Every federal RFP asks for past performance — and every new contractor faces the same problem: you have no federal past performance to show. It feels like a catch-22: you cannot win a contract without past performance, and you cannot get past performance without winning a contract. In practice, the system is not quite that closed. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) gives evaluators clear instructions for exactly this situation, and smart new bidders use every one of them. A past performance section written with no past performance can still score, provided you understand what evaluators are really looking for and you give them relevant experience instead of an empty page.
What the Rules Actually Say
Start with the rule that protects you. FAR 15.305(a)(2) says that when an offeror has no relevant past performance information, or when that information is not available, the offeror shall not be evaluated favourably or unfavourably on past performance. In plain English: a complete lack of past performance cannot count against you. You get a neutral rating, not a failing one. That is not a loophole — it is the written policy, and it exists precisely so new businesses can enter the federal market.
But a neutral rating is only the floor, not the ceiling. Evaluators may also consider the past performance of your key personnel, your subcontractors, and your predecessor companies, where relevant. FAR also allows agencies to evaluate the past performance of your proposed team members, not just your company as a whole. That opens up several legitimate ways to build a convincing section even when your firm itself has never held a federal contract. The trick is knowing which of those routes fits your situation and documenting each one properly.
Also read Section M of the RFP carefully before you write anything. Section M tells you how past performance is weighted against the other evaluation factors — technical approach, price, and so on. If past performance is a minor factor and your technical approach is strong, a neutral rating may be perfectly fine. If it is a major factor, you need to work harder on the alternatives below. Your past performance strategy should follow the RFP’s structure, not fight it. If you have not yet worked through the RFP properly, read our guide on how to read an RFP section by section first — it explains how Sections L and M shape every part of your response, including past performance.
Use Relevant Experience, Not Just Federal Contracts
The most important distinction in a past performance section is between federal contracts and relevant experience. Evaluators are asked to judge how well you performed work similar in size, scope, and complexity to the work being procured. A state government contract, a county contract, or a large commercial project that matches the RFP’s scope can count as relevant experience even though it was never a federal contract. A landscaping company that maintained 40 acres for a school district has relevant experience for a federal grounds-maintenance contract. An IT firm that migrated a hospital’s network has relevant experience for a similar federal migration — the client was different, but the work was the same.
For each relevant project, write it up the way an evaluator wants to see it: the client, the contract value, the period of performance, a short description of the scope, and — most importantly — what you actually achieved. Evaluators score results, not descriptions. “Provided janitorial services for a 120,000 square foot office building” is a description. “Provided janitorial services for a 120,000 square foot office building for three years, with a 98 percent inspection pass rate and zero missed service days” is evidence. Include measurable results wherever you can: on-time delivery rates, quality scores, cost savings, customer satisfaction ratings, and any awards or recognition the work earned.
Be honest about what each project was. Do not dress up a commercial job as a federal contract, and do not inflate contract values — agencies verify past performance references, and a reference who contradicts your claims will damage your credibility far more than a modest project ever could. If your relevant experience is small, present it accurately and let its relevance speak. Three genuinely similar projects beat ten loosely related ones every time.
Your People Have Past Performance Too
If your company is new but your people are not, their experience is your strongest asset. The project manager who ran a similar contract for a previous employer, the engineer who delivered the same service for a prime contractor, the quality manager who built the inspection process you now use — their track records are relevant, and Section M often allows them to be evaluated. In your past performance section, include short profiles of your key personnel with their relevant project history: what they did, for whom, at what scale, and with what results.
Keep these profiles factual and tied to the RFP’s requirements. If the RFP calls for a project manager with experience managing a team of fifteen on a multi-site contract, show that your proposed manager has done exactly that, even if it was for another employer. Attach resumes that support the claims, and make sure the resumes and the past performance narrative tell the same story. Inconsistency between volumes is one of the easiest ways to lose points — if your technical volume promises a certain team and your past performance volume describes a different one, evaluators will notice.
One caution: do not claim your employees’ former employers’ contracts as your company’s past performance. There is a real difference between “our project manager managed this contract at her previous firm” and “our company performed this contract.” Evaluators know the difference, and misrepresenting it is a credibility problem. Present personnel experience as personnel experience, clearly labelled, and it will be received as the honest evidence it is.
Partner With a Subcontractor Who Has It
Teaming is the fastest legitimate route to past performance for a new prime contractor. If you propose a subcontractor with strong, relevant past performance, evaluators may consider that subcontractor’s record as part of your proposal. This is why teaming agreements matter so much for small businesses: a new firm that partners with an experienced subcontractor can present a credible combined record from its very first bid.
Choose your subcontractor for relevance, not just reputation. A subcontractor with a long record in work unrelated to the RFP adds little. A subcontractor who has performed the exact service being procured — at a similar scale, for a similar client — adds a great deal. Get their agreement in writing before you name them, and get their past performance details from them directly: contract numbers, points of contact, values, dates, and results. A subcontractor who will not share this information is not a partner you can build a proposal around.
Be clear in the proposal about who does what. Evaluators want to see that the subcontractor’s past performance maps to the work they will actually perform on your contract. If your subcontractor’s experience is in electrical work and you are assigning them the electrical scope, say so explicitly and show the match. And remember that subcontractor past performance is not a substitute for your own story — it strengthens your proposal, but your own relevant experience and your team’s credentials still need to be there. For more on finding and vetting partners, see our guide on how to find incumbent contractors, which also explains how to research the firms already working in your space.
Commercial Work Counts — Present It Well
Many new federal bidders underestimate their commercial work. A contract with a large private company, a university, a hospital system, or a nonprofit can be just as relevant as a government contract if the work matches. The evaluation question is always about similarity of scope, size, and complexity — not about who signed the cheque. When you present commercial work, include the same details you would for a government contract: client, value, dates, scope, and results, plus a point of contact willing to confirm the work.
One practical step: ask your commercial clients for a short performance letter before you need it. A one-page letter confirming the scope, the period, and a satisfaction statement from a real client is far more persuasive than your own description of the same work. Collect these letters as you go, not the week a proposal is due. If you can, get permission to list a client contact as a reference — evaluators do call references, and a reference who answers promptly and speaks well of your work is worth more than any paragraph you can write.
If you have truly no relevant work at all — no commercial projects, no experienced team, no subcontractor partner — then the honest move is to say so plainly and claim the neutral rating the FAR provides. Write a short, professional statement: your firm is newly established, you have no relevant past performance information available, and you request evaluation in accordance with FAR 15.305(a)(2). Then make the rest of your proposal as strong as possible. A neutral past performance rating plus an excellent technical approach and a competitive price can still win, especially on lower-dollar or simplified acquisitions where past performance carries less weight. For a step-by-step approach to building that strong technical response, read our guide on how to write a government contract proposal.
Mistakes That Cost New Bidders Points
The most common mistake is leaving the past performance section blank or writing a single sentence saying you have none. Even if the neutral rating applies, an empty section looks careless and wastes the chance to present relevant experience, personnel credentials, or teaming partners. The second mistake is the opposite: padding the section with irrelevant projects in the hope that volume will impress. Evaluators score relevance, not quantity, and a pile of unrelated work signals that you do not understand the requirement.
A third mistake is failing to follow the RFP’s format instructions. Section L often specifies exactly how many past performance references to submit, what information each must include, and whether questionnaires must be sent to your references. Miss those instructions and your references may not be evaluated at all. Always build your past performance section from Section L, and run it through your proposal compliance checklist before submission — a missing questionnaire or an unacknowledged format rule can cost you the points you worked so hard to earn.
Finally, never fabricate past performance. Inventing contracts, inflating values, or listing references who cannot confirm your work is not just a losing strategy — it can lead to a finding of misrepresentation, a rejected proposal, and serious consequences for your firm’s standing in SAM.gov. The federal market rewards honesty and punishes exaggeration. Present what you genuinely have, frame it well, and let the neutral rating carry you where your record cannot yet reach.
Related Guides
Past Performance: Make No Experience a Strength
No federal past performance does not mean a weak past performance section. Build it from the evidence you do have: relevant commercial work, key people’s experience, and a subcontractor’s record. When every claim in your past performance section is specific, verifiable, and tied to a requirement, evaluators can score it with confidence.
Check how the rules treat offerors with no relevant record in FAR Part 15, and keep the rest of your proposal consistent with our guide on how to write a government contract proposal.
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