Special Notice

A special notice is a catch-all SAM.gov posting category that federal agencies use for government-initiated announcements, such as industry days, award announcements, and procurement updates, that do not qualify as solicitations, presolicitations, or sources sought notices.

What is a Special Notice?

Special notices appear on SAM.gov as a distinct notice type under FAR 5.207. Agencies use special notices for a wide range of announcements that serve informational or procedural purposes without initiating a formal procurement action. Common uses include:

• Industry days: events where agencies brief contractors on upcoming programs, allow networking, and collect feedback on requirements in development
• Award announcements: public notice of a contract award for transparency purposes (distinct from the formal notice of award sent to the awardee)
• Procurement updates: announcements about schedule changes, program cancellations, or major changes to an anticipated procurement
• Public meetings: notifications of open contractor briefings, program reviews, or technical interchange meetings
• Informational bulletins: policy updates, new GSA vehicle announcements, or agency-specific guidance relevant to contractors
• Draft solicitation comments: some agencies post draft solicitations as special notices to collect industry feedback

Special notices do not solicit offers, do not create any procurement obligation, and do not require vendor responses. They are purely informational. Unlike presolicitation notices, special notices do not have specific regulatory requirements governing their content or timing.

Why Special Notices matter for government contractors

Special notices for industry days are particularly valuable. Attendance at an agency industry day, especially for a major upcoming procurement, allows contractors to hear the government's priorities directly, ask questions on the record, network with potential teaming partners, and demonstrate their interest to the contracting team. Some agencies use attendance lists from industry days as informal signals of market interest. Award announcement special notices are useful for competitive intelligence, they confirm which company won a contract you may have been tracking, often including the award value and period of performance.

Example

The Department of Transportation posts a special notice announcing an industry day for an upcoming $75 million IT modernization program. The notice includes the program overview, registration instructions, and a list of topics the agency will cover. Forty contractor representatives attend. During the Q&A session, a contractor asks whether the agency will accept cloud-only solutions, the contracting officer's answer confirms the agency is cloud-first, giving all attendees a critical piece of requirements intelligence two months before the formal solicitation is released.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to respond to a special notice?

No. Special notices are informational. If the notice announces an industry day, registration may be required to attend, but there is no obligation to attend or respond. If the notice solicits written comments on a draft requirement, responding is voluntary but strategically valuable.

How do I find special notices on SAM.gov?

On SAM.gov, filter opportunities by "Notice Type: Special Notice" and apply NAICS code or keyword filters relevant to your business. You can also set up saved searches and email alerts to receive notifications when new special notices matching your criteria are posted.

Can a contract be awarded based solely on a special notice?

No. A special notice is not a solicitation and cannot serve as the basis for a contract award. Any procurement must go through the appropriate solicitation process, IFB, RFP, or RFQ, before award.

What is the difference between a special notice and an award notice?

An award notice posted as a special notice is a public announcement of a contract award made for transparency purposes. The formal notice of award (sent directly to the winning contractor) is a different document. For awards above $25,000, agencies are encouraged to post award information publicly, though this is done through the contract award reporting in FPDS rather than a SAM.gov special notice in most cases.