Government Contract Bid Protest - Alabama
GOVERNMENT CONTRACT BID PROTEST — ALABAMA
Before filing: Confirm that the procurement is governed by Ala. Code § 41-4-161 and identify its posted solicitation, amendment, notice of intent to award, or award. File Part A with the Chief Procurement Officer within the applicable five-calendar-day period. The notice itself must state the grounds and requested relief with enough particularity. File Part B, the formal written protest, within seven calendar days after filing Part A. Record the actual delivery and retain confirmations. Check the solicitation for the Chief Procurement Officer's designated filing method.
| Protest route | Notice-of-intent deadline under § 41-4-161(a) |
|---|---|
| ☐ Solicitation or amendment | Within 5 calendar days after issuance of the solicitation, or after issuance of the challenged amendment |
| ☐ Intended award or award | Within 5 calendar days after the earlier posted date of the award or notice of intent to award; a solicitation defect that could have been raised earlier cannot be raised as an award protest |
Triggering document/date: [________________________________]
Notice deadline: [__/__/____]
Formal protest deadline (7 calendar days after notice filed): [__/__/____]
Part A — Notice of intent to protest
To: Chief Procurement Officer, [FILING ADDRESS OR APPROVED ELECTRONIC ROUTE]
From: [BONA FIDE PROSPECTIVE OR ACTUAL BIDDER/OFFEROR NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE AND EMAIL]
Date filed: [__/__/____]
Re: Notice of intent to protest Solicitation/Contract No. [____], [TITLE], issued by [AGENCY]
I give written notice under Ala. Code § 41-4-161(a) that I intend to protest the following action:
☐ Solicitation issued [__/__/____]
☐ Amendment issued [__/__/____]
☐ Notice of intent to award posted [__/__/____]
☐ Award posted [__/__/____]
I am a bona fide ☐ prospective bidder or offeror aggrieved by the solicitation ☐ actual bidder or offeror aggrieved by the intended award or award. My interest and participation are [________________________________].
Grounds stated with particularity: [IDENTIFY EACH CHALLENGED PROVISION OR ACTION, FACTS, DATE, AND WHY IT IS WRONG].
Relief requested: [IDENTIFY THE CORRECTION, RE-EVALUATION, CANCELLATION, OR OTHER SPECIFIC ACTION REQUESTED].
Supporting documents: [LIST NOTICE, SOLICITATION PAGE, BID, CORRESPONDENCE OR EXHIBIT].
I will submit the formal written protest within seven calendar days after this notice is filed. Please confirm the date and time of receipt.
Signature: [________________________________] Date: [__/__/____]
Printed name and authorized capacity: [________________________________]
Filing method, time and confirmation: [________________________________]
Part B — Formal written protest
To: Chief Procurement Officer, [FILING ADDRESS OR APPROVED ELECTRONIC ROUTE]
From: [PROTESTER NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE AND EMAIL]
Date filed: [__/__/____]
Re: Formal protest of Solicitation/Contract No. [____], [TITLE]
I filed the notice of intent to protest on [__/__/____] by [METHOD], confirmation [NUMBER]. This formal protest follows within seven calendar days. The challenged procurement is [DESCRIBE SOLICITATION OR AWARD]. The notice or award was issued or posted on [__/__/____].
Protester and procurement
Protester and business name: [________________________________]
Bona fide participation or intended participation: [________________________________]
Contracting or purchasing agency: [________________________________]
Solicitation/contract number and title: [________________________________]
Bid or proposal submitted, if applicable, on: [__/__/____]
Intended awardee or awardee, if known: [________________________________]
Facts and grounds
- On [__/__/____], the agency [DESCRIBE RELEVANT EVENT]. Exhibit [____] shows [FACT].
- On [__/__/____], [DESCRIBE NEXT RELEVANT EVENT]. Exhibit [____] shows [FACT].
- The challenged solicitation term, evaluation, award decision or other action is [EXACT ITEM AND RECORD REFERENCE].
Ground 1 — [SHORT TITLE]: The governing requirement is [STATUTE, RULE, OR SOLICITATION PROVISION]. The agency [SPECIFIC ACTION/OMISSION], as shown by [EXHIBIT AND PAGE]. This affected protester or the procurement because [SPECIFIC EFFECT]. The requested correction is [________________________________].
Ground 2 — [SHORT TITLE, IF APPLICABLE]: The governing requirement is [________________________________]. The agency [________________________________]. Supporting evidence is [________________________________]. The effect and requested correction are [________________________________].
Additional grounds, if any: [________________________________]
Relief requested
I request that the Chief Procurement Officer resolve this protest under Ala. Code § 41-4-161 by [PRECISE CORRECTIVE ACTION]. This relief addresses the identified defect because [________________________________]. If the protest cannot be resolved by mutual agreement, I request the written decision required by § 41-4-161(c).
For a timely protest, § 41-4-161(f) ordinarily bars further solicitation or award activity until five days after notice of the final decision, subject to the Chief Procurement Officer's written best-interests determination after consultation with the appropriate agency head. Please provide any determination allowing the procurement to proceed and its date.
Exhibits
| Exhibit | Document and date | Fact or ground supported |
|---|---|---|
| A | Notice of intent and filing confirmation | Timeliness and stated issues |
| B | Solicitation, amendment or posted award notice | Challenged action |
| C | Protester's bid or proposal, if applicable | Participation and effect |
| [____] | [OTHER DOCUMENT] | [____] |
Signature: [________________________________] Date: [__/__/____]
Printed name and authorized capacity: [________________________________]
Filing method, time and confirmation: [________________________________]
After the written decision
If the Chief Procurement Officer issues an adverse decision, Ala. Code § 41-4-164(b) allows a written appeal to the Director of Finance within five days after receipt. The Director applies the standards in subsection (c) and issues a written decision within 14 days after receiving the appeal under subsection (d). Section 41-4-168 authorizes a narrower court remedy: after exhaustion, a bona fide unsuccessful bidder or offeror on the particular contract, or a qualifying taxpayer, may sue in Montgomery County Circuit Court to enjoin execution of a contract entered into in violation of the procurement article. It is not a general appeal of every procurement decision.
Official sources
About this template
- Last updated
- September 27, 2026
- Citations checked
- September 27, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- Alabama
- Category
- Administrative Law
Legal authority
- Ala. Code § 41-4-161
- Ala. Code § 41-4-164
- Ala. Code § 41-4-168
Administrative law covers how you interact with government agencies, from filing a comment on a proposed rule to appealing a denied license or benefit. Agency processes have their own forms, deadlines, and evidence standards that are different from what courts use. Getting the paperwork wrong usually means missing a deadline or losing the right to appeal, so precision in these documents matters as much as it does in a courtroom filing.
Not legal advice
This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.
Checked against the law it cites
A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on September 27, 2026.
Ala. Code § 41-4-161(a)(1) (checked September 27, 2026): "A bona fide prospective bidder or offeror who is aggrieved in connection with the solicitation of a contract may file a notice of intent to protest with the Chief Procurement Officer within five calendar days after the date the solicitation is issued, or after the date any amendment to the solicitation is issued if the amendment is at issue. After filing a notice of intent to protest, the bona fide prospective bidder or offeror shall have seven calendar days to submit a formal written protest."
Ala. Code § 41-4-161(a)(2) (checked September 27, 2026): "a bona fide actual bidder or offeror who is aggrieved in connection with the intended award or the award of a contract may file a notice of intent to protest with the Chief Procurement Officer within five calendar days after the date of the award or the date of the notice of intent to award, whichever is earlier, is posted in accordance with this article."
Ala. Code § 41-4-161(a)(2)b. (checked September 27, 2026): "A matter that could have been raised under subdivision (1) as a protest of the solicitation may not be raised as a protest of the award or intended award of a contract."
Ala. Code § 41-4-161(a)(3) (checked September 27, 2026): "A notice of intent to protest filed under subdivision (1) or (2) shall be in writing, filed with the Chief Procurement Officer, state the intent to protest, and state the grounds of the protest and the relief requested with enough particularity to give notice of the issues to be decided."
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