Government Contract Bid Protest - Washington
GOVERNMENT CONTRACT BID PROTEST
To: [AGENCY OR MUNICIPALITY / PROTEST OFFICER NAMED IN SOLICITATION]
From: [PROTESTER LEGAL NAME]
Date: [__/__/____]
Solicitation / project number: [________________________________]
Solicitation / project title: [________________________________]
Procurement authority: ☐ State goods or services under RCW 39.26 ☐ Municipal competitively bid public works under RCW 39.04.105
Before you use this: Confirm which route applies, the recipient and delivery method in the solicitation, and the actual protest deadline. For a state goods or services procurement, request any required debriefing on time. A public works notice under RCW 39.04.105 has a separate, short deadline.
Notice of protest
I, [PROTESTER LEGAL NAME], submitted a bid or proposal for the procurement identified above on [__/__/____]. I protest [IDENTIFY THE APPARENT SUCCESSFUL BIDDER, EVALUATION, REJECTION, OR OTHER CHALLENGED ACTION]. I ask [AGENCY OR MUNICIPALITY] to review the specific grounds and requested corrective action below before executing the contract.
Bid submission reference: [________________________________]
Date and method of apparent successful bidder announcement or bid opening: [________________________________]
Date I received relevant bid submissions, evaluations, or bid copies, if any: [__/__/____]
Solicitation protest provision and stated deadline: [________________________________]
Recipient and filing method specified by the solicitation: [________________________________]
Route and timeliness
☐ State goods or services. This is a protest under the agency's RCW 39.26.170 process. The apparent successful bidder was announced on [__/__/____]. The protest period identified by the agency ends on [__/__/____]. I requested a debriefing on [__/__/____] and participated on [__/__/____], if the agency made participation a prerequisite. The agency's solicitation or protest process identifies the following additional eligibility requirements: [________________________________].
☐ Municipal competitively bid public works. This is written notice of protest under RCW 39.04.105. Bids were opened on [__/__/____]. ☐ No bidder requested bid copies; this notice is submitted no later than two full business days following bid opening. ☐ Bid copies were requested and provided on [__/__/____]; this notice is submitted no later than two full business days following provision of copies to bidders who requested them. Intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are excluded. I request the written notice of any intent to execute the contract with another bidder that RCW 39.04.105(2) requires before execution.
Grounds and supporting facts
Ground 1 — challenged requirement, evaluation, or award decision: [________________________________]
The solicitation provision, agency procedure, DES policy requirement, or applicable statute involved: [________________________________]
What occurred, with dates and record references: [________________________________]
Why the action was inconsistent with that requirement: [________________________________]
Effect on my bid or the fairness of the procurement: [________________________________]
Ground 2, if any: [________________________________]
Supporting facts and record references: [________________________________]
Ground 3, if any: [________________________________]
Supporting facts and record references: [________________________________]
For a state goods or services protest, grounds concerning evaluator bias or conflict, scoring errors, or failure to follow the solicitation or governing protest process should identify the actual conduct and supporting record. A solicitation defect raised through the pre-bid complaint process should not be repeated as a protest ground where DES Policy POL-DES-170-00 bars that repetition. If I rely on RCW 39.26.160, I identify the applicable evaluation criterion or negotiation issue and explain the asserted violation here: [________________________________].
Requested corrective action
I request that the agency or municipality:
☐ Correct the identified evaluation or scoring error and reconsider the result.
☐ Review the identified conflict or unequal application of the published criteria.
☐ Cancel the challenged selection and take the following action allowed by the solicitation and governing law: [________________________________].
☐ For a municipal public works protest, provide the written notice required by RCW 39.04.105(2) before executing a contract with anyone other than the protesting bidder.
☐ Provide another specified corrective response: [________________________________].
Please send the written protest response to [EMAIL OR MAILING ADDRESS]. I request acknowledgment of receipt at [EMAIL OR TELEPHONE].
Attachments
☐ Solicitation and amendments, including protest instructions
☐ My bid or proposal and submission confirmation
☐ Apparent successful bidder announcement or bid-opening record
☐ Debrief request and attendance record, if applicable
☐ Bid copies or evaluation records received, if applicable
☐ Documents supporting each stated ground: [________________________________]
Signature
I confirm that the factual statements above are accurate to the best of my knowledge and that I am authorized to submit this protest for the named bidder.
Protester or authorized representative: [________________________________]
Title: [________________________________]
Signature: [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]
Business address: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________] Telephone: [________________________________]
Filed by: ☐ Email ☐ Agency portal ☐ Hand delivery ☐ Other: [________________________________]
Filing destination: [________________________________]
Date and time filed: [________________________________]
Delivery confirmation or receipt number: [________________________________]
Sources and references
About this template
- Last updated
- September 27, 2026
- Citations checked
- September 27, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- Washington
- Category
- Administrative Law
Legal authority
- RCW 39.26.170 (state goods and services complaints and protests)
- RCW 39.26.160 (state goods and services bid awards and negotiations)
- RCW 39.04.105 (municipal competitively bid public works protests)
- DES Policy POL-DES-170-00 (state goods and services complaint and protest minimums)
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.
RCW 39.26.170(2)-(3) (checked September 27, 2026): "The protest process must include a protest period after the apparent successful bidder is announced but before the contract is signed. (3) The director may grant authority for an agency to sign a contract before the protest process is completed due to exigent circumstances."
RCW 39.26.160(4), (6) (checked September 27, 2026): "The solicitation document must clearly set forth the requirements and criteria that the agency will apply in evaluating bid submissions. An agency may not use this negotiation opportunity to permit a bidder to change a nonresponsive bid into a responsive bid."
RCW 39.04.105(2) (checked September 27, 2026): "When a municipality receives a written protest from a bidder for a public works project that is the subject of competitive bids, the municipality must not execute a contract for the project with anyone other than the protesting bidder without first providing at least two full business days' written notice of the municipality's intent to execute a contract for the project"
DES Policy POL-DES-170-00, pages 2-3 (checked September 27, 2026): "The protest period must be no less than five business days. Agencies must give bidders a minimum of at least 3 business days after the ASB(s) is announced to request a debriefing conference."
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