Competitive proposals — Us Code Code § 3703

Us Code Code § 3703 — Competitive proposals. Reproduced from the official United States Code, with a citation summary, verification link, and related provisions.

§ 3703. Competitive proposals

(a) Evaluation and Award.—An executive agency shall evaluate competitive proposals in accordance with section 3701(a) of this title and may award a contract—

(1) after discussions with the offerors, provided that written or oral discussions have been conducted with all responsible offerors who submit proposals within the competitive range; or

(2) based on the proposals received and without discussions with the offerors (other than discussions conducted for the purpose of minor clarification), if, as required by section 3306(b)(2)(B)(i) of this title, the solicitation included a statement that proposals are intended to be evaluated, and award made, without discussions unless discussions are determined to be necessary.


(b) Limit on Number of Proposals.—If the contracting officer determines that the number of offerors that would otherwise be included in the competitive range under subsection (a)(1) exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the contracting officer may limit the number of proposals in the competitive range, in accordance with the criteria specified in the solicitation, to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the offerors rated most highly in accordance with those criteria.

(c) Criteria for Awarding Contract.—Except as otherwise provided in section 3701(b) of this title, the executive agency shall award a contract with reasonable promptness to the responsible source whose proposal is most advantageous to the Federal Government, considering only cost or price and the other factors included in the solicitation.

(d) Notice of Award.—The executive agency shall award the contract by transmitting, in writing or by electronic means, notice of the award to that source and, within 3 days after the date of contract award, shall notify, in writing or by electronic means, all other offerors of the rejection of their proposals.

(Pub. L. 111–350, §3, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3771.)

Historical and Revision Notes
Revised

Section

Source (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large)
3703(a) 41:253b(d)(1). June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title III, §303B(d), as added Pub. L. 98–369, title VII, §2711(a)(2), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1180; Pub. L. 103–355, title I, §§1061(c)(3), 1063(b), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3267, 3268; Pub. L. 104–106, title XLI, §4103(b), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 644.
3703(b) 41:253b(d)(2).
3703(c) 41:253b(d)(3) (1st sentence).
3703(d) 41:253b(d)(3) (last sentence).

About This Section

41 U.S.C. § 3703 is part of Title 41 of the United States Code. The United States Code is the official codification of federal statutes maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress amends the Code through new public laws, which are eventually incorporated into the relevant title.

This section may be cited in legal writing as 41 U.S.C. § 3703. For the most current official text, including any recent amendments, use the official source links below. Do not rely on this page as the sole authority for legal citation or litigation.

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Sources

Source: official Us Code text · Last verified 2026-08-27

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