A Sources Sought notice is a market-research instrument an agency posts to SAM.gov to identify potential vendors capable of fulfilling a planned requirement. The agency is asking how many qualified small businesses, set-aside-eligible firms, or specialty vendors exist for this scope. Responses are non-binding capability statements paired with answers to specific questions the agency has posed about the requirement, the schedule, and the contracting approach.
The Sources Sought response feeds directly into the agency's set-aside determination under the FAR's Rule of Two. If the agency receives at least two qualified small business responses (or two qualified firms in a specific set-aside category) capable of performing at a fair market price, the contracting officer is generally required to set aside the contract. A Sources Sought response is therefore the most consequential piece of writing in the early procurement lifecycle — it determines whether the eventual RFP is set-aside-restricted or open to large primes.
For small contractors, Sources Sought responses are the highest-leverage capture activity available. The effort is modest — typically 5 to 10 pages of capability statement plus answers to specific questions — and the return is enormous: shaping the eventual solicitation toward set-aside competition, narrowing the field, and signaling intent to the contracting officer. Small firms that consistently respond to Sources Sought build a reputation with agency program offices. Firms that wait for the formal RFP have already missed the most important capture decision the agency makes.