Questions and Answers Period

The Questions and Answers (Q&A) Period is the formal phase of a solicitation process during which prospective offerors submit written questions about the RFP to the contracting officer, who then publishes official written responses that typically become binding amendments to the solicitation.

What is the Questions and Answers Period?

The Q&A period is established in the solicitation's administrative section (Section A or the administrative instructions) and specifies the deadline by which questions must be submitted and the date by which official responses will be published. Questions submitted by offerors, and the contracting officer's official responses, are distributed to all prospective offerors simultaneously, typically as a solicitation amendment. This ensures a level playing field: no single offeror gains an informational advantage by asking questions that they then use privately. Effective use of the Q&A period is a competitive advantage. Well-crafted questions can clarify ambiguities in evaluation criteria, confirm technical assumptions, resolve requirements conflicts, and establish interpretations of Section L and Section M language that shape how proposals should be written. Questions should be written clearly, referencing specific section numbers and page numbers from the solicitation, so that the contracting officer can provide precise and actionable responses. The Q&A period typically closes one to three weeks before the proposal submission deadline to allow time for responses to be published and incorporated into proposals.

Why the Q&A period matters for government contractors

Ignoring the Q&A period is a proposal development mistake. Official Q&A responses are solicitation amendments that can change evaluation criteria, clarify scope, and resolve ambiguities, all of which affect how a winning proposal should be structured. Proposal managers should review all published Q&A responses carefully, regardless of who submitted the questions.

Example

During the Q&A period for a large IT contract, Contractor A asks whether past performance examples may be from subcontractors in addition to the prime. The contracting officer responds that subcontractor past performance is acceptable if the subcontractor will perform at least 20% of the work under the proposed contract. This response changes how several offerors structure their past performance volumes, and the response becomes part of the solicitation record.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should questions be submitted during the Q&A period?

Solicitations specify the submission method, typically via email to the contracting officer, or through a procurement system portal. Questions should be submitted before the Q&A deadline and should be specific, reference the solicitation section being questioned, and avoid compound questions that are hard to answer precisely.

Are all questions published with the offeror's identity?

Government agencies typically publish Q&A responses without attributing questions to specific offerors, to prevent competitive intelligence disclosure. The agency may consolidate similar questions from multiple offerors into a single response. Offerors should assume all questions and answers will be visible to all competitors.

What if the contracting officer's Q&A response contradicts the solicitation?

A contracting officer's Q&A response that conflicts with the written solicitation should be resolved by the contracting officer through a formal amendment that corrects the inconsistency. Offerors who notice a contradiction should submit a follow-up question requesting clarification. Relying on an unresolved Q&A response that conflicts with solicitation text can create protest exposure.

Can I submit questions after the Q&A deadline?

Contracting officers are not required to accept questions submitted after the Q&A deadline. Some may do so at their discretion, particularly for urgent clarifications identified close to the submission deadline, but offerors should not rely on post-deadline questions being answered.