How to get your first federal government contract as a small business
Federal agencies awarded about $179 billion in prime contracts directly to small businesses in fiscal year 2025 — and roughly $273 billion once subcontracts are counted — according to the SBA's own FY25 scorecard. That money is real and it's not reserved for companies with a federal track record. But "how do I actually get a government contract" is a different question from "how much money is out there," and most beginner guides skip the unglamorous middle part. Here's the realistic version, in order.
1. Register at SAM.gov (free, and non-negotiable)
You cannot legally receive a federal award — and in most cases can't even respond to a solicitation — without an active registration at SAM.gov, the federal System for Award Management. It's free; never pay a third party to "register" you. SAM.gov's own guidance puts average manual-review turnaround around 3 days, with registration taking up to 10 business days to go fully active. The most common delay is your legal business name or EIN not matching IRS records exactly, so double-check that before you submit. Do this step before anything else — everything below assumes it's already in place.
2. Find your NAICS codes and confirm your size status
Every federal opportunity is tagged with a NAICS code describing the work. Pick the codes that actually match what your business does — this is what opportunity-matching tools (including ours) filter on. Each NAICS code carries an SBA size standard (employee count or revenue) that determines whether you count as a small business for that code; see SBA's size standards table.
3. Apply for any certifications you genuinely qualify for
You don't need a certification to bid on unrestricted federal work. But if you're woman-owned, veteran-owned, or based in a HUBZone-eligible area, a certification unlocks set-aside contracts that are only open to businesses that hold it — self-identifying alone no longer qualifies you for WOSB/EDWOSB or SDVOSB set-asides specifically. We wrote a full certification & bonding timeline guide with realistic processing times for each one (SBA's own targets run from about 60 days for HUBZone to 90 days for 8(a), and real-world time is often longer). All of them are free, direct through SBA — never a paid "certification service."
4. Find opportunities that actually fit you
SAM.gov's own contract opportunities search is free and is the official system of record — start there. The practical problem for a brand-new business is volume and noise: thousands of notices post daily across every agency and industry, and most don't fit your NAICS codes, your size, or your certifications at all. This is the problem opportunity-matching software (ours included — Litdesk is built for exactly this, free to start) exists to solve: filtering the daily SAM.gov feed, state/local bid feeds, and forecasts down to the handful that are actually worth your time, and flagging which ones need a bond or certification you don't have yet so you're not wasting a look on them.
5. Build a capability statement before you need one
A capability statement — a one-page summary of what you do, your certifications, your NAICS codes, and your past performance — is the document a contracting officer or a prime contractor asks for first, often before any solicitation exists. Have one ready before you need it, not after someone asks.
6. Price the work realistically
If the opportunity calls for labor-rate pricing, GSA publishes real awarded labor rates through CALC+ — a free baseline for understanding what similar work has actually sold for, instead of guessing.
7. Submit, and expect to not win the first one
A realistic first-year goal is to get comfortable with the process — registration, matching, a complete capability statement, a clean proposal — not to win on the first try. Most new contractors bid several times before their first award. Unrestricted and small-business set-aside service work (not construction, which usually needs bonding you won't have yet) is the most realistic place to start.
Common questions
Can anyone get a government contract?
Any legally formed U.S. business with an active SAM.gov registration can bid on most open-and-unrestricted federal work — no revenue history or prior government experience required. Set-aside contracts (for small, woman-owned, veteran-owned, or HUBZone businesses) add specific eligibility requirements on top of that; see our certification guide.
Is it hard to get government contracts?
It takes a real process — registration, finding opportunities that fit, building past performance — but it isn't gatekept by connections or insider access. The government is legally required to give small businesses a fair shot; SBA's own FY25 scorecard shows agencies gave small businesses nearly 28% of prime contract dollars, above the 23% statutory goal.
Can I bid on government contracts without past experience?
Yes, though a lack of past performance is scored as neutral, not negative, under federal evaluation rules (FAR 15.305(a)(2)(iv)) — it's not supposed to count against you. Many new contractors also start as a subcontractor to an established prime specifically to build a first past-performance record; see Litdesk's Teaming marketplace in the Relationship Dashboard.
Can you make money on government contracts?
Yes — agencies awarded roughly $179 billion in prime contracts directly to small businesses in FY25 alone (SBA FY25 scorecard, cited above). It's not fast money: expect a real sales cycle, and win rates generally improve once you have a track record.
Can I subcontract on a government contract instead of bidding as the prime?
Yes. Subcontracting to a prime contractor doesn't require your own prime contract or a SAM.gov award, and it's a common, realistic way to get your first experience and your first past-performance reference.
Do government contracts pay upfront?
Generally no. Standard payment is after delivery or performance, through invoicing — DoD contracts typically route through Wide Area WorkFlow (via PIEE), civilian agencies typically through Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform. Some contract types include progress payments, but upfront payment isn't the default.
How long do government contracts last?
It varies widely — from a single delivery order to a multi-year IDIQ with a base year plus several option years, each exercised (or not) at the government's discretion. Read the period of performance stated in the solicitation; don't assume.
How are government contracts awarded?
Through either lowest-price-technically-acceptable (LPTA) or a best-value tradeoff, based on the evaluation factors the solicitation itself states (usually in Section M). Price alone rarely decides it outside of simplified, low-dollar buys.
Can a government contract be cancelled?
Yes. The government can terminate a contract "for convenience" (not the contractor's fault — a standard right reserved in federal contract clauses, FAR Part 49) or "for default" if the contractor fails to perform. A termination for convenience triggers a settlement process, not a penalty against the contractor.
Can a government contract be assigned or transferred to another company?
Generally no. The Anti-Assignment Act (41 U.S.C. § 6305) bars transferring a federal contract to another party without the government's consent; an unauthorized transfer is void as to the government. The real path to a new entity taking over a contract (an acquisition, a restructuring) is a novation agreement approved by the contracting officer, not a private assignment.
See also: Certifications & bonding: what unlocks what, where our opportunity data actually comes from, and how we compare to SAM.gov, GovWin IQ, HigherGov, and CLEATUS.