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GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE (GAO) BID PROTESTS DURING THE PARTIAL LAPSE IN APPROPRIATIONS

GAO remains OPEN during the current partial lapse in appropriations and partial government shutdown. Please be advised that GAO is fully funded for Fiscal Year 2026 and is not subject to a lapse in appropriations. As a result, the GAO bid protest office will continue to receive protests for filing and process such protests in accordance with our Bid Protest Regulations.

This notice applies only to protests involving procurements conducted by agencies impacted by a lapse in appropriations. In such cases, the parties are advised of the following:

FOR PROTESTORS:
  1. New protests: Any new protest (or supplemental protest) involving a procurement conducted by an agency impacted by a lapse in appropriations must be filed in accordance with GAO’s normal timeliness requirements. See 4 CFR Subpart 21.2.  Do not wait until the procuring agency receives its appropriation. GAO will not waive time limits for new filings.
  2. Private party filings: Any deadline for a filing from a private party must be filed in accordance with our Bid Protest Regulations. Again, do not wait until the procuring agency receives its appropriation.
FOR AGENCIES:
  1. Deadlines for agency filings: As a general rule, any work related to a bid protest before GAO would not be covered by any of the exceptions to the Antideficiency Act that would apply during a lapse in appropriations. All filing deadlines, such as for an agency report or other requested filings, are tolled during the lapse in appropriations for your agency. GAO will establish revised agency deadlines when the lapse in funding is resolved.
  2. Agency Notification of its Operating Status: If an agency involved in a protest is subject to a lapse in appropriations, counsel for the agency should inform our Office and the other parties of that fact via the Electronic Protest Docketing System (EPDS), as soon as reasonably possible.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

For pending protests, contact the GAO attorney assigned to the protest. For new protests, contact the Procurement Law Control Group at (202) 512-4788 or email protests@gao.gov.

Bid Protests

A bid protest is a challenge to the terms of a solicitation or the award of a federal contract. For more than 100 years, GAO has provided an objective, independent, and impartial forum for the resolution of disputes concerning the awards of federal contracts. GAO's Procurement Law Division adjudicates these bid protests.

GAO now has a secure and easy-to-use web-based electronic bid protest filing system for all new protests (excluding those that include classified material) that are filed on or after May 1, 2018.

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Our Bid Protest Process

How does GAO handle bid protests? Listen to our podcast with Ralph White, Managing Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law, to find out.

Overview of GAO's Handling of Bid Protests

Audio interview by GAO staff with Ralph White, Managing Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law.
Transcript

Timeline of Bid Protest Process

Infographic showing the timeline between Protest filing and decision at day 100. Deadline for agency to file its report is Day 30. Deadline for the protester to file its comments is DAY 40.

GAO Contact

For questions about bid protests, email ProtestFinder@gao.gov or call our Procurement Law Control Group at (202) 512-4788.