Original research · RFPCapture

Federal Proposal Timeline Benchmark

How much time do federal solicitations give contractors to respond? This benchmark measures calendar days from authoritative source posting date to response deadline across 67,159 eligible opportunities in the RFPCapture shared catalog.

Published 2026-09-03 · Last updated 2026-09-04 · Posting dates 2024-10-15 to 2026-09-03

Headline finding. Among 67,159 eligible federal opportunities with an authoritative source posting date (opportunities.posted_date or SAM/Grants payload postedDate/openDate) and deadline, the median response window was 11 days (mean 17.2).

Dataset
RFPCapture shared catalog response windows measured from authoritative SAM.gov / Grants.gov posting dates to response deadlines.
Sample size
67,159 eligible opportunities after exclusions from 73,253 scanned shared-catalog rows.
Date range
Eligible posting dates 2024-10-15 to 2026-09-03.
Source provenance
RFPCapture shared public federal opportunity catalog (SAM.gov and Grants.gov notices ingested into the shared company scope). Counts are RFPCapture-derived from structured fields.
Last updated
2026-09-04 · Published 2026-09-03

Executive summary

Median response window: 11 days · Mean: 17.2 · 25th–75th percentile: 7–15 · 90th percentile: 29. Eligible sample: 67,159 notices after excluding incomplete dates, invalid windows, and amendment-like records (6,094 excluded from 73,253 scanned). Posting dates use authoritative SAM/Grants source fields only (67,159 from opportunities.posted_date, 0 from raw_json, 0 from summary). Ingestion timestamps (run_utc / created_at_utc) are not used.

Figures are RFPCapture-derived from stored SAM.gov / Grants.gov notice fields. They are not official government statistics.

Key findings

  1. Among 67,159 eligible federal opportunities with an authoritative source posting date (opportunities.posted_date or SAM/Grants payload postedDate/openDate) and deadline, the median response window was 11 days (mean 17.2).
  2. 64.9% of eligible opportunities allowed 14 days or less to respond.
  3. 92% of eligible opportunities provided 30 days or fewer between posting and deadline.
  4. 17.3% of eligible opportunities had response windows shorter than 7 days.
  5. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION › GSA/FAS FURNITURE SY had the shortest median response period among agencies with at least 25 observations (0 days, n=67).
  6. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION › GSA/FAS/PSHC/OASIS PLUS had the longest median response period among agencies with at least 25 observations (186 days, n=38).
  7. NAICS 541519 — Other Computer Related Services showed the shortest median response window among NAICS codes with at least 25 observations (7 days).
  8. Among notice types with at least 25 observations, “Sources Sought” had the tightest median turnaround (10 days, n=4,831).
  9. The interquartile range of response windows was 7–15 days (25th–75th percentiles); the 90th percentile was 29 days.
  10. Across recent months with ≥50 eligible notices, median response windows ranged from 11 days (2026-08) to 13 days (2026-05).

What the data shows right now

  • Among 67,159 eligible federal opportunities with an authoritative source posting date (opportunities.posted_date or SAM/Grants payload postedDate/openDate) and deadline, the median response window was 11 days (mean 17.2).
  • 64.9% of eligible opportunities allowed 14 days or less to respond.
  • 92% of eligible opportunities provided 30 days or fewer between posting and deadline.
  • 17.3% of eligible opportunities had response windows shorter than 7 days.
  • GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION › GSA/FAS FURNITURE SY had the shortest median response period among agencies with at least 25 observations (0 days, n=67).
  • GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION › GSA/FAS/PSHC/OASIS PLUS had the longest median response period among agencies with at least 25 observations (186 days, n=38).
  • NAICS 541519 — Other Computer Related Services showed the shortest median response window among NAICS codes with at least 25 observations (7 days).
  • Among notice types with at least 25 observations, “Sources Sought” had the tightest median turnaround (10 days, n=4,831).

Cite with care

  • Zero-day agency medians mean same-calendar-day posting and deadline — not missing data.
  • Authoritative posting dates only; run_utc / created_at_utc are never used.
  • This page is the citation authority for response windows; the 2026 Opportunity Benchmark covers volume/mix.

Overall response-window benchmark

Summary statistics (eligible sample)
MetricDays
Eligible opportunities67,159
Median11
Mean17.2
25th percentile7
75th percentile15
90th percentile29
Shortest valid window0
Longest valid window730
Records excluded from eligible sample
ReasonCount
Missing title0
Missing authoritative posting date3,092
Missing deadline112
Invalid deadline31
Negative window (deadline before posting)840
Corrupted / outlier window (>730 days)271
Amendment / modification-like (excluded)1,748
Total excluded6,094
Authoritative posting-date sources (eligible sample)
SourceCount
opportunities.posted_date column67,159
raw_json postedDate / openDate0
sam_summary_json0
Ingestion proxy (run_utc / created_at_utc)0

Response-window distribution

Response-window distributionCalendar days from posting YMD to deadline.
  • <7 days (17.3%)11,601
  • 7–14 days (47.6%)31,970
  • 15–30 days (27.1%)18,222
  • 31–60 days (6.2%)4,138
  • 60+ days (1.8%)1,228
Distribution table
BucketOpportunitiesShare
<7 days11,60117.3%
7–14 days31,97047.6%
15–30 days18,22227.1%
31–60 days4,1386.2%
60+ days1,2281.8%

Agency comparison

Rankings require at least 25 eligible observations per agency string. Labels are shortened from the stored hierarchy for readability.

Median response window by agency (shortest)
Median response window by agency (longest)
Agencies by sample volume (sortable view — median days)Top agencies by eligible opportunity count (≥25).
AgencyMedianMeanP25P75n
DEPT OF DEFENSE › DLA LAND AND MARITIME1112.511157,479
DEPT OF DEFENSE › DLA AVIATION8118124,934
DEPT OF DEFENSE › DLA LAND AND MARITIME1513.511154,613
DEPT OF DEFENSE › W6QM MICC-FT DRUM77.1672,847
DEPT OF DEFENSE › DLA TROOP SUPPORT1211.511121,691
DEPT OF DEFENSE › NAVSUP WEAPON SYSTEMS SUPPORT MECH3029.91933902
COMMERCE, DEPARTMENT OF › DEPT OF COMMERCE NOAA1010.5714631
DEPT OF DEFENSE › NAVFACSYSCOM MID-ATLANTIC1417.2726546
DEPT OF DEFENSE › DLA AVIATION AT OKLAHOMA CITY, OK3028.31332520
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION › NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER4.57.136480
AGRICULTURE, DEPARTMENT OF › USDA ARS AFM APD1013715.5463
VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF › 262-NETWORK CONTRACT OFFICE 22 (36C262)810613433
DEPT OF DEFENSE › SPRMM1 DLA MECHANICSBURG2525.51432414
VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF › 261-NETWORK CONTRACT OFFICE 21 (36C261)711.6514395
DEPT OF DEFENSE › DLA AVIATION AT PHILADELPHIA, PA28261532362
VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF › NETWORK CONTRACT OFFICE 23 (36C263)1013.7714352
VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF › 242-NETWORK CONTRACT OFFICE 02 (36C242)1014615343
DEPT OF DEFENSE › NAVSUP FLT LOG CTR NORFOLK68.639339
VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF › 250-NETWORK CONTRACT OFFICE 10 (36C250)1014618321
VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF › 246-NETWORK CONTRACTING OFFICE 6 (36C246)711.8514320

NAICS comparison

Median response window by NAICS (shortest)
NAICS by sample volume (≥25)
NAICSMedianMeanP25P75n
NAICS 236220 — Commercial and Institutional Building Construction1524.29283,369
NAICS 3364131116.78152,587
NAICS 3329111111.711131,723
NAICS 3325101513.311151,594
NAICS 23822013177211,579
NAICS 3327221512.38151,190
NAICS 541330 — Engineering Services1527.67241,121
NAICS 811210912.76151,060
NAICS 8113101013.5615996
NAICS 3342201113.1715888
NAICS 541519 — Other Computer Related Services714.1515880
NAICS 2379901639.5930872
NAICS 513210711.1513867
NAICS 3344191112.7815828
NAICS 2382101417.2722781
NAICS 3366111317.4718779
NAICS 3399911513.71115763
NAICS 3329192123.11131755
NAICS 5617301219.3718747
NAICS 334516810.7613692

PSC comparison

PSC codes by sample volume (≥25)
PSCMedianMeann
PSC 531512.93,706
PSC 591212.52,731
PSC 481111.51,974
PSC 471212.51,079
PSC 611111.51,001
PSC 251513.4955
PSC 6515810.1859
PSC Z2JZ1520.3798
PSC 1689.6752
PSC 431111.8709
PSC S2081219.9638
PSC 6640811623
PSC R4991329613
PSC 48202825.3611
PSC 6689.6606

Opportunity-type comparison

Median response window by opportunity type
  • Sources Sought (n=4,831)10
  • Special Notice (n=3,817)10
  • Combined Synopsis/Solicitation (n=36,134)11
  • Solicitation (n=16,237)13
  • Presolicitation (n=4,968)15
  • Award Notice (n=820)15
  • Justification (n=109)30
  • Federal Grant (n=81)134
Notice types (≥25)
Notice typeMedianMeanP25P75n
Combined Synopsis/Solicitation111281536,134
Solicitation131972416,237
Presolicitation1539.311334,968
Sources Sought1015.17154,831
Special Notice1028.26163,817
Award Notice1515.21515820
Justification3032.43030109
Federal Grant1342195030581
Set-aside labels (≥25)
Set-asideMedianMeann
Small Business Set Aside - Total1113.417,939
Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)1114.817,039
No Set aside used1422.16,389
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside (FAR 19.14)1115.12,814
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set Aside1220.51,792
SBA Certified Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program Set-Aside (FAR 19.15)1212.81,238
Women-Owned Small Business1216.6358
8(a) Set-Aside (FAR 19.8)1529.4242
8a Competed1431.9167
Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise1112.2161
HUBZone Set Aside1228.3107
Historically Underutilized Business (HUBZone) Set-Aside (FAR 19.13)1524.2103
Buy Indian Set-Aside (specific to Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Services)7885
Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise (ISBEE) Set-Aside (specific to Department of Interior and Indian Health Services)13.514.584
8(a) Sole Source (FAR 19.8)69.167

Seasonality / time trends

Response window over time (median days by posting month)Recent posting months in the eligible sample.
  • 2025-01 (n=5)674
  • 2025-05 (n=2)466
  • 2025-06 (n=23)7
  • 2025-07 (n=468)7
  • 2025-08 (n=591)7
  • 2025-09 (n=435)7
  • 2025-10 (n=151)14
  • 2025-11 (n=177)15
  • 2025-12 (n=284)15
  • 2026-01 (n=353)8
  • 2026-02 (n=399)9
  • 2026-03 (n=662)11
  • 2026-04 (n=1,050)12
  • 2026-05 (n=3,903)13
  • 2026-06 (n=16,677)12
  • 2026-07 (n=19,896)12
  • 2026-08 (n=19,822)11
  • 2026-09 (n=2,254)13
Monthly medians
MonthEligible nMedian daysMean days
2025-015674669.6
2025-052466466
2025-0623726.4
2025-07468723.6
2025-08591718.2
2025-09435723.5
2025-101511467.3
2025-111771593.2
2025-122841575.4
2026-01353838
2026-02399944.1
2026-036621136.1
2026-041,0501239.5
2026-053,9031324.1
2026-0616,6771216.1
2026-0719,8961215.5
2026-0819,8221113.5
2026-092,2541312.9
Quarterly medians
QuarterEligible nMedian daysMean days
2024-Q47661676.4
2025-Q15674669.6
2025-Q225761.6
2025-Q31,494721.5
2025-Q46121478.5
2026-Q11,414938.8
2026-Q221,6301218.7
2026-Q341,9721114.4
Federal fiscal year medians (FY starts Oct 1)
Fiscal yearEligible nMedian daysMean days
FY20251,531727.2
FY202665,6281117

Implications for proposal planning

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Original research

Methodology

Data source
RFPCapture shared public federal opportunity catalog (SAM.gov and Grants.gov notices ingested into the shared company scope). Counts are RFPCapture-derived from structured fields.
Date range
Eligible posting dates 2024-10-15 to 2026-09-03.
Sample size
67,159 eligible opportunities after exclusions from 73,253 scanned shared-catalog rows.
Date fields
Authoritative posting date only (no ingestion proxies). Resolution order: opportunities.posted_date column (67,159 eligible), then raw_json.postedDate/openDate (0), then sam_summary_json equivalents (0). Response deadline: opportunities.deadline only. run_utc / created_at_utc are never used.
Amendments
Notices with amendment/modification language in title or opportunity_type are excluded from the primary eligible sample so amendments are not treated as new opportunities for timeline measurement. Exclusion count is reported separately.
Outliers
Negative windows (deadline before posting YMD) are excluded. Windows greater than 730 calendar days are treated as corrupted/outlier and excluded. Unparseable or out-of-range calendar years (outside 1990–2100) are excluded as invalid dates.
Minimum sample thresholds
Agency, NAICS, PSC, notice-type, and set-aside median rankings require at least 25 eligible observations. Groups below the floor are omitted from rankings.
Definitions
response_window_days = calendar days between authoritative posting YMD and deadline YMD (UTC date parts). Median, mean, and percentiles use the eligible sample only.
Inclusion criteria
Notices with an authoritative posting date and a response deadline that produce a valid non-negative calendar-day window, after amendment and outlier rules.
Exclusion criteria
6,094 records excluded from 73,253 scanned; 3,092 missing authoritative posted date; 112 missing deadline; 31 invalid deadline; 840 negative windows; 271 corrupted/outlier windows; 1,748 amendment-like excluded

Source notes

Public-source figures come from SAM.gov, Grants.gov, or other primary listings stored in the catalog. RFPCapture-derived figures are analysis products computed from those fields and are labeled separately.

  • Public sourceAuthoritative posting dates and deadlinesAuthoritative posting date only (no ingestion proxies). Resolution order: opportunities.posted_date column (67,159 eligible), then raw_json.postedDate/openDate (0), then sam_summary_json equivalents (0). Response deadline: opportunities.deadline only. run_utc / created_at_utc are never used.
  • RFPCapture-derivedResponse-window medians, percentiles, and rankingsCalendar-day windows computed by RFPCapture from public date fields after the exclusion rules above. Not official SAM.gov statistics.
  • RFPCapture-derivedDate-field auditrun_utc and created_at_utc are ingestion/database clocks and are never used as publication dates. Authoritative posting dates come from opportunities.posted_date (column), raw_json.postedDate/openDate, or sam_summary_json equivalents.

Limitations

Catalog coverage reflects RFPCapture ingestion windows, not the entire historical SAM.gov archive. Rows without a recoverable SAM/Grants postedDate (or equivalent) in column/raw/summary are excluded rather than filled with ingestion timestamps. Title-keyword amendment detection is approximate. Agency hierarchy strings are shortened for display without inventing department roll-ups. Deadlines may be extended on SAM.gov after ingestion; this snapshot uses stored catalog values.

Citation kit

Use this kit to cite RFPCapture research in articles, briefings, newsletters, and AI systems. Statistics below are also rendered as HTML on this page — not image-only.

Study title
Federal Proposal Timeline Benchmark
Publisher
RFPCapture
Publication date
2026-09-03
Last updated
2026-09-04
Dataset size
67,159 eligible opportunities after exclusions from 73,253 scanned shared-catalog rows.

Short research summary

Among 67,159 eligible federal opportunities with an authoritative source posting date (opportunities.posted_date or SAM/Grants payload postedDate/openDate) and deadline, the median response window was 11 days (mean 17.2). Dataset: 67,159 eligible opportunities after exclusions from 73,253 scanned shared-catalog rows.. Publisher: RFPCapture. Canonical: https://www.rfpcapture.com/research/federal-proposal-timeline-benchmark.

Recommended citation

RFPCapture. Federal Proposal Timeline Benchmark. September 3, 2026. Retrieved from https://www.rfpcapture.com/research/federal-proposal-timeline-benchmark.

Headline statistics

Dataset: RFPCapture shared catalog response windows measured from authoritative SAM.gov / Grants.gov posting dates to response deadlines.. Cite the canonical URL with each statistic.

  1. Among 67,159 eligible federal opportunities with an authoritative source posting date (opportunities.posted_date or SAM/Grants payload postedDate/openDate) and deadline, the median response window was 11 days (mean 17.2).

  2. 64.9% of eligible opportunities allowed 14 days or less to respond.

  3. 92% of eligible opportunities provided 30 days or fewer between posting and deadline.

  4. 17.3% of eligible opportunities had response windows shorter than 7 days.

  5. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION › GSA/FAS FURNITURE SY had the shortest median response period among agencies with at least 25 observations (0 days, n=67).

  6. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION › GSA/FAS/PSHC/OASIS PLUS had the longest median response period among agencies with at least 25 observations (186 days, n=38).

  7. NAICS 541519 — Other Computer Related Services showed the shortest median response window among NAICS codes with at least 25 observations (7 days).

  8. Among notice types with at least 25 observations, “Sources Sought” had the tightest median turnaround (10 days, n=4,831).

  9. The interquartile range of response windows was 7–15 days (25th–75th percentiles); the 90th percentile was 29 days.

  10. Across recent months with ≥50 eligible notices, median response windows ranged from 11 days (2026-08) to 13 days (2026-05).

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