Invitation for Bid (IFB)
Also called: IFB, invitation for bids, sealed bid, invitation to bid, ITB
An Invitation for Bid is a sealed-bid solicitation: bids are opened publicly at a set time and award goes to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder, with no negotiation and no technical scoring.
Federal sealed bidding is FAR Part 14. The agency uses it when the requirement is clear enough that price alone can decide, which is why IFBs are common in construction, supplies and some services. State and local buyers use the same model under names like Invitation to Bid, and bid openings are often public events with a bid tabulation posted afterward.
What to check: the bid bond requirement, the exact due time (a bid received a minute late is rejected under FAR 14.304), the acknowledgment of every amendment, and the responsiveness items such as signatures, unit prices and required forms. Responsibility (financial capacity, past performance) is judged separately under FAR 9.1.
What it is not: a negotiated procurement. There is no best value tradeoff, no discussions and no chance to fix a mistake after opening except in the narrow cases FAR 14.407 allows.
See also: Bid opening, Bid tabulation, Bid bond, Request for Proposal (RFP)
Questions that use this term
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