Federal Contracting Glossary
Full and Open Competition
A federal procurement open to all responsible sources, where any interested offeror may submit a proposal in response to the published solicitation.
Definition
Full and open competition is the federal default required by the Competition in Contracting Act: all responsible sources are permitted to compete for a contract. The agency publishes the solicitation (typically an RFP, RFQ, or IFB) on SAM.gov, and any eligible contractor may respond. Evaluation considers responsibility and the stated evaluation factors to identify the offer that best meets the government's needs.
Full and open competition maximizes the field of competitors and is the baseline against which exceptions — set-asides, sole-source justifications, and other limited-competition authorities — must be justified. A larger field can mean more proposals for the agency to evaluate and a lower individual win rate for any one offeror.
How this affects your proposal
In full and open competition you face every responsible source that wants the work. Win themes and tight responses scored against Section M factors matter more than ever — generic capability statements lose out fast.
Common questions about full and open competition
How long are offerors given to respond?
It varies by acquisition. For commercial-item buys the agency sets a reasonable response time; for non-commercial solicitations a minimum response period applies. Section L states the exact due date and time.
When can an agency limit competition?
Only under a recognized exception — for example a small-business set-aside, an 8(a) award, or a justification and approval (J&A) for other than full and open competition under FAR Part 6.
Related terms
Set-Aside
A procurement reserved for a defined category of small business — limiting competition …
Section L — Instructions to Offerors
The part of a federal solicitation that tells offerors exactly how to prepare and submi…
Request for Proposal (RFP)
The formal solicitation an agency issues inviting proposals in a negotiated procurement…
Evaluation Factors (Section M)
The published factors and subfactors an agency uses to evaluate proposals and select fo…
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