How to Search Government Contracts
Find federal contract notices on SAM.gov, research past awards, and track early pipeline signals with GSA forecasts.
For U.S. federal contracts, start with SAM.gov Contract Opportunities for current notices. Use USAspending.gov to research past awards and spending, SAM.gov’s contracting search for contract award records, and the GSA Forecast of Contracting Opportunities for early planning signals. A forecast or an award record is not a solicitation: use the live SAM.gov notice and its amendments for procurement instructions.
You can search SAM.gov opportunities without an account. An account is useful for saving searches, following opportunities, and monitoring changes. This guide focuses on U.S. federal procurement; state, local, tribal, and territorial governments may use separate portals.
1. Turn your offer into search terms
Describe the outcome an agency would buy, then list the terms a buyer might use for that work. Search both the service or product name and useful synonyms. If you know the relevant North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) or Product Service Code (PSC), include those in your search plan. SAM.gov’s help resources cover searching by NAICS/PSC, agency, and place of performance.
- Write down the agency-facing service or product outcome.
- List a few precise keywords and their common alternatives.
- Identify likely NAICS or PSC codes when known; do not rely on a code alone if the scope may be described differently.
- Note likely agencies and places of performance to use as filters once you see the range of results.
Start broad enough to discover how agencies describe the work. If results are too numerous, add a more specific term or a code and narrow by known agency or location.
2. Search current opportunities on SAM.gov
- Open SAM.gov Contract Opportunities. Public searching does not require an account.
- Search using a specific keyword, a relevant NAICS/PSC code, or a notice number if you have one. Begin with a small set of terms rather than combining every possible synonym at once.
- Apply useful filters, such as active status, agency, or place of performance, when you know what to narrow by.
- Check the notice type and status before treating a result as something to bid on.
- Open the notice, review its attachments, and return to the live notice for updates before acting.
Know what kind of notice you found
Contract Opportunities includes several kinds of notices. A result may be a pre-solicitation, solicitation, award, or sole-source notice. A search result is not automatically an open request for bids. Read its status and notice type to understand its purpose and timing.
| Notice or record | What it is useful for | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-solicitation or market research notice | Learning about planning or market research before a solicitation | Whether a solicitation has since been posted and what the notice asks respondents to do |
| Solicitation | Reviewing an active procurement’s requirements and submission instructions | The live notice, attachments, deadlines, eligibility or set-aside fields, and amendments |
| Award notice or award record | Researching a completed procurement and its outcome | The award details and whether a separate, current solicitation exists |
| Sole-source notice | Understanding a notice describing a sole-source action | The notice’s stated purpose and status; do not mistake it for an open competitive solicitation |
3. Read the solicitation and its attachments
When you find a potential fit, use the official notice and its attachments to establish what the procurement actually requires. Check the contracting office, scope, eligibility or set-aside fields, deadlines, submission instructions, and amendments. Requirements can change, so revisit the live notice and its amendments before making a bid decision or submitting anything.
This search workflow is not a complete bid-compliance checklist. Follow the solicitation and its amendments, and contact the listed contracting office if an instruction needs clarification.
4. Research past awards and spending
USAspending.gov Advanced Search helps investigate federal awards and transactions. Available filters include keyword, recipient, award ID, time period, location, agency, award type, and NAICS. Use combinations that match your market question: for example, look at an agency and NAICS over a relevant time period, then inspect recipients and award records.
SAM.gov is also the destination identified by GSA for contract award data searches. The older FPDS.gov ezSearch feature has been retired, so older guides pointing to that search may be out of date.
Historical awards can help you understand who received work and where federal spending has gone. They do not prove that an agency will release a new opportunity or that a previous awardee will win again. Award research informs market research; it does not replace the live solicitation.
5. Look for early pipeline signals in GSA forecasts
GSA’s Forecast of Contracting Opportunities is a governmentwide planning tool searchable by keyword or NAICS. Use it to spot possible future work and decide what agencies or categories to monitor. Treat forecast entries as preliminary planning information. GSA says final procurement decisions—including competition, small business participation, and estimated value—are made if and when a solicitation is posted on SAM.gov.
When a forecast entry looks relevant, note its details and check SAM.gov periodically for the actual notice. Do not make bid decisions from a forecast entry alone.
6. Save searches and monitor changes
A SAM.gov account is optional for searching, but it enables account features such as saved searches, following opportunities, and joining interested vendor lists. Use these tools to make recurring research easier. Monitoring is a reminder to revisit the source; always verify the current live notice and amendments before acting.
How the three sources fit together
| Source | Timing or status | Primary purpose | What to treat as authoritative |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAM.gov Contract Opportunities | Pre-solicitation, solicitation, award, or sole-source notice | Find and review procurement notices | The live solicitation and its amendments for procurement instructions |
| USAspending.gov | Past awards and transactions | Research recipients, spending, and historical activity | Use award data as market research, not as a current bid instruction |
| GSA Forecast | Planned or early pipeline signal | Plan research around possible future opportunities | Verify details if and when a solicitation appears on SAM.gov |
Common search problems and fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No useful results for your exact service name | The notice uses buyer terminology, a synonym, or a code instead | Try related outcome-focused terms and relevant NAICS/PSC codes; broaden first, then narrow with filters. |
| Results include notices that do not invite bids | Contract Opportunities contains multiple notice types | Check each result’s type and status. Distinguish pre-solicitation, solicitation, award, and sole-source notices. |
| An older guide sends you to FPDS ezSearch | That feature has been retired | Use SAM.gov for contract award data searches, as GSA directs. |
| A forecast entry does not match a later solicitation | Forecasts are preliminary planning information | Rely on the solicitation posted on SAM.gov and its amendments for the procurement details. |
| You cannot find saved-search or follow options | You may be searching without an account | Create or sign in to a SAM.gov account to use account features; an account is not required for public opportunity searching. |
| You are unsure whether an old notice is still actionable | Its status or procurement details may have changed | Open the live notice, check its status and amendments, and confirm the current instructions with the contracting office if needed. |
Search efficiently and keep your research reliable
- Use focused searches: Start with a few precise terms, then expand to synonyms and codes if needed. This makes it easier to see which wording produces relevant notices.
- Separate discovery from decisions: Forecasts and historical awards help identify where to look. The solicitation and amendments guide procurement actions.
- Record the source and date: Keep the notice number and source with your research notes so you can return to the correct live record.
- Recheck before acting: Notices and amendments can change. Saved searches and follows help with monitoring but do not replace reviewing the current notice.
- Use filters deliberately: Agency, location, status, award type, NAICS, recipient, and time period are useful when they answer a specific research question. Overly narrow filters can hide relevant work.
Or skip the browser setup
If you are collecting public notice pages or award records for internal research, ScreenshotNeo can return a webpage screenshot with one API request. It is a website screenshot API and MCP server from Yorker Media. Use official government sources for procurement facts; a screenshot is a visual record of a page, not a substitute for the live notice or its attachments.
cURL:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://sam.gov/content/opportunities -o shot.webpPython:
import requests
r = requests.get(
"https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://sam.gov/content/opportunities"},
timeout=90,
)
r.raise_for_status()
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)Node.js:
const q = new URLSearchParams({
access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
url: 'https://sam.gov/content/opportunities'
});
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Screenshot request failed: ${res.status}`);
await import('node:fs/promises').then(fs => fs.writeFile('shot.webp', Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer())));See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options and setup. Before a capture, it accepts cookie or consent banners like a visitor and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets; each step can be turned off. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, and each response includes X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers. Its MCP server offers take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000, and every feature is on every plan.
Sign up for ScreenshotNeo’s free plan for 1,000 screenshots a month with no card.
FAQ
Can I search SAM.gov opportunities without registering?
Yes. Public opportunity searching does not require an account. An account enables saved searches, follows, and interested vendor lists.
Is USAspending.gov where I find open solicitations?
Use it to research federal awards and transactions. For current procurement notices, start with SAM.gov Contract Opportunities.
Should I rely on a forecast as a commitment?
No. A forecast is an early planning signal. Verify actual procurement details in a solicitation on SAM.gov.
Where should I look up federal contract award data now?
GSA identifies SAM.gov as the destination for contract award searches after FPDS.gov ezSearch was retired.
