Past Performance

Past Performance is the federal source selection evaluation of a contractor's delivery record on relevant prior work. It is one of the standard evaluation factors under FAR Part 15 best-value source selection and a separate responsibility check under FAR Part 9. The evaluation considers cost performance, schedule adherence, quality of services delivered, regulatory compliance, and customer satisfaction. CPARS (Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System) is the official federal record of past performance.

Past performance evaluation hinges on three dimensions: relevance, recency, and rating. Relevance asks whether the prior work is similar enough in scope, complexity, and value to predict performance on the new contract. Recency typically requires evaluations from the last three to five years, depending on the solicitation. Rating draws from CPARS scores and from references provided by the offeror or solicited by the contracting officer. A neutral past performance record (no relevant past contracts) is treated more favorably than a documented poor record but less favorably than a documented strong one.

For small contractors, past performance is the most consistent obstacle to winning prime contracts. Firms early in their federal contracting trajectory often have limited or no relevant CPARS records — and the cycle is self-reinforcing: no past performance means no prime awards means no past performance. The reliable path forward is subcontracting on relevant prime contracts, then asking the prime to provide a written past performance reference for use in future proposals. Building a past performance portfolio is a multi-year capture investment, not a near-term tactic.