Your Right To Protest and Dispute

What if the contracting officer or buying agency makes a decision that you (the contractor) don't agree with or that you believe is incorrect? Government contracting regulations provide contractors with several remedies, all the way from filing a simple protest or dispute to taking the government to court.

To begin our discussion, we need to distinguish terminology. Under government contract law, you have the right to "protest" and also the right to "dispute." While these terms seem very similar and are often used interchangeably in everyday language, government contracting regulations treat them differently.

Generally speaking, these rules give you the right to "protest" a defective bid or the award of a contract to another bidder. They also give you the right to "dispute" an issue or disagreement with the contracting officer that arises after you have won and been awarded a contract.

In addition, you may have other options as well.

Related Resources

Protesting a Bid or Award

Termination for Default

Be the first to comment...

You must sign in to leave a comment.

Existing Users

New Users

Your email will not be displayed on the site
Not case sensitive
This will be displayed with your comments

By registering you confirm you have read and agree to our Member Agreement. View our Privacy Policy.