Solicitation
Worldwide AE Support Services
Department of State
AI summaryStage 1 of 3 for solicitation 19AQMM26R0258: the response due date is November 10, 2026, 1:00 PM Eastern, and only short-listed firms go on to Stages 2 and 3. The Department of State plans potentially eight or more indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts (orders placed as needed) for architect-engineer (A/E) firm-led teams. Work covers planning, design, security upgrades and maintenance for Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) projects at Foreign Service posts worldwide and in the Washington, DC area. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 21, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 27, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. The notice looks incomplete: The middle of the Stage 1 announcement and of the question-and-answer file was not read, so Stage 1 sections 1, 2, 4 and later, their point values and their page limits may be missing here. Check them on SAM.gov. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Stage 1 of 3 for solicitation 19AQMM26R0258: the response due date is November 10, 2026, 1:00 PM Eastern, and only short-listed firms go on to Stages 2 and 3. The Department of State plans potentially eight or more indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts (orders placed as needed) for architect-engineer (A/E) firm-led teams. Work covers planning, design, security upgrades and maintenance for Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) projects at Foreign Service posts worldwide and in the Washington, DC area.
Who can bid (8)
- Active SAM registration at the time of Stage 1 submission and at award; a joint venture must itself be registered in SAM, and de facto joint ventures are not recognized
- Be determined eligible, or conditionally eligible, as a United States Person (the test in Public Law 99-399) to go on to Stages 2 and 3; any conditional status must be cleared before award
- Incorporated or legally organized in the United States for more than 2 years before the request for proposals is issued, with the issuance date of what the Omnibus form calls the Phase II solicitation expected in January to February 2027
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- List one or more similar projects valued between $400,000 and $2,000,000 that are complete or substantially complete by award
- Employ U.S. citizens in at least 65 percent of principal management positions and in more than half of permanent full-time U.S. positions, and certify the same share for supervisory positions on project sites
- Hold, or be eligible to obtain, a Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) Secret Facility Clearance (FCL), and every member of a joint venture needs one as well as the joint venture itself
- Team members must be professionally licensed in their discipline, with experience coordinating disciplines and working under U.S. laws, codes and standards
- Large businesses must send a small business subcontracting plan before award, since an award may exceed $500,000
How to submit: Email, or a Google Drive share with Editor permission, to BotkinLL@FAN.gov and BaileyKP@FAN.gov (primary) and LeLT@FAN.gov (alternate). What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (12)
- Serious: Three-stage process; Stage 1 only. Only short-listed firms go on to Stages 2 and 3, Stage 1 rankings do not carry forward, and the dates for Stages 2 and 3 are not given.
- Serious: U.S. Person statement required with Stage 1. A firm that leaves out the Omnibus qualification package or its attachments cannot take part in later stages.
- Serious: Active SAM registration is pass/fail. A firm not active in SAM when it submits is excluded and its submission is not scored. Check a SAM.gov registration.
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- Serious: Secret facility clearance needed before award. The State Department will sponsor an uncleared firm, but sponsorship is not a guarantee, the firm has 180 days after short-list notice, and no award happens before at least an interim Secret clearance.
- Worth checking: Set-aside decided after Stage 1. Whether the awards are set aside for small businesses depends on how many small businesses rank among the most highly qualified at the end of Stage 1; the size standard is $25.5 million in average annual receipts.
- Worth checking: Date passed (Sep 2, 2026): Clarification deadline shows two dates. The same line gives October 26 and September 2, 2026, both at 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time; ask the contracting officer which applies.
- Worth checking: Page limits for Section 5 profiles show two values. The amended text gives 3 and 2 pages per person and 30 and 20 pages in total; going over a limit means those pages are not evaluated.
- Worth checking: Ten named discipline leads needed in Stage 1. The offer must name a lead for each of ten core disciplines, including physical security, technical security and cultural heritage, even if they work for a subconsultant.
- Worth checking: Incomplete submissions may be disqualified. Inaccurate or incomplete Stage 1 submissions can be disqualified at once, and the Government pays nothing for preparing them.
- Minor: Prohibited Countries List limits team members. Offerors may not choose team members from listed countries; the list is available only from the contracting officer.
- Minor: Public release of project information is prohibited. Firms on OBO projects cannot publish photos, narratives or social media about the work without written approval, which limits marketing of the work.
- Minor: Submission is by shared Google Drive files, not a third-party link. The instructions say not to upload to a third-party website and send a link, while asking for Google Drive shares with Editor permission.
Read from the notice and 9 attachments. Show which files.
- 2026 WW AE Support Services IDIQ_Stage 1_A04.pdf (read)
- 2026 Worldwide AE Support Services IDIQs QA_102126.pdf (read)
- 2026 WW AE Support Services IDIQ_Stage 1_A03.pdf (read)
- 2026 WW AE Support Services IDIQ_Stage 1_A02.pdf (read)
- 2026 Omnibus Statement of Qualifications_AE Support Services_A02.pdf (read)
- 2026 WW AE Support Services IDIQ_Stage 1_A01.pdf (read)
- 2026 WW AE Support Services IDIQ_Stage 1.pdf (read)
- x402 Public Release of Information 20250402.pdf (read)
- 2026 Omnibus Statement of Qualifications_AE Support Services.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Professional support services: facility assessments, maintenance plans, architectural and engineering studies, master plans, design, construction specifications, cost estimates, building forensics and project management
- Constructability review of design documents from a construction view, through the 35%, 65% and 90% design phases
- Construction critical path with a schedule and risk narrative, including how late materials, equipment or labor would affect completion
- Project budget analysis of the A/E's cost estimate, with value engineering ideas to keep the project within its construction budget
- Limited physical and technical security design (security and surveillance systems, forced entry and ballistic resistant construction, communication centers) if a task order needs it
- Staff the minimum disciplines listed, including architecture, historic preservation, structural (blast and seismic), cost estimating, facility management and construction management
- Support OBO offices in the Washington, DC area and projects at Foreign Service posts through task orders
- Contract type
- Multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts with task orders
- Period of performance
- 1 base year + 9 one-year options for each IDIQ contract
- Place of performance
- Various worldwide Foreign Service posts and OBO offices in the Washington, DC metropolitan area (SAM.gov lists Arlington, VA)
- Estimated value
- Maximum $100 million for the life of each IDIQ contract; orders are not expected to exceed $10 million per year; the Government guarantees a minimum of $10,000 in task orders over each contract's life
- How they'll choose
- Qualifications-based selection under the Brooks Act in three stages. Stage 1 (this notice): a technical panel scores and ranks portfolios and builds a short-list; rankings do not carry into Stage 2. Stage 2: short-listed firms submit team, management plan and past performance and present to the panel. Stage 3: top firms receive a formal solicitation with price proposals, reviewed for fair and reasonable pricing
- Offers due
- November 10, 2026, 1:00 PM Eastern (from the version posted Oct 21, 2026; amended since)
- How to submit
- Email, or a Google Drive share with Editor permission, to BotkinLL@FAN.gov and BaileyKP@FAN.gov (primary) and LeLT@FAN.gov (alternate)
- Page limits
- Whole Stage 1 portfolio: 67 pages in one PDF, 8.5 x 11 inches, 10-point font minimum; table of contents and dividers are not counted and pages over the limit are not evaluated. Section 3 narrative: 9 pages total (the amended text also shows 5 pages per project). Section 5 profiles: the amended text shows both 3 and 2 pages per person and both 30 and 20 pages in total. Limits for other sections were not read
What they'll judge offers on
- Pass/fail: active SAM registration at Stage 1 submission, and eligibility (or conditional eligibility) as a U.S. Person under the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act
- Section 3, Leadership of Multi-Disciplinary Services (20 points maximum): one narrative on the prime firm's approach to complex, multi-phase programs in international and diplomatic settings
- Section 4: portfolio of the prime firm's project examples showing design, project and program support, and leadership (points not read)
- Section 5, Core Team Lead Discipline Member Profiles (50 points maximum): named leads and biographical sketches for ten core disciplines
What to include when you submit
- Send the Stage 1 portfolio as one digital PDF with PDF bookmarks that match the solicitation sections
- Send the U.S. Persons statement of qualifications (Public Law 99-399) as a separate digital PDF, with certifications 1 through 6 completed and signed on page 9, plus Tab A (required), Tab B (if applicable) and Tab C (if needed)
- Put solicitation number 19AQMM26R0258 and "Worldwide A/E Support Services IDIQ" in the email subject line
- Upload both PDFs to Google Drive and share them with the three FAN.gov addresses with Editor permission; do not send a link to a third-party website
- Name by name the lead for each of the ten core disciplines, whether employed by the prime or a subconsultant, each with a biographical sketch; give only minimal subcontractor information in Stage 1
- Portfolio project examples in Section 4 must be projects the prime offeror performed; a lead's biographical sketch may include work done at earlier firms if it states the person's role
- Joint ventures must be registered in SAM as their own entity; the company with 51 percent or more of the joint venture completes the U.S. Persons statement
- Clarification requests go in writing to Lori Botkin and Kenneth Bailey at AE@state.gov
After award, you must have
- Selected firms must have, or immediately obtain, a DCSA-approved computer for processing classified information before the ProjNet-C system is deployed to the facility From 2026 WW AE Support Services IDIQ_Stage 1_A04.pdf:
…selected for contract award must possess,or immediately obtain an Information…
Current contractor
No incumbent is named. The Government anticipates awarding potentially eight or more IDIQ contracts and expects on-ramp and off-ramp procedures that can add or remove contractors during performance.
Not in the notice text
- The middle of the Stage 1 announcement and of the question-and-answer file was not read, so Stage 1 sections 1, 2, 4 and later, their point values and their page limits may be missing here. Check them on SAM.gov.
- Stage 2 and Stage 3 criteria and dates are not given; the Government will release them after the short-list is announced.
- Whether task orders abroad require a local office, host-country licenses, local currency pricing or host-country taxes is not stated in the text read; Stage 3 and task order terms are not posted.
- Pricing terms, labor rates and how task orders will be competed among awardees are not given.
Eligibility and how to respond
- Partly set aside for small businesses: part of the work is reserved for them, and the rest is open to any business. More open small business set-asides under NAICS 541330
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email, or a Google Drive share with Editor permission, to BotkinLL@FAN.gov and BaileyKP@FAN.gov (primary) and LeLT@FAN.gov (alternate). Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Architect-engineer services tied to buildings or construction are usually bought under the Brooks Act: the agency ranks firms on qualifications from an SF 330 first, then negotiates a price with the top firm. How A/E contracts work.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 27, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Acquisitions - Aqm Momentum, Washington, DC
- Product/service code
- C219 · Architect and Engineering – General: Other
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541330)
- Versions
6 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 27, 2026 · Amendment 0005 (this version)Due Nov 10, 2026
- Oct 21, 2026 · Amendment 0004Due Nov 10, 2026
- Oct 20, 2026 · Amendment 0003Due Nov 10, 2026
- Oct 19, 2026 · Amendment 0002Due Nov 10, 2026 (changed)
- Sep 30, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Oct 21, 2026 (changed)
- Aug 7, 2026 · SolicitationDue Oct 7, 2026
- 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
- Set-aside contracts explained
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
The U.S. Department of State (DOS), Bureau of Global Acquisitions, Acquisitions Management (GA/AM), on behalf of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), anticipates awarding multiple (potentially eight or more) indefinite delivery/indefinite (IDIQ) quantity contracts to qualified architectural/engineering (A/E) firm-led teams (prime or joint venture) to support the Department's planning, design, construction, facility rehabilitation, system replacement, physical and technical security upgrade, construction and renovation of communications facilities (information management and emanation security systems), and building maintenance projects and programs at various worldwide Foreign Service posts, as well as support OBO offices in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. ****Please see attached documents for more information and submission requirements**** **** Please see Amendment A01 changes shown in red font. **** **** Please see Amendment A02 and the Omnibus Statement of Qualifications changes shown in blue font. **** **** Please see Amendment A03 changes shown in fuchsia colored font. **** **** Please see Amendment A04 changes shown in purple colored font. All the clarification questions and responses are also posted in the Attachments/Links section. **** ***10/27/2026 - The previous Q&A attachment for questions submitted through September 2, 2026 is deleted and replaced with the ALL Q&A through the October 26, 2026 deadline posted in the Attachments.***