(A) specify its needs and solicit bids or proposals in a manner 
designed to achieve full and open competition for the procurement; 
(B) use advance procurement planning and market research; 
and 
(C) develop specifications in the manner necessary to obtain full 
and open competition with due regard to the nature of the prop-
erty or services to be acquired. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIFICATIONS.—Each solicitation under 
this division shall include specifications that— 
(A) consistent with this division, permit full and open competi-
tion; and 
(B) include restrictive provisions or conditions only to the extent 
necessary to satisfy the needs of the executive agency or as au-
thorized by law. 
(3) TYPES OF SPECIFICATIONS.—For the purposes of paragraphs (1) 
and (2), the type of specification included in a solicitation shall depend 
on the nature of the needs of the executive agency and the market 
available to satisfy those needs. Subject to those needs, specifications 
may be stated in terms of— 
(A) function, so that a variety of products or services may qual-
ify; 
(B) performance, including specifications of the range of accept-
able characteristics or of the minimum acceptable standards; or 
(C) design requirements. 
(b) CONTENTS OF SOLICITATION.—In addition to the specifications de-
scribed in subsection (a), each solicitation for sealed bids or competitive pro-
posals (other than for a procurement for commercial items using special 
simplified procedures or a purchase for an amount not greater than the sim-
plified acquisition threshold) shall at a minimum include— 
(1) a statement of— 
(A) all significant factors and significant subfactors that the ex-
ecutive agency reasonably expects to consider in evaluating sealed 
bids (including price) or competitive proposals (including cost or 
price, cost-related or price-related factors and subfactors, and 
noncost-related or nonprice-related factors and subfactors); and 
(B) the relative importance assigned to each of those factors 
and subfactors; and 
(2)(A) in the case of sealed bids— 
(i) a statement that sealed bids will be evaluated without discus-
sions with the bidders; and 
(ii) the time and place for the opening of the sealed bids; or 
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(B) in the case of competitive proposals— 
(i) either a statement that the proposals are intended to be eval-
uated with, and the award made after, discussions with the 
offerors, or a statement that the proposals are intended to be eval-
uated, and the award made, without discussions with the offerors 
(other than discussions conducted for the purpose of minor clari-
fication) unless discussions are determined to be necessary; and 
(ii) the time and place for submission of proposals. 
(c) EVALUATION FACTORS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In prescribing the evaluation factors to be in-
cluded in each solicitation for competitive proposals, an executive agen-
cy shall— 
(A) establish clearly the relative importance assigned to the 
evaluation factors and subfactors, including the quality of the 
product or services to be provided (including technical capability, 
management capability, prior experience, and past performance of 
the offeror); 
(B) include cost or price to the Federal Government as an eval-
uation factor that must be considered in the evaluation of pro-
posals; and 
(C) disclose to offerors whether all evaluation factors other than 
cost or price, when combined, are— 
(i) significantly more important than cost or price; 
(ii) approximately equal in importance to cost or price; or 
(iii) significantly less important than cost or price. 
(2) RESTRICTION
ON
IMPLEMENTING
REGULATIONS.—Regulations 
implementing paragraph (1)(C) may not define the terms ‘‘significantly 
more important’’ and ‘‘significantly less important’’ as specific numeric 
weights that would be applied uniformly to all solicitations or a class 
of solicitations. 
(d) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN SOLICITATION.—This section does not 
prohibit an executive agency from— 
(1) providing additional information in a solicitation, including nu-
meric weights for all evaluation factors and subfactors on a case-by- 
case basis; or 
(2) stating in a solicitation that award will be made to the offeror 
that meets the solicitation’s mandatory requirements at the lowest cost 
or price. 
(e) LIMITATION ON EVALUATION OF PURCHASE OPTIONS.—An executive 
agency, in issuing a solicitation for a contract to be awarded using sealed 
bid procedures, may not include in the solicitation a clause providing for the 
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