[Protest of Navy Contract Award for Household Goods Shipment Services]

A firm protested a Navy contract award which was a small business set-aside for the shipment of household goods. The protester contended that the awardee failed to: (1) meet the applicable size standard for a small business set-aside; and (2) hold the necessary operating authority for the procurement. Because the Small Business Administration has conclusive authority to determine size status for procurement purposes, GAO would not consider this aspect of the protest. The question of an awardee's operating authority is a matter of bidder responsibility to be determined by contracting officers, and GAO will not review such determinations absent a showing of fraud or that definitive responsibility criteria were not applied. In this case there was no allegation of fraud, and the solicitation did not require bidders to have operating authority in their own names. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed.