Step 2: Compete for a contract | GSA Countdown to America's 250th Anniversary: close Official websites use .gov .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS lock or means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Step 2: Compete for a contract Before starting this step, make sure you’ve completed Step 1: Learn about contracts and conducted thorough market research. You should have developed a good idea of what types of opportunities you want to pursue and how you’re going to pursue them. Pre-competition You must register your business and obtain a unique entity identifier (UEI) to be eligible to compete for government contract opportunities. In addition, you must do one or both of the following: Certify as a small business to be eligible to compete for small business set-aside opportunities Become a Schedule holder to be eligible to compete for Schedule task orders or BPAs Competition Once you’re eligible to compete for a contract opportunity, you need to: Market your business Research active solicitations Respond to a solicitation Know what to expect during the award process Print Page Email Page Top Choose a location Error, The Per Diem API is not responding. Please try again later. No results could be found for the location you've entered. Get my location OR State City (optional) OR ZIP Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories and possessions are set by the Department of Defense. Rates for foreign countries are set by the Department of State. Choose a date Select fiscal year OR Travel start date (mm/dd/yyyy) Travel end date (mm/dd/yyyy) Rates are available between 10/1/2023 and 09/30/2026. The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date. Additional terms and conditions Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained. Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries." Per diem localities with county definitions shall include "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)." When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.