100+ of the acronyms you'll meet in federal contracting — in plain English, with why each one matters.
Published June 5, 2026 by the Government.biz editorial team.
Federal contracting runs on acronyms. A single solicitation can throw a dozen of them at you in the first paragraph — and guessing wrong can cost you a bid. This glossary collects the terms that come up most often when you register, certify, propose, and perform, grouped by where you'll run into them. Where we have a full guide, the term links to it.
Registration & identity
SAM
System for Award Management — the official federal vendor registration database. You must be registered to receive a federal award. See the SAM.gov registration guide.
UEI
Unique Entity ID — the 12-character identifier issued in SAM.gov that replaced the DUNS number as the government's primary way to identify your business.
CAGE
Commercial and Government Entity code — a 5-character code assigned to your business location, used across federal systems and contracts.
DUNS
Data Universal Numbering System — the old Dun & Bradstreet identifier, now retired in favor of the UEI.
NAICS
North American Industry Classification System — the 6-digit code that defines what your business does and sets your small business size standard. See NAICS codes & size standards.
PSC
Product Service Code — a separate classification system describing what is being bought, used alongside NAICS on solicitations.
SBA
Small Business Administration — the agency that sets size standards and runs the major small business certification programs.
DSBS
Dynamic Small Business Search — the SBA's searchable database of small businesses, fed by your SAM profile.
Certifications & set-asides
8(a)
The SBA's Business Development Program for socially and economically disadvantaged firms — a nine-year program with sole-source authority. See the 8(a) certification guide.
Women-Owned / Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business. See EDWOSB / WOSB.
HUBZone
Historically Underutilized Business Zone — a location-based set-aside. See HUBZone certification.
SDB
Small Disadvantaged Business — a status used in subcontracting goals and some set-asides.
MPP
Mentor-Protégé Program — lets a small firm team with a larger mentor in a joint venture. See Mentor-Protégé.
SBIR / STTR
Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer — federal R&D funding programs. See SBIR / STTR.
Rule of Two
The requirement to set an acquisition aside for small businesses (or a specific category) when at least two responsible firms are expected to compete at a fair price.
Solicitations & proposals
RFP
Request for Proposals — a negotiated solicitation evaluated on price and non-price factors. See RFP response structure.
RFQ
Request for Quotations — typically used for simpler or commercial buys.
IFB / ITB
Invitation for Bids / Invitation to Bid — sealed bidding, usually awarded to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.
RFI
Request for Information — market research, not a solicitation. See responding to an RFI.
Sources Sought
A market-research notice gauging small business interest and capability. See sources sought responses.
SOW / PWS / SOO
Statement of Work / Performance Work Statement / Statement of Objectives — the documents describing what the government wants done.
LPTA
Lowest Price Technically Acceptable — an award method that picks the cheapest offer meeting minimum requirements.
Section L / Section M
The solicitation sections containing instructions to offerors (L) and the evaluation criteria (M). See color team reviews.
Pwin
Probability of win — a capture team's estimate of the odds of winning a specific pursuit.
GAO
Government Accountability Office — hears most federal bid protests. See GAO bid protests.
Contract vehicles & types
IDIQ
Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity — an umbrella contract under which you compete for individual task or delivery orders.
GWAC
Governmentwide Acquisition Contract — a multi-agency IDIQ, usually for IT (e.g., CIO-SP4, Alliant, 8(a) STARS III).
MAS / FSS
Multiple Award Schedule / Federal Supply Schedule — the GSA Schedule program. See GSA Schedules.
BPA
Blanket Purchase Agreement — a simplified arrangement for recurring needs.
FFP
Firm-Fixed-Price — a contract for a set price regardless of the contractor's costs.
T&M
Time-and-Materials — payment based on labor hours at fixed rates plus materials.
CPFF / CPIF
Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee / Cost-Plus-Incentive-Fee — cost-reimbursement contract types. See federal contract types.
SEWP / OASIS+
Major governmentwide vehicles for IT products (SEWP) and services (OASIS+).
Compliance & cybersecurity
FAR / DFARS
Federal Acquisition Regulation and its Defense supplement — the rulebooks for federal and DoD contracting. See FAR/DFARS overview.
CMMC
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification — DoD's cybersecurity assessment framework. See CMMC certification.
CUI / FCI
Controlled Unclassified Information / Federal Contract Information — the data CMMC is designed to protect. See CUI handling.
NIST 800-171
The NIST standard (110 controls) underpinning CMMC Level 2.
DCAA
Defense Contract Audit Agency — audits contractor accounting systems and costs. See DCAA compliance.
SCA / DBA
Service Contract Act / Davis-Bacon Act — prevailing-wage laws for services and construction. See SCA and Davis-Bacon.