GAO decisions/Dismissed/Decided 4 Jun 2026
ProSource360 Consulting Services, Inc.
Untimely challenge to solicitation terms; constructive notice
The procurement
On February 18, 2026, the Army posted on SAM.gov an RFP for materiel fielding and medical liaison support services, with proposals due March 23, 2026. The synopsis left the set-aside field blank, but the RFP incorporated FAR 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside.
The protest
ProSource, a small business that said it regularly reviews small business opportunities, passed on this procurement because the synopsis did not identify it as a set-aside. After proposals were due, it learned from another firm on March 29 that the requirement was set aside, and it protested that the defective synopsis denied it a fair opportunity to compete. It also argued the Army used an improper form instead of the SF 1449 required for commercial services.
The agency’s answer
The Army asked GAO to dismiss the protest as an untimely solicitation challenge. It argued the set-aside terms were stated in the RFP posted on SAM.gov well before the proposal deadline, so any objection had to be filed before proposals were due.
What decided it
ProSource had constructive notice of the RFP's terms once posted on SAM.gov, so it had to protest before the closing time.
GAO dismissed the protest as untimely. Protesters are charged with constructive notice of solicitations published on SAM.gov, so ProSource had constructive knowledge of the RFP's set-aside provisions on February 18. Its challenges to the set-aside designation and the form used were solicitation challenges that had to be filed before the proposal due date under 4 C.F.R. § 21.2(a)(1).
“Our Office has previously found the presumption of constructive notice applies in circumstances where, for example, the protester had no internet access, or the protester simply did not find or see the notice of solicitation posting.”
GAO, B-424386
For the file: Read the actual solicitation, not just the SAM.gov synopsis fields. Once an RFP is posted, offerors are charged with knowing its terms, and any objection to them must reach GAO before proposals are due.
Authorities: 4 C.F.R. § 21.2(a)(1); FAR 52.219-6. Read the decision at GAO →
Facts are condensed from the published decision and the quote is verbatim; the takeaway is ours. Where GAO decided several grounds, only this one is described.
Could you have called it?
Protest! is the daily game: three real GAO decisions, both sides laid out. Rule sustain, deny or dismiss, then pick what decided it.
Play today’s Protest!