Bid protests are a protection built into the bidding process for public works and government agency projects. After agencies post a project, accept bids, and award a winning contractor, they must be prepared to respond to bid protests. These guidelines will help with this process.
What is the Process of Bid Protest?
When a government agency receives bids for a construction project, it must host a public bid and take the lowest responsible and responsive bid. All contractors must follow strict protocols in order to be awarded the contract. If a losing bidder feels that the winning bid was defective in some way, they can submit a bid protest.
A bid protest can challenge the winning bid on two specific grounds, including:
- Stating that the bidder is not a responsible contractor, such as if they do not have the right license or experience for the job
- Stating that the bid is not responsive, which means it deviated from the bid requirements or has a mistake or missing information.
Because bidding can be quite competitive, bid protests are fairly common.
Bid Protest Timeline
Generally, the Notice Inviting Bids will outline the timeline to protest the bids within so many days of the bid opening. Oftentimes, this could be just a couple days or a week. It is important to review the Notice to look for these important deadlines. Upon receipt of bid protest, the government agency provides copies to the affected bidders and must respond to the bid protest.
How Do You Protest a Bid?
It is recommended that contractors outline all of the reasons why the winning bid was either non-responsive or non-responsible..
How to Respond to a Bid Protest
When responding to a bid protest, contractors must remember that the letter may end up in the courts and read by a judge. Thus, the letter must clearly outline all of the reasons why the bid is the lowest, responsible and responsive bid.
For legal help with responding to a bid protest, contact the attorneys at Lanak & Hanna.
Pursu Agency