QuotedPartAnswers · Updated 2026-10-30
How do I bid on DLA DIBBS solicitations as a small machine shop?
Price one of your own parts: Drop a STEP model or PDF drawing — about 90 seconds, no account.
Your part priced in about 90 seconds, no account.
Register in this order: SAM.gov (which gives you a CAGE code), then DIBBS, then the Joint Certification Program (DD Form 2345) if you need restricted technical data. Then pick solicitations whose part you can make, price the part at your own rates, and add the things a government order adds. On a fictional 24-piece aluminum bracket, our pricing engine plus a packaging line and freight comes to $72.03 each ($1,728.80 for the lot), against $60.49 for the machining alone.
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Registration, in order
DLA's own guidance, and the guides built from it, describe a fixed order. SAM.gov registration comes first: it assigns the CAGE code that DIBBS asks for and prefills your company data. DIBBS registration is free; DLA mails a verification postcard to the physical address in SAM, so keep that address current. A cFolders account, with its own password, opens non-restricted technical data. Restricted drawings (those with distribution statements) need an approved DD Form 2345 under the Joint Certification Program, submitted per CAGE code and physical address by email to the JCP office, and many export-controlled files also need a further DLA enhanced validation.
None of these registrations has a fee. If someone offers to do them for money, check DLA's own pages first. Allow time: the postcard and the JCP approval take days to weeks, and no solicitation waits for you. Check the current edition of the DD Form 2345 and DLA's instructions before you file.
Reading a solicitation for a part with an NSN
Each solicitation lists the National Stock Number, the quantity, the delivery terms, and the technical data: a drawing, a spec or a source control document. Read four things before you price: whether the part is open to any source or limited to approved sources, whether the drawing is available to you, the quantity and delivery date, and the inspection and packaging requirements (first article, certification, preservation and marking).
If the item is limited to approved sources and you are not one, the solicitation says how to apply for source approval. Treat that as a long project, not a quote. Start with open-source items you can make from the data you can get.
Thresholds shape the process. FAR 2.101 sets the micro-purchase threshold at $15,000 and the simplified acquisition threshold at $350,000 (acquisition.gov, FAC 2026-01, checked October 30, 2026). Smaller buys follow simpler procedures, which is where a new shop usually starts, though the solicitation text tells you the rules for each buy.
A worked bid: 24 brackets
Take a fictional solicitation for 24 aluminum 6061 brackets, 4 × 3 × 1 in, 90-day delivery, FOB destination. The machining comes from the shop's own rates: $60.49 each, with a 12-working-day lead time. Add preservation, packaging and marking: 6 minutes at $55/h plus $1.20 of materials, marked up 30%, is $8.71 each. Add freight to the destination: $68 for the lot (an assumed figure) is $2.83 each.
Bid: $60.49 + $8.71 + $2.83 = $72.03 each, $1,728.80 total. Check the price you key in against the lot; government buys are often evaluated on total price, and a typo in the unit price is a binding offer. Say what you can really deliver: a delivery date you can't meet becomes a late delivery on your record.
| Line | Each | Lot |
|---|---|---|
| Machining, from the shop's rates (engine, 30% markup) | $60.49 | $1,451.76 |
| Preservation, packaging and marking (6 min + materials, +30%) | $8.71 | $209.04 |
| Freight to destination (assumed) | $2.83 | $68.00 |
| Bid price | $72.03 | $1,728.80 |
Cautions for a first bid
Export-controlled data stays controlled: restricted drawings come with handling rules, and ITAR parts go in the ITAR vault, not in a general shared folder. Check whether the contract carries CUI clauses before you store the data (see the CUI and CMMC pages).
Bid a few and track results. Record the price you quoted and, when DLA publishes the award, the price that won. After ten bids you'll know whether your rates fit the work DLA buys and which NSNs are worth chasing.
Sources and limits
Claims are dated where they can change. Product calculations are examples from the stated inputs, not a promise about a customer's quote. Competitor wording is attributed to the source shown.
- DIBBS and cFolders registrations are free; restricted technical data requires an approved DD Form 2345 under the Joint Certification Program, submitted per CAGE code and address. — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- FAR 2.101: micro-purchase threshold $15,000; simplified acquisition threshold $350,000 (FAC 2026-01). — source (checked 2026-10-30)
- Machining price is from QuotedPart's pricing engine (US starting catalog, 30% markup). The NSN, quantity, packaging time and freight are fictional example inputs.
Questions
Do I need a CAGE code to quote?
DIBBS asks for one at registration. You get it through SAM.gov, which is free.
Can I see the drawing before registering for JCP?
Non-restricted data is available through cFolders. Restricted data needs the approved JCP certification.
Price one of your own parts
Drop a PDF drawing or a STEP file. QuotedPart reads the print, measures the model and prices it in seconds, on default shop rates you can change.
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Free. No account, no email. Priced at our default US rates until you set yours.
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