Past performance is one of the heaviest factors in a lot of federal award decisions, and if you are new, it can feel like a locked door. It is not, and the regulation says so directly.
What the FAR actually requires
Under FAR 15.305, a solicitation has to describe how it will evaluate past performance, including how it evaluates offerors with no relevant history at all (FAR 15.305). An offeror with no relevant past performance has to be given a neutral rating on that factor, not an automatically low one. That is the regulation's own language: neutral, not disqualifying. In practice, how strictly a given contracting officer applies that varies, and a strong technical proposal still has to carry more of the weight when past performance is thin. But "I have none" is not an automatic loss on paper, whatever it feels like.
Where a real record actually comes from
You do not need a $2 million federal contract to start one. Three paths that count:
- Subcontracting under a prime. Working as a subcontractor on a federal prime contract is real past performance, and it is usually the fastest legitimate entry point for a business with none.
- State and local government work. Solicitations that ask for "similar" past performance usually mean similar scope and complexity, not specifically federal. A state DOT contract or a municipal services contract is often relevant.
- Your first small federal award. Set-asides exist specifically so smaller, newer businesses can win smaller contracts. Winning one, performing it well, and documenting it properly is the actual fastest path to a real federal past performance record.
Document it like it matters, because it does
A contract you performed well is worth nothing on your next proposal if you cannot describe it clearly: the scope, the dollar value, the period of performance, and a reference who will actually pick up the phone when a contracting officer calls. Build that write-up the day a contract closes out, not eighteen months later when you are trying to remember the details for a new proposal.
What not to do
Do not pad a proposal with tangentially related work dressed up to sound bigger than it was. Evaluators read a lot of these, and a stretched claim is easier to spot than it feels like when you are writing it. A short, accurate, well-documented record beats a long, vague one every time.
Pricing without a track record is its own problem: real award history helps you price competitively even before you have a long past performance file of your own.
Subcontracting under an established prime is often the fastest way to start building that record while you still have none. Here's how to find primes actually looking for subs, and the broader tradeoff between subbing and priming is worth reading before you decide which lane to chase first.
Related reading
- What is a sources sought notice, and should you respond?
- How AI bid analysis actually works
- How to write a government contract proposal, section by section