Procurement term
Sealed Bidding
A US competitive procurement method under FAR Part 14 in which bids are submitted sealed, opened publicly, and awarded on price without negotiation.
What is Sealed Bidding?
Sealed bidding is one of the two principal competitive methods for federal acquisition (the other being contracting by negotiation under FAR Part 15). Governed by FAR Part 14, it proceeds through defined steps: preparation of the Invitation for Bid, public solicitation, submission of sealed bids by a deadline, public bid opening, evaluation against the IFB without discussions, and award to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.
Sealed bidding is used when four conditions are met: time permits soliciting and opening sealed bids; award will be made on price and price-related factors; it is not necessary to conduct discussions with bidders; and there is a reasonable expectation of receiving more than one bid. The public bid opening is a distinctive feature — bid prices become a matter of record, which supports transparency but also reveals pricing to competitors.
For vendors, sealed bidding rewards precise, compliant pricing rather than persuasive narrative. There is no opportunity to clarify or improve a bid after opening, so accuracy and responsiveness at submission are decisive. It is most common in construction and well-defined supply contracts.
Example
Under sealed bidding, a contracting officer opens all bids aloud at 2:00 p.m. on the deadline date; the prices are read into the record and the lowest responsive bid is identified for a responsibility review.
Related terms
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