SubSignal / Sources sought
This is the earliest moment a small business can get involved in a federal purchase, and it is the one stage where a single email can still change what the contract asks for. 739 notices are open right now.
A sources sought notice (sometimes a Request for Information) is market research. A contracting office has a requirement, does not yet know who can meet it, and publishes a description asking companies to identify themselves. It is explicitly not a solicitation — you cannot win anything by answering one, and no award will be made from it.
A presolicitation notice is one step later: the office has decided to buy and is announcing it before the formal solicitation drops.
Two things get decided off the back of the responses, and both of them decide whether you can compete at all.
The set-aside. If enough capable small businesses respond, the contracting officer can set the whole contract aside for small business under the rule of two — which removes every large competitor from the field. If nobody answers, the office reasonably concludes there are no small sources and competes it openly. Silence is read as absence.
The requirement itself. The specification is still a draft. Capability statements sent at this stage routinely change the wording, the certifications demanded, the size of the lots, and the delivery schedule. Once the solicitation publishes, all of that is fixed and your only remaining move is to price it.
Usually one to five pages: who you are, your UEI and CAGE code, your size status under the listed NAICS code, and two or three past jobs that resemble the work with dollar values and a reference. It is not a proposal, it is not priced, and it does not need a bid team. Most notices name the contracting officer and give a plain email address.
The honest caveat: plenty of sources sought notices are issued when the office already knows who it intends to use, and answering will not change that. You cannot tell which from the outside. What you can do is answer the ones in your actual codes, cheaply, every time — the cost is an hour and the payoff is occasionally being the reason a contract becomes a small business set-aside.
| Notice | Buying office | Set-aside | Responses due |
|---|---|---|---|
| N3904026Q3135-Excel Scaffolding Naval Base Point LomaThe Portsmouth Naval Shipyard requires Excel Scaffolding required for a repair and maintenance of a Virginia Class Submarine. The Navy has confirmed that Excel Modular Scaffold and Leasing Corporation is the original equipment manufacturer… | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard GF | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| G099--HCHV CERS Stanislaus CountyThe Department of Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System (VANCHCS) intends to solicit offers for Contracted Emergency Residential Services (CERS) Emergency Housing in Stanislaus County, California, in support of the Health… | 261-network Contract Office 21 (36c261) | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| U006--Small business set-aside VR&E VARO 318 is seeking to procure testing kits. The testing kits provide an online assessment tool that counselors utilize to help determine a Veteran's abilities,online career assessment system Solicitation to be posted same day | Veterans Benefits Admin (36c10d) | Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5) | Aug 11, 2026today |
| J045--Trane Chiller Pump 2 and Heater Replacement / RepairThe Department of Veterans Affairs Canandaigua Medical Center (VAMC) requires replacement of pump #2 and heater on its Trane chiller, serial number U16F55644. | 242-network Contract Office 02 (36c242) | Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside (FAR 19.14) | Aug 11, 2026today |
| NSN 1630-00-516-6741, LANDING GEAR WHEEL, WSDC: 04F, AIRCRAFT, STRATOFORTRESS B-52NSN: 1630-00-516-6741, IQC PR: 1000238290, ITEM: LANDING GEAR WHEEL THIS PART IS MANUFACTURED BY JAY-EM AEROSPACE CORPOARTION (CAGE 23233 UNDER PART NUMBER 211A764. THE SOLICITATION WILL BE ISSUED AS AN UNRESTRICTED PROCUREMENT (OTHER THAN… | DLA Aviation | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| 6525--Sonosite MT Ultrasound SystemPRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT. Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 21 will be issuing a Request for Quote (RFQ) to provide a Sonosite MT Ultrasound System for the VA Palo Alto… | 261-network Contract Office 21 (36c261) | Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside (FAR 19.14) | Aug 11, 2026today |
| Vertical Turning LatheDLA Weapons Support Richmond intends to issue a solicitation to procure (1) VERTICAL TURNING LATHE. Complete technical data package VIBB 24-30-1206 including minimum requirements for the machine, tooling, training, technical data, iuid… | DLA Aviation | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| Maintenance Services of Breathing Air SystemThis is a Sources Sought / Request for Information (RFI) announcement only. This notice is issued solely for market research and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quote (RFQ), or an… | Navsup FLT LOG CTR SAN Diego | Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5) | Aug 11, 2026today |
| Optical Fabrication EquipmentThe Medical Readiness Contracting Office – West (MRCO-West) is issuing this Sources Sought notice to find potential sources to provide Optical Fabrication Lab equipment in support of the Optical Fabriation Lab at Brooke Army Medical Center… | W40m USA HCA | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| GRIT, STEEL, SHOTThe Defense Logistics Agency Maritime Puget Sound is issuing sources sought and request for information as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support a requirement for GRIT… | DLA Maritime - Puget Sound | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| ProCustom SystemTHIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE, NOT A REQUEST FOR A QUOTE (RFQ). A RFQ WILL NOT BE ISSUED AND QUOTES WILL NOT BE REQUESTED. In accordance with FAR 6.103.1, the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division, China Lake, intends to… | Naval AIR Warfare Center | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| USMMA - Industrial HygienistAmendment 1 posted with responses to RFI. Response date extented to 8/11/2026. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), King's Point, NY, is… | 6923g2 DOT Maritime Administration | Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5) | Aug 11, 2026today |
| Special Operations Combatives Program & Tactical Integration ServicesAmendment 01: Changed response time from 08:00am CDT to 12:00pm CDT. Changed "required 15 continuous years" to verifiable experience in section 3 and 4. Request for Information (RFI): Special Operations Combatives Program (SOCP) and… | W6qm Micc-ft Campbell | Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5) | Aug 11, 2026today |
| 7490--Salt Lake City VA Canon V800 Digital PressSalt Lake City VA Canon V800 Digital Press | Network Contract Office 19 (36c259) | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| Lifestage Benefits Optimization*****Please see and respond to the amended RFI V3.0 attached to increase the page limit to 15 pages and move the response date to 8/11/26 *****Please see and respond to the amended RFI attached *****P02 RFI Draft PWS - SAM v2.0 *****P02… | Technology Acquisition Center Austin (36c10a) | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| Request for Information for Production of Stryker Double-V Hull (DVH) A1 Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) Vehicles1. Program : Project Management Office Stryker Brigade Combat Team (PMO SBCT) 2. SUBJECT : Request for Information for Production of Stryker Double-V Hull (DVH) A1 Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) Vehicles 3. DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND… | W6qk Acc- DTA | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| NSN: 6150009107512, CABLE ASSEMBLY,SPEC, WSDC: 05A HELICOPTER,CHINOOK CH-47SOURCES SOUGHT PLEASE REVIEW THE BELOW NSN AND PROVIDE US WITH ANY SOURCES THAT ARE ABLE TO MANUFACTURE THE ITEM. PLEASE ALSO PROVIDE THE LOCATION (CITY AND STATE) OF THE MANUFACTURER AND POINTS OF CONTACT. PLEASE PROVIDE THIS TO: Cheryl… | DLA Aviation | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| Cardiac Stress Test SystemCardiac Stress Test System | 247-network Contract Office 7 (36c247) | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| V999--Traffic Study of NAVAHCSTraffic Study for VA Northern Arizona Healthcare System | 262-network Contract Office 22 (36c262) | Not set aside | Aug 11, 2026today |
| 6530--NEW - Furniture: LOPC PodsThis is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products and commercial services prepared in accordance with the format Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.202, Streamlined Procedures… | 257-network Contract Office 17 (36c257) | Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside (FAR 19.14) | Aug 11, 2026today |
| DA10--KIT Check SystemThis is a sources sought announcement only. The purpose of this notice is to conduct market research and obtain information from qualified potential offerors. No formal solicitation document exists at this time. The Government is not… | 246-network Contracting Office 6 (36c246) | Not set aside | Aug 12, 2026tomorrow |
| DA10--KIT Check SystemThis is a sources sought announcement only. The purpose of this notice is to conduct market research and obtain information from qualified potential offerors. No formal solicitation document exists at this time. The Government is not… | 246-network Contracting Office 6 (36c246) | Not set aside | Aug 12, 2026tomorrow |
| R--Appraisal services: 26-070_F-27I5_Ologak, Barrow, Alaska.Appraisal services: 26-070_F-27I5_Ologak, Barrow, Alaska. | IBC ACQ Svcs Directorate (00004) | Not set aside | Aug 12, 2026tomorrow |
| RFI Notice: MGA Thomas Hall SecurityRequest for Information (RFI) – Thomas Hall Security FAR Part 10 – Market Research Only NAICS: 238990 – All Other Specialty Trade Contractors PSC: Z2AA – Repair or Alteration of Office Buildings This is a Request for Information (RFI)… | Fa8579 Software Sprt Afsc Pzim | Not set aside | Aug 12, 2026tomorrow |
| RFI - Engineering Training Courses for Army Systems Engineer & Architecture - RevisedThe Office of the Assistant Deputy for Acquisition & System Management, Data Engineering and Software (ADASM (DES)) has released a Request for Information (RFI) to conduct market research. This RFI seeks to identify qualified vendors… | W6qk Acc-apg Cont CT SW Sector | Not set aside | Aug 12, 2026tomorrow |
All notices are published by federal contracting offices on sam.gov and are public record. SubSignal refreshes them daily and shows only notices whose response date has not passed. Deadlines can be amended at the source — always confirm on the notice itself before relying on a date here.