Glossary
Request for Quotes (RFQ)
A Request for Quotes (RFQ) (sometimes Request for Quotations) is an informal solicitation in which an agency asks several vendors to quote a price on something it has already specified. It sits below the dollar threshold that would trigger a formal sealed bid or RFP, and it typically requires only that the buyer obtain quotes from an adequate number of qualified sources.
Confusingly, some agencies use RFQ to mean Request for Qualifications, a different document that collects experience and staffing with no pricing at all. Check which one you are holding before you respond.
The short version
- An RFQ is a price-gathering exercise under a small-purchase threshold. Turnaround is short, often three to ten days.
- A quote is generally an offer the agency accepts by issuing a purchase order, not a signed contract negotiation.
- Under 2 CFR 200.320, simplified acquisitions require quotes from an adequate number of qualified sources; micro-purchases can be made without competitive quotes if the price is reasonable.
- Request for Qualifications is a different animal: no price, used to shortlist firms or to run qualifications-based selection.
Why it matters to a bidder
RFQs are the cheapest public work to win because the response cost is near zero, often a one-page quote on your letterhead. They are also how most vendors get their first transaction with an agency, which matters because past performance with the buyer is worth real points later in a scored RFP.
- Respond fast. Buyers frequently call the same three vendors because those vendors reply the same day.
- Quote exactly what was specified, then list alternates separately. A substitution buried in a quote reads as an exception.
- Ask to be added to the agency's vendor or bidders list for your commodity codes so you receive future RFQs.
A real example
A city public works department needs 40 replacement traffic-signal LED modules. The purchase is roughly $9,000, under the city's formal-bid threshold, so the buyer emails an RFQ to four vendors on the registered vendor list with a five-business-day due date. Three quote. The buyer documents the quotes, issues a purchase order to the lowest, and the file is complete. No bid bond, no public opening, no evaluation committee.
How state and local differs from federal
Federally, an RFQ under FAR Part 13 is a request for information and a quote is explicitly not an offer that can be accepted to form a contract. The government's purchase order is the offer. State and local practice is looser and varies: in many jurisdictions a written quote is treated as a binding offer for its stated validity period.
Thresholds also differ sharply. The federal micro-purchase and simplified acquisition thresholds are set in the FAR, while each state sets its own. Florida, for instance, defines statutory purchasing categories, with the competitive-solicitation trigger tied to Category Two at $35,000. Cities and school districts within the same state often adopt lower internal thresholds.
Common questions
Does RFQ mean quotes or qualifications?
Both, depending on the agency. If the document asks for price, it is quotes. If it asks for resumes, project lists and references with no pricing, it is qualifications.
Is a quote binding?
Federally, no. The purchase order is the offer. In many state and local jurisdictions a quote is treated as a binding offer for the validity period you state, so state one.
Do RFQs get advertised?
Usually not. They are sent to vendors already on a list, which is why registering with the agency matters more than watching bid boards.
Is there a protest right on an RFQ?
Often a limited one, and on a very short clock. Small-purchase decisions are frequently exempt from the formal protest process.