Postaward Debriefing (FAR 15.506)
A postaward debriefing is the explanation an agency owes an unsuccessful offeror that requests one in writing within 3 days of award notice. FAR 15.506 requires the evaluation of the offeror's proposal, the overall ranking, and the rationale for award.
A written request within 3 days of award notice entitles an unsuccessful offeror to a debriefing, held where practicable within 5 days (41 U.S.C. 3704; 10 U.S.C. 3304). FAR 15.506(d) sets the floor: significant weaknesses and deficiencies, the debriefed offeror's and awardee's ratings, overall ranking, and a summary of the award rationale. Paragraph (e) bars point-by-point comparisons and protected data.
DoD goes further. DFARS 215.506 requires a written or oral debriefing on request for awards of $15 million or more, and under 252.215-7016 the offeror may submit written questions within 2 business days, the agency answers within 5, and the debriefing is not concluded until it does. Small businesses and nontraditional defense contractors can request the redacted source selection decision document from $15 million to $150 million; above that, every debriefed offeror receives it.
The date matters more than the meeting: the 5-day stay window in 31 U.S.C. 3553(d) runs from the debriefing date offered whether or not the offeror attends, and for DoD it does not start until written answers to timely follow-up questions are delivered. A thin debriefing usually buys the agency a protest.
Regulatory Reference
FAR 15.506; 41 U.S.C. 3704; 10 U.S.C. 3304; DFARS 215.506; DFARS 252.215-7016
RFO Status
The Part 15 model deviation moves debriefings into the postaward subpart as 15.301-1 and adds a follow-up-questions section at 15.301-2; Part 15 is not in the June 2026 first-batch proposed rules, so FAR 15.506 remains the published baseline absent an agency deviation.
Category
Processes & Methods
How AcqBot Helps
AcqBot drafts the debriefing package straight from the evaluation record — weaknesses, ratings, ranking, rationale — inside FAR 15.506(d)'s lines, flags anything paragraph (e) bars from release, and tracks the 2- and 5-business-day enhanced debriefing clocks on DoD awards.
Related glossary entries
Sources Sought Notice
A Sources Sought Notice is a pre-solicitation announcement, typically posted to SAM.gov, asking companies to identify their interest and capability to perform a prospective requirement — primarily used as market research to shape competition and set-aside decisions.
Request for Information (RFI)
A Request for Information (RFI) is a formal market research instrument used to gather industry input on capabilities, approaches, pricing structures, or draft requirements when the government is not yet ready to solicit — responses are voluntary and non-binding.
Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA)
Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) is a source selection process that awards to the lowest-priced offeror whose proposal meets minimum acceptability standards — no credit is given for exceeding requirements, and tradeoffs between price and quality are not permitted.
Best-Value Tradeoff
The best-value tradeoff process permits award to other than the lowest-priced or highest-rated offeror when the source selection authority documents that the superior proposal's benefits are worth its price premium, or that a cheaper proposal's savings outweigh its weaknesses.