When a solicitation requirement is ambiguous, quote the conflicting text, identify its exact locations and ask the contracting office a question it can answer. Keep the issue open until you have an authoritative response and have checked whether the package changed.
A plausible interpretation is useful for planning. It should not quietly become the rule your bid team treats as settled.
Separate the text from your interpretation
Start with three short entries:
- Observed: what each paragraph says, including its document, date and page.
- Unresolved: the specific difference or missing information.
- Decision affected: the work that cannot be finalized without an answer.
This structure stops a question from becoming a long explanation of your company’s preferred outcome. It also makes the response usable by someone who did not write the question.
A worked question from a retained RFQ
The Navy’s Hellfire RFQ N6833526Q1186, issued August 25, 2026, names Level 2 (Self) in the drawing-access instructions and uses different certification terminology elsewhere. Its DFARS 252.204-7025 level insertion is blank. Those are observed features of one retained package, not a resolved assessment requirement.
A useful question would read:
Please confirm the required CMMC assessment type and checkpoint for drawing release and for award. The access instructions on pages 2–3 name Level 2 (Self), other paragraphs use certification terminology, and the 252.204-7025 level insertion on page 36 is blank. Will the package be updated to state the intended requirement consistently?
This is a suggested question, not text from the buyer. Before sending it, verify the latest package, correct the locators if needed and use the stated questions process. Source notice action.
Follow the communication instructions
Read the questions deadline, recipient, permitted format and any restrictions on communication. FAR 15.201(f) identifies the contracting officer as the focal point for exchanges after solicitation release in the procedure it addresses. Your package may provide a particular mailbox or question template.
Do not include controlled attachments or confidential strategy in a public question. If sensitive context is necessary, ask the contracting office how it should be provided.
Record what the answer actually changes
| Response received | Next review action |
|---|---|
| A clarification identifies the intended reading | Save the response and check its authority, distribution and relationship to the package. |
| An amendment replaces text | Record the amended paragraph and revisit every affected work item. |
| A response points to another document | Obtain that document and resolve its version before closing the issue. |
| No response arrives | Keep the uncertainty visible in the pursuit decision. Do not mark it confirmed. |
A reply and an amendment are different records. Avoid assuming that every informal answer changes the solicitation. The amendment review log helps capture the source change when one occurs.
Close the question with an owner
Record who reviewed the answer, what interpretation the team adopted, which work changed and the next checkpoint. If the unresolved item concerns assessment evidence, our team can show the relevant compliance workflow. Review bid requirements.
For the broader decision, use the bid eligibility checklist. Source and example reviewed September 7, 2026.