Solicitation
Contract Delivery Service (CDS) HCR 961A6 ALTURAS, CA - H002, CA
Postal Service
AI summaryThe U.S. Postal Service (USPS) wants a contractor to carry mail on contract delivery service route HCR 961A6 (solicitation 810-101-27). The route runs from Alturas, California, through Davis Creek, California, to New Pine Creek and Lakeview, Oregon. The term runs from December 16, 2026 to September 30, 2032, about 5 years and 9.5 months, paid as a fixed annual rate. The response due date is November 6, 2026, 10:00 AM Mountain, and SAM.gov states no set-aside. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
The notice looks incomplete: Part of both attachments was attached but not read. In the solicitation details that includes part of the Operations Plan criteria, price evaluation, best value decision and some clauses. The middle of the Proposal Submission Package was also left out. Check them on SAM.gov. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) wants a contractor to carry mail on contract delivery service route HCR 961A6 (solicitation 810-101-27). The route runs from Alturas, California, through Davis Creek, California, to New Pine Creek and Lakeview, Oregon. The term runs from December 16, 2026 to September 30, 2032, about 5 years and 9.5 months, paid as a fixed annual rate. The response due date is November 6, 2026, 10:00 AM Mountain, and SAM.gov states no set-aside.
Who can bid (5)
- Not a Postal Service employee, and not a business substantially owned or controlled by Postal Service employees. Family or household members may be eligible after an ethics review.
- Not suspended, debarred or ineligible for contracts.
- An individual must be at least 18 years old and have 2 years' driving experience to drive under a Postal Service contract. A partnership or corporation can also hold the contract.
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- At least one vehicle with 120 cubic feet of usable load space, plus ready standby equipment.
- A subcontracting plan if the term total is $1,000,000 or more or you use subcontractors. A lack of an approved plan may make you ineligible for award.
How to submit: Email the completed Proposal Submission Package documents to amy.warnecke@usps.gov, or fax them to 651-456-6819. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (9)
From the version posted Oct 24, 2026.
- Serious: Supplier eligibility is pass/fail. A firm that does not pass the eligibility check, for example one owned by Postal Service employees or debarred, is not evaluated further.
- Worth checking: Vehicle and standby equipment needed from the start date. You need a vehicle with 120 cubic feet of usable load space, with standby vehicles ready, a roof warning light and a cell phone, for service starting December 16, 2026.
- Worth checking: Solicitation was not posted 30 days. The solicitation says it was not posted for 30 days because of the urgency of the service.
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- Worth checking: One fixed annual rate must cover wages, fringe benefits and all costs. Department of Labor wage and fringe costs, vacation time and any round-trip driver pay must be in the price, and later adjustments for them will not be allowed.
- Worth checking: Posted miles and hours are estimates only. You must work out the actual miles and hours yourself, and the price does not change if the real distance differs from the schedule.
- Worth checking: May be required to live in the community. Suppliers awarded contract delivery service (CDS) contracts may be required to live in the community of the post office.
- Worth checking: Subcontracting plan rules differ between two places. The instructions require a plan when the term total is $1,000,000 or more or you use subcontractors. Provision 3-1 requires one only from offerors other than small businesses at $1 million. Ask which applies to you.
- Minor: Background screening of every driver. Each driver submits forms, fingerprints, photographs and a driving record, and clearance can be denied or revoked.
- Minor: Either side can end the contract on 60 days' notice. The contract has no termination for convenience clause, but the contracting officer or the supplier can end it on 60 days' written notice when the annual rate is under $2,500,000.
Read from the notice and 2 attachments. Show which files.
- 961A6 Solicitation Details.pdf (read)
- 961A6 Proposal Submission Pkg.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Carry mail daily except Sundays and holidays (303.07 annual trips). The route is 130.8 round-trip miles from the Alturas post office to Davis Creek, New Pine Creek and Lakeview, with a stop at Modoc Estates (96173).
- Case (sort) the mail before departure: the schedule is based on 353 boxes (Alturas 280, Davis Creek 9, New Pine Creek 4, Lakeview 60). Estimated annual miles are 39,641.6 and estimated annual hours are 2,424.0.
- Load, transport and unload all classes of mail at post offices, and deliver to and collect from customer boxes along the route. When directed, also sell stamps, take money order payments and handle registered, certified and insured mail.
- Provide at least one vehicle with 120 cubic feet of usable load space, plus standby vehicles for extra trips, repairs and emergencies. Add a roof-mounted warning light and a cellular phone for the driver.
- Take part in route training from the Administrative Official (three hours a day for two days), paid at the hourly rate you quote. You train any of your own people.
- Extra trips are paid at $2.00 per mile. Trips the Postal Service cancels with at least 4 hours' notice are paid at 50% of the rate per mile, and trips cancelled with less notice are paid in full.
- Get every driver and worker screened and cleared (forms, fingerprints, photographs, driving records) before they work, and keep drivers rescreened every four years.
- Meet the Department of Labor wage and fringe benefit rules (wage determination 1977-0194, Rev.-111, dated August 14, 2026) inside your fixed price.
- Contract type
- Fixed price with economic price adjustment (price changes under a postal rule), proposed as a single annual rate
- Period of performance
- December 16, 2026 to September 30, 2032 (about 5 years and 9.5 months). A short-term extension clause allows extensions of up to 90 days each, up to 6 months in all.
- Place of performance
- Route from Alturas, CA, through Davis Creek, CA, and New Pine Creek, OR, to Lakeview, OR, with a stop at Modoc Estates, CA
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Best value: the Postal Service awards to the offer it deems the best value, price and other factors considered. Supplier eligibility is pass/fail.
- Offers due
- November 6, 2026, 10:00 AM Mountain Time
- How to submit
- Email the completed Proposal Submission Package documents to amy.warnecke@usps.gov, or fax them to 651-456-6819
What they'll judge offers on
- Supplier Eligibility (pass/fail)
- Past Performance: (a) quality and timeliness of current or recent postal and comparable contracts, (b) business relations
- Supplier Capability: (a) ability to meet the start date given other commitments, (b) equipment, (c) financial condition, including a recent credit report
- Operations Plan: normal daily operations and unscheduled events
- Price (from PS Form 7405)
What to include when you submit
- Send a two-volume proposal. The technical evaluation uses the first volume, and the price evaluation uses PS Form 7405.
- Supplier Eligibility: give the information needed to show you can perform for the full term.
- Past Performance: list current or recent postal contracts and comparable non-postal work, with your record of following contract requirements and, for non-postal work, on-time performance.
- Supplier Capability: show you can start on the effective date, have the equipment, and are financially sound. Attach a recent credit report. A financial statement or bank funding letter may also be sent.
- Operations Plan: a detailed plan for normal daily operations and unexpected events, including whether you work as a sole proprietor or with hired drivers.
- Complete and sign the Representations and Certifications (Provision 4-3).
- Subcontracting plan, if applicable: required if the proposal total for the term is $1,000,000 or more or if you plan to use subcontractors.
- PS Form 7405, Transportation Services Proposal & Contract, signed: write the price in words and figures (they must match), and give your DOT number and employer identification number.
- Complete PS Form 7468A, the Highway Transportation Contract - Cost Worksheet, matching the price on PS Form 7405. State all miles and hours, including wash-up, vehicle inspection and portal time.
- Name any former Postal Service employee you propose to use, and list any amendments you acknowledge on the form.
- Put the contract number and solicitation number on every proposal.
After award, you must have
- Liability insurance for all motor vehicles, plus workers' compensation and vehicle insurance. Insurance must be effective by the time performance starts. From 961A6 Solicitation Details.pdf:
Insurance must be effective by the time performance starts under this contract.
- Every person who needs access to facilities, the mail or driving must be cleared by Postal Service screening before working. From 961A6 Solicitation Details.pdf:
At contract award, and thereafter, the supplier must identify to the adminis-…
- Basic competence in speaking and understanding English, assessed by the Administrative Official during screening.
Not in the notice text
- Part of both attachments was attached but not read. In the solicitation details that includes part of the Operations Plan criteria, price evaluation, best value decision and some clauses. The middle of the Proposal Submission Package was also left out. Check them on SAM.gov.
- The relative importance of price compared with the technical factors is not in the text read.
- The Department of Labor wage determination listed in Section B (1977-0194, Rev.-111) did not come through as readable text; check it on SAM.gov for the wage and fringe rates.
- Minimum insurance coverage amounts are not stated in the text read.
- No incumbent, contract value or Government estimate is given. Route details on casing and delivery come from the Administrative Official at the Alturas post office.
- Whether any special small business rules apply is not stated: SAM.gov shows no set-aside.
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email the completed Proposal Submission Package documents to amy.warnecke@usps.gov, or fax them to 651-456-6819. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 24, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Supplies Material MGMT, Philadelphia, PA
- Product/service code
- V119 · Transportation/Travel/Relocation – Transportation: Other
- Business type
- Transportation, logistics & vehicles (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 491110)
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Contract Delivery Service (CDS) Contract Available: HCR 961A6 ALTURAS, CA - H002, CA SOLICITATION CLOSES NOVEMBER 06, 2026, AT 10:00 AM MOUNTAIN TIME Effective date of service is 12/16/2026. Solicitation Details and Proposal Submission Package are attached. See the Terms and Conditions for Instructions to Offerors. The Terms and Conditions and the Statement of Work are located in the Solicitation Details attachment. Complete and return the documents in the Proposal Submission Package to submit your proposal. Send the completed Proposal Submission Package documents to amy.warnecke@usps.gov. If you need to fax them, please use 651-456-6819. Thank you. Amy Warnecke, Contract Delivery Service Office, USPS Department email: CDS@usps.gov
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