaware.gov, read November 10, 2026)

General information, not legal advice. Always follow the instructions in each solicitation.

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