Government contracts are public information by default. Federal contract awards are posted online almost as soon as they happen, and anyone can request the underlying records under the Freedom of Information Act. The limits are narrow but real: trade secrets and confidential financial data, classified material, personal privacy details, law enforcement records, and internal agency deliberations can be withheld. Bid and proposal information is also off-limits until the contract is awarded.
Where Contract Information Is Already Published
Before filing anything, check the public databases. The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 requires the federal government to publish spending data on a searchable public website, which is why so much contract detail is available without a request.1Grants.gov. FFATA Act 2006
SAM.gov publishes detailed information on all contract actions with an estimated value of $10,000 or more. You can search by agency, contractor name, contract ID, date range, or competition type.2SAM.gov. Contract Data The legacy Federal Procurement Data System has been folded into SAM.gov, so it’s the single starting point for federal contract award searches.
USASpending.gov covers a broader slice of federal spending, including grants and loans in addition to contracts, and is updated as frequently as daily.3USASpending. Government Spending Open Data If you want to see how much a specific contractor received across every federal agency, or how much a particular agency spent in a category, USASpending is the better tool.
What You Can See in a Public Contract Record
Once a federal contract is awarded, the following details are typically available through the online databases or a FOIA request:
- The awarding agency and the contractor’s legal business name and unique entity identifier
- The total contract value, and in many cases unit prices
- A description of the goods or services, identified by product service codes and NAICS codes
- The date signed, period of performance, and any option periods
- Whether the contract was competitively bid, any set-aside type (such as small business), and whether a solicitation was posted
- The place of performance, down to city, state, and congressional district
What Gets Withheld
FOIA contains nine exemptions. Several show up regularly when the records at issue are contracts:
- Trade secrets and confidential commercial or financial information (Exemption 4). This is the one contractors invoke most often.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 552 – Public Information; Agency Rules, Opinions, Orders, Records, and Proceedings
- Classified national security information (Exemption 1), meaning records properly classified under an executive order for defense or foreign policy reasons.
- Law enforcement records (Exemption 7) whose release could interfere with proceedings, reveal confidential sources, or endanger someone’s safety.
- Personal privacy (Exemption 6). Individual employee names, Social Security numbers, and home addresses found inside contractor records fall here.
- Deliberative process (Exemption 5), covering internal pre-decisional communications such as source selection deliberations. This one expires for records older than 25 years.
The remaining four exemptions cover internal personnel rules, information exempt by other statutes, financial institution reports, and geological well data. They rarely come up in contract requests.
Why Pricing and Cost Data Are Harder to Get Since 2019
The legal standard for Exemption 4 shifted when the Supreme Court decided Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media. For over 40 years, agencies had applied a test requiring proof of “substantial competitive harm” before commercial information could be withheld. The Court threw that test out. The new standard asks whether the information is “customarily and actually treated as private by its owner” and whether it was “provided to the government under an assurance of privacy.” If both conditions are met, the information qualifies as confidential.5Office of Information Policy. Exemption 4 After the Supreme Courts Ruling in Food Marketing Institute v Argus Leader Media
In practice, the ruling made it easier for contractors to shield proprietary pricing models, cost breakdowns, and internal financial data. If a company marks the information as confidential when submitting it and keeps it secret in its normal business operations, it has a strong argument for withholding.
Bids and Proposals Before Award
Separate from FOIA, the Procurement Integrity Act at 41 U.S.C. § 2102 prohibits government officials and anyone acting on the government’s behalf from disclosing contractor bid or proposal information and source selection information before the contract is awarded.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 41 USC 2102 – Prohibitions on Disclosing and Obtaining Procurement Information The prohibition runs both directions. It is illegal to knowingly obtain that information before award. Former government employees who had access remain bound after leaving.
During an active procurement, then, no FOIA request or other mechanism will get you a rival’s proposal. That changes once the award is made.
Filing a FOIA Request for Contract Records
If what you want isn’t on SAM.gov or USASpending.gov, file a FOIA request. The Freedom of Information Act, codified at 5 U.S.C. § 552, gives anyone the right to request records from executive branch federal agencies. Citizenship is not a requirement. The statute requires agencies to make records “promptly available to any person” who reasonably describes what they’re seeking.7Office of Information Policy. 5 USC 552 – Public Information; Agency Rules, Opinions, Orders, Records, and Proceedings
Send the request to the specific agency that holds the records. A Department of Defense contract goes to DoD, a Department of Energy contract to DOE. Most agencies accept requests through their own FOIA portals or through the National FOIA Portal at FOIA.gov. Be as specific as you can. A contract number, contractor name, date range, or agency program will narrow the search. Vague requests get overwhelming responses or bounced back for clarification.
Fees
Filing is free, but agencies can charge for search, review, and duplication. What you pay depends on your category. Commercial requesters pay all three. Journalists and educational or scientific researchers pay only duplication. Everyone else pays search and duplication but not review.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 552 – Public Information; Agency Rules, Opinions, Orders, Records, and Proceedings
You can request a fee waiver. The statute requires waivers when disclosure “is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government” and the request is not primarily commercial. If that describes your purpose, make the argument in your initial letter.
Timeline and Appeals
Agencies must respond within 20 business days of receiving your request. In unusual circumstances, they can extend by up to 10 additional business days with written notice. Complex requests involving large volumes of records or consultations with other agencies often take considerably longer in practice.
If the request is denied in whole or in part, you have at least 90 days to file an administrative appeal. The agency then has 20 business days to decide. If the denial stands, you can sue in federal district court. Don’t skip the administrative appeal. Courts generally expect you to exhaust it first.
State and Local Government Contracts
FOIA reaches federal agencies only. It does not cover state or local governments. Every state has its own open records or sunshine law that grants similar access to state and local contracts. Names and exemptions vary (California’s is the Public Records Act), but the core presumption is the same: contracts funded by taxpayer money are public. For a city construction contract or a state IT services agreement, use your state’s open records law rather than FOIA.
Losing Bidders and Post-Award Debriefings
Contractors who lose a bid have their own route to information about the award. Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, an unsuccessful offeror can request a post-award debriefing within three days of receiving notice. At minimum, the agency must disclose:
- The government’s evaluation of significant weaknesses or deficiencies in your own proposal
- The overall evaluated cost or price and technical rating of both the winning offeror and yours
- The overall ranking of all offerors, if one was developed
- A summary of the rationale for the award decision
- For purchases of commercial products, the make and model the winning contractor will deliver
A debriefing won’t hand you a competitor’s full proposal, and the agency cannot disclose anything exempt under FOIA or prohibited by the Procurement Integrity Act. What it does give you is a real view into how the government evaluated the bids and where offerors stood relative to one another. For businesses that compete for federal work regularly, it’s the most direct feedback available.