Glossary / Acquisition, Contracts
Sole source
A sole-source award is a contract placed with a single company without a competition. FAR Part 6 allows it only under listed exceptions: one responsible source, unusual urgency, industrial mobilization, international agreements, a statute that authorizes it, national security, or the public interest. The SBA programs add their own routes: 8(a) sole-source awards up to the program's thresholds, and HUBZone, SDVOSB and WOSB sole-source awards when the conditions in FAR 19 are met. Above the simplified acquisition threshold the justification is written, approved and usually posted on SAM.gov.
Why it matters to your pipeline
For an eligible small business, sole source is the fastest path from a conversation with a program office to an award, often in weeks rather than months. For everyone else, a posted justification is a signal: it names the incumbent, the need and the dollars, which is intelligence for the next recompete. GovSmith's Search surfaces the justifications and the notices of intent to sole source alongside the competed openings.
When this term shows up in an opening GovSmith finds for you, your vCM explains what it means for that pursuit and does whatever it calls for. You decide; we do the work.
Example
A NASA center needs a specialized calibration service that one 8(a) firm has performed for three years. The contracting officer issues a $2.1M 8(a) sole-source award in five weeks, with no proposal competition.
Find out what applies to you
Some terms will matter to your business right away and some won’t for years. A vCM can tell you which are which.