How to Fill Out and Submit Standard Form 1442: Blocks, Submission, and Withdrawal

To fill out Standard Form 1442, you complete blocks 14 through 20 on page two — your legal business name and address, phone, remittance address if different, price and acceptance period, agreement to furnish required bonds, acknowledgment of every amendment, and the signature of someone authorized to bind your company — then submit the form to the address in Block 8 by the exact time and date in Block 13a. The contracting officer has already filled in blocks 1 through 13 with the project details, and blocks 21 through 31 belong to the award side of the transaction.¹ A blank copy is available from the General Services Administration.²

SF 1442 is the cover document for federal construction, alteration, repair, dismantling, demolition, and removal-of-improvements solicitations. It is not used for service contracts or commodity purchases; those procurements run on Standard Form 33.

What You Fill In and What the Agency Already Filled In

The form has 31 numbered blocks across two pages. Before you write anything, know which blocks are yours:

Blocks 1–13: solicitation terms set by the contracting officer. Read carefully; do not alter.
Blocks 14–20: the offer. This is your work.
Blocks 21–31: the award, completed by the government if you win. Block 29 is the award signature block, and it states that the contractor is not required to sign it — the contracting officer’s signature alone binds the contract.¹

There is one exception on the award side. Block 28 applies to negotiated agreements (requests for proposals rather than sealed bids). If the solicitation is negotiated and your offer is accepted, you sign Block 28 and return copies to the issuing office.

Prep Before You Touch the Form

Gather these items first. Missing any of them can void an otherwise competitive bid.

Active SAM.gov registration with a current Unique Entity Identifier. Registration must be renewed every 365 days, and a lapsed registration is grounds for rejection.³
Bid guarantee, if Block 13b requires one. Acceptable forms include a bid bond or certified check. The guarantee must be at least 20 percent of your bid price and cannot exceed $3 million.⁴
Confirmed bonding capacity from your surety. If Block 12 requires performance and payment bonds, you need written assurance you can furnish them inside the days specified in Block 12b. Under the Miller Act, both bonds are required for any federal construction contract exceeding $150,000.⁵
A finished cost estimate built from the solicitation’s drawings, specifications, and scope. Once you submit, your price is locked for the acceptance period.
A list of every amendment the agency has issued to the solicitation (each one arrives on a Standard Form 30). You will need each amendment number and date for Block 19.⁶

Small Business Set-Asides

Many construction solicitations are set aside for small business. Under FAR 19.502-2, a contracting officer must set aside an acquisition when there is a reasonable expectation that at least two responsible small business concerns will submit offers at a fair market price.⁷ If the solicitation carries a set-aside designation, only firms meeting the applicable size standard are eligible to bid.

Filling In Blocks 14 Through 20

Work through the offer page in order.

Block 14 — Name and address of offeror. Full legal business name, street address, city, state, ZIP code. This must match your SAM.gov registration exactly. Any mismatch invites a responsiveness question.

Block 15 — Telephone number. Include the area code.

Block 16 — Remittance address. Complete only if payment should go somewhere other than the address in Block 14. If your remittance address is the same, leave it blank.

Block 17 — Offer. This is the price and acceptance-period block. You agree to perform the work at the prices you specify. You may insert a number of calendar days equal to or greater than the minimum stated in Block 13d. If you leave the calendar-days field blank, you are bound to the minimum in Block 13d.¹

Block 18 — Bonds. Your agreement to furnish any performance and payment bonds required by Block 12, within the days specified there.

Block 19 — Acknowledgment of amendments. List every amendment by number and date. Do not skip any. A missing acknowledgment is one of the fastest ways to have a bid ruled nonresponsive.

Block 20 — Signature. Printed name, title, original signature, and date of the person authorized to bind your company. An unsigned offer is rejected on its face.

The Solicitation Blocks That Bind You

Before signing Block 20, read these boxes carefully. They set terms your signature accepts.

Block 8: the address where your offer must be delivered.
Block 11: the performance period — how many calendar days you have to begin and complete the work after notice to proceed, and whether that period is mandatory or negotiable.¹
Block 12: whether performance and payment bonds are required, and how many days after award you have to furnish them.
Block 13a: the exact time, date, and number of copies for submission.
Block 13b: whether a bid guarantee is required.
Block 13d: the minimum number of calendar days your offer stays open for acceptance.⁸

Submitting the Offer

Send the completed form to the address in Block 8, not to SAM.gov. The solicitation specifies the acceptable delivery method: hand delivery, mail, or a designated electronic portal. Block 13a controls both timing and the number of copies. A submission that arrives after the exact time in Block 13a is generally rejected without consideration.

There are narrow late-bid exceptions. An electronic bid that reached the initial point of entry to the government’s infrastructure by 5:00 p.m. one working day before the deadline may still be considered. A late bid can also be accepted if there is evidence it arrived at the designated government installation and was under government control before the deadline. If an emergency disrupts normal government operations, the receipt deadline shifts to the same time on the first working day operations resume.⁹ Outside those situations, late is fatal.

Changing or Pulling a Bid Before Opening

You can withdraw your bid by any method the solicitation authorizes, as long as the notice reaches the office in Block 8 before the exact time set for bid opening.¹⁰ An authorized representative can also withdraw in person by appearing before the opening, showing identification, and signing a receipt for the bid. Electronic bids that are withdrawn must be purged from government storage systems.

Modifications follow the same clock. A modification arriving after the opening time will not be considered. If the agency issued an amendment and you need to adjust your price or terms in response, a letter or electronic message that references the solicitation number and the specific amendment is sufficient, provided it arrives on time.⁶

Mistakes That Get Bids Thrown Out

Most rejections come from paperwork, not price. The recurring problems:

An amendment was issued and Block 19 does not acknowledge it.
Block 13b requires a bid guarantee and none was submitted, or the guarantee is below 20 percent of the bid price.
SAM.gov registration is inactive or expired at the time of award review.
The offer arrives after the time in Block 13a with no qualifying exception.
Block 20 is unsigned, or the signer lacks authority to bind the company.

What Happens After You Sign the Contract Away

If your offer is accepted, the contracting officer signs Block 29 and that signature alone creates the contract. A notice to proceed then starts the clock on the performance period in Block 11. Several obligations attach immediately:

Bonds. For contracts exceeding $150,000, you must furnish a performance bond on Standard Form 25 and a payment bond on Standard Form 25-A within the days stated in Block 12b.⁵¹¹

Davis-Bacon prevailing wages. Nearly all federal construction contracts over $2,000 require payment of locally prevailing wages set by the Department of Labor, and weekly certified payrolls on Form WH-347. Records must be kept for at least three years after project completion.¹²

Liquidated damages. If the solicitation includes FAR clause 52.211-12, you owe a fixed daily amount for every calendar day past the completion date in Block 11. The rate is set by the contracting officer in the solicitation, and it continues to accrue even if the government terminates your right to proceed and brings in another contractor to finish the work.¹³

Subcontracting plan. Large businesses receiving construction contracts over $2 million must submit a subcontracting plan describing opportunities for small businesses, including small disadvantaged and women-owned firms. Submit the plan with your offer, not after award. Small businesses are exempt.¹⁴

1
General Services Administration. Standard Form 1442
2
General Services Administration. Solicitation, Offer, and Award (Construction, Alteration, or Repair)
3
SAM.gov. Get Started with Registration and the Unique Entity ID
4
Acquisition.GOV. 28.101-2 Solicitation Provision or Contract Clause
5
Acquisition.GOV. Subpart 28.1 – Bonds and Other Financial Protections
6
General Services Administration. Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract
7
Acquisition.GOV. Total Small Business Set-Asides
8
Acquisition.GOV. 48 CFR 36.701 – Standard and Optional Forms for Use in Contracting for Construction or Dismantling, Demolition, or Removal of Improvements
9
Acquisition.GOV. 14.304 Submission, Modification, and Withdrawal of Bids
10
eCFR. 48 CFR 14.303 – Modification or Withdrawal of Bids
11
GSA. Performance Bond
12
U.S. Department of Labor. Davis-Bacon and Related Acts
13
Acquisition.GOV. 52.211-12 Liquidated Damages-Construction
14
Department of Energy. PF 2026-05 Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2025-06 and Associated Changes