Sole-source contracts for small businesses
When a federal agency can award a contract to one small business without competition: the 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB and WOSB sole-source authorities, and what they require.
What sole source means
A sole-source award goes to one company without a competition. In federal contracting that is the exception: agencies have to justify it. The SBA's programs give agencies specific authority to award some contracts to a single eligible small business, which is why certification in those programs matters to agencies with small-business goals.
The small-business sole-source authorities
The thresholds and conditions are in the FAR (Part 19) and SBA's rules, and they change with inflation adjustments; check the current figures on the SBA's program pages.
- 8(a) Business Development: agencies can award contracts directly to an 8(a) participant below the program's competitive thresholds (several million dollars, higher for manufacturing), and some 8(a) firms owned by tribes, Alaska Native Corporations and Native Hawaiian Organizations can receive larger awards.
- HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) and women-owned (WOSB/EDWOSB) small businesses: sole-source awards are allowed below each program's thresholds, generally when the contracting officer doesn't expect two or more eligible firms to offer and the price is fair and reasonable.
- The Department of Veterans Affairs has its own Veterans First rules that favor veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.
How companies get sole-source work
Sole-source awards rarely come from a cold start. They usually follow marketing to a specific office: the office knows the company, has a need under the threshold, and the company is certified. Award records show which offices use sole-source awards for your kind of work, and to whom.
On SpendQuery
Official sources
Questions people ask
Can any small business get a sole-source contract?
Not under these authorities: the company has to be certified in the program (8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB or WOSB) and the award has to meet the program's conditions and dollar thresholds.
Is a sole-source award published?
Yes. Awards are reported to the Federal Procurement Data System and show up on USAspending.gov, with how the contract was competed.
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Updated 2026-10-06. General information, not legal advice; the solicitation and the FAR govern each purchase.