SF-1449: The Standard Form for Commercial Item Contracts — Complete Guide
SF-1449 (Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items) is the most common federal contracting form. It combines the solicitation, offer, and award into one document, used for commercial products and services under FAR Part 12.
What Is SF-1449?
SF-1449 is the Standard Form for Solicitation, Contract, and Order for Commercial Items. It was developed under FAR Part 12, which streamlined how the government buys goods and services already sold commercially. The form consolidates three things that used to require separate documents: the solicitation (the government asking for offers), the offer (your bid), and the award (the signed contract). Most federal contracts for IT services, professional services, products, and commercial construction use this form.
If you see a SAM.gov solicitation and download the attachment, there is a high probability the cover page is an SF-1449. The rest of the solicitation package — Statement of Work, clauses, evaluation criteria — will be attached as additional sections or a separate PDF.
When Is SF-1449 Used?
SF-1449 applies whenever the government acquires commercial items under FAR Part 12. That covers: commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products, commercial services (IT support, consulting, staffing, training, facilities management), and items used commercially that the government also buys. It is used for simplified acquisitions above the micro-purchase threshold ($10K), as well as full competitive procurements worth tens of millions of dollars.
SF-1449 is not used for: construction contracts over $2,000 (use SF-1442), sealed bids for non-commercial items (SF-33), or purchases below $10K (usually just a purchase card or verbal order).
SF-1449 Block-by-Block Breakdown
The form has numbered blocks. The government pre-fills most blocks in the solicitation. As the offeror, you fill in Blocks 17–30 (the offer section). Here is what each block means:
Internal agency tracking number. Pre-filled by government. You don't touch this.
Left blank during solicitation. The contracting officer fills this in when award is made.
Used when the form is for a task order under an IDIQ. Usually blank for initial awards.
The official solicitation ID. This is what you reference in all correspondence and on your proposal cover.
Which agency issued this and when. Check this — different agencies have different submission portals and rules.
The deadline. Eastern Time unless stated otherwise. Hard cutoff.
Contracting office name and address. The POC for Q&As.
Unrestricted / Small Business Set-Aside / SDVOSB / WOSB / HUBZone / 8(a). If you don't hold the checked certification, stop here.
Where and when delivery occurs. FOB Destination means the government takes ownership at its delivery address (not at your dock).
DX (defense priority) or DO (Department of Defense). Affects your production priority obligations if awarded.
RFQ (Request for Quotations) or RFP (Request for Proposals). RFQ = simplified, price-focused. RFP = full technical + price evaluation.
Your legal company name, address, telephone, UEI (Unique Entity Identifier from SAM.gov), and CAGE code. Must match your SAM.gov registration exactly.
The line items being procured, quantities, and unit prices. You fill in the unit price and total. This is where your actual bid price goes.
Your authorized signature, printed name, title, and date. An unsigned offer is rejected. Must be signed by someone authorized to legally bind the company.
Left blank during solicitation. The contracting officer fills these in at award — contract number, accounting data, contracting officer signature.
Common Mistakes That Get Offers Rejected
- Missing authorized signature (Block 30) An officer who isn't actually authorized to bind the company signs. Or nobody signs at all. Automatic rejection.
- UEI doesn't match SAM.gov registration The UEI in Block 17c must exactly match your active SAM.gov entity. Expired registration = ineligible offeror.
- Failing to acknowledge amendments If the contracting officer issued amendments after the original solicitation, you must acknowledge each one in your offer. Missing an acknowledgment = non-responsive offer.
- Price left blank on any line item Every CLIN (Contract Line Item Number) in Blocks 19–23 needs a price. Blank line items cause your offer to be rejected or evaluated as $0 (which may not help you).
- Wrong set-aside certification Bidding on an SDVOSB set-aside without VA-verified SDVOSB status, or WOSB set-aside without SBA certification. Check before you bid.
Download the official SF-1449 form directly from GSA — always use the latest version.
Download SF-1449 →