--- title: "How to research who’s already winning: FPDS basics in SAM.gov, GovInbox Blog" description: "Before bidding on a new opportunity, look at what the agency bought before." canonical: "https://getgovinbox.com/blog/fpds-basics" --- [GovInbox Blog](./) ![How to research who’s already winning: FPDS basics in SAM.gov](images/fpds-basics/01-hero.png) # How to research who’s already winning: FPDS basics in SAM.gov Published 2026 Before bidding on a new opportunity, look at what the agency bought before. Past awards can show which firms performed similar work and how the agency bought it. That gives you better questions to ask when you read a new notice. Older guides may direct you to FPDS, the Federal Procurement Data System, which holds federal contract-action records. Its public search functions have moved to SAM.gov. ## Use the current award search GSA retired FPDS’s public ezSearch in February 2026. Search public contract award data through [SAM.gov’s Contract Awards area](https://sam.gov/fpds). You need a SAM.gov user account to view results, but no special role is required. Contract Awards and Contract Opportunities answer different questions. Opportunities show notices about potential work. Awards show reported purchases and changes to contracts already awarded. An award record may describe a new contract or an order under an existing one. It can also describe a modification, an update to a contract. That distinction matters when you count wins. ## Start with your work, then your code NAICS codes, short for North American Industry Classification System codes, identify industries. Use the code that fits your target work as a starting point. Add plain-English keywords buyers might use for that work. A broad code can contain jobs far outside your capacity. Search results become more useful when you also narrow the agency or place of performance, the location where work happens. A PSC, or Product and Service Code, describes the type of product or service purchased. It can help you narrow an industry-level search. Read descriptions before deciding which records belong in your research set. A matching code alone does not make two contracts comparable. ## Build a list of awardees An awardee is the business that received the contract or order. For each relevant award, record the company’s legal name and the buying office. Add the contract number and dates. Note whether it was a stand-alone contract or an order under a vehicle, an established buying arrangement. An incumbent is the firm currently performing the work. A past awardee may be the incumbent, but an old record alone does not prove who holds the job today. Check later actions and current notices before drawing that conclusion. You do not need to judge every business in the search results. Focus on the records that help explain your target purchase. ## Be careful with the dollars An obligation is money the government has legally committed. A ceiling is a maximum allowed amount. Potential value can include work or options that have not been purchased. Those fields measure different things. A modification can add funds to an existing contract. Counting that record as a separate win can distort your view of the market. [USAspending’s data guide explains award and transaction records](https://www.usaspending.gov/federal-spending-guide). Compare similar scope and performance periods before using award totals to estimate a price range. A public total may cover more sites or a longer term than your target job. It usually cannot tell you a contractor’s margin or exact labor rate. Look for released line-item details when you need a closer price comparison. ## Look for buying habits Does the same office buy related work repeatedly? Does it use stand-alone contracts or orders under a vehicle? Check whether the work was reserved for qualifying small businesses through a set-aside. Look at performance dates, then verify any likely replacement purchase through current notices or agency forecasts. An end date can help you plan research. It does not promise that the agency will buy the same work again. Treat these findings as leads to verify. ![award-research worksheet separating awardee, buying route, obligated dollars, and potential contract value.](images/fpds-basics/04-award-history-worksheet.png)award-research worksheet separating awardee, buying route, obligated dollars, and potential contract value. ## Build your first award-history map Choose one service and one target agency. Then: - Search Contract Awards using the relevant industry code and keywords. - Refine by buying office or performance location. - Read descriptions and remove unrelated work. - Group modifications with their underlying contracts. - Record awardees and check who is performing now. - Label each dollar field before comparing amounts. - Identify the contract vehicle, if any. - Save the search date and official record links. - Write down what each finding means for your next opportunity. Finish with a short list of relevant awards and one question to resolve. It might concern the buying route or the actual scope behind a reported price. Answer that question before using the history in your bid decision. ![How to research who’s already winning: FPDS basics in SAM.gov](images/fpds-basics/02-opportunities-vs-awards.png) ![How to research who’s already winning: FPDS basics in SAM.gov](images/fpds-basics/03-award-dollar-fields.png) [← All blog posts](./)