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What Is Past Performance?
Definition: Past performance is a business's record of doing similar work, which government buyers use to judge how likely it is to perform a new contract well. Evaluators look at relevance, recency, and quality. Under FAR 15.305, an offeror with no relevant past performance receives a neutral rating, neither favorable nor unfavorable.
Término en español: desempeño previo (experiencia previa). Resumen: es el historial de trabajos similares que el gobierno usa para evaluar si una empresa podrá cumplir un contrato nuevo. Si no tiene historial, la calificación es neutral. Puede usar trabajos comerciales y municipales, la experiencia del dueño (identificada como tal) y subcontratos.
Key facts - FAR 15.305(a)(2): evaluators consider the currency and relevance of the information, its source, and the context. A firm with no relevant past performance may not be rated favorably or unfavorably. - CPARS holds federal past performance evaluations. They are generally required for contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold, $350,000 (effective Oct 1, 2025), at least annually and at completion (FAR Subpart 42.15). - 13 CFR 125.11 lets a small business subcontractor ask the prime for a past performance rating it can use. - Solicitations often ask for three to five projects from the last three to five years. Each solicitation sets its own rules.
How is past performance evaluated?
Evaluators usually ask three questions: - Relevance: Is the work similar in scope, size, and complexity? - Recency: Was it performed within the window the solicitation names? - Quality: Did the customer get what they needed, on time? References, CPARS ratings, and customer questionnaires answer this.
If you have none, you receive a neutral rating. That is not a penalty, but a competitor with strong relevant history can look stronger. So the goal is to build and document a record early.
What counts as past performance if my business has no federal contracts?
More than many owners think, as long as you label each item honestly: - Commercial work: jobs for businesses, property managers, homeowners associations, schools, or general contractors. - State and local contracts: Virginia agencies through eVA, Northern Virginia counties and cities, and DC agencies. - Owner and key personnel experience: what the owner or key staff did before or outside the company, labeled as theirs. - Subcontracts: work you performed under a prime contractor. - Teaming and joint ventures: work performed as part of a team, with your share described. - Micro-purchases: small federal buys, generally under $15,000 (effective Oct 1, 2025), often paid by purchase card.
Some solicitations require company past performance and will not accept personal experience in its place. Read the instructions and say plainly whose experience each entry is.
How do you build past performance? Six steps
- Document the commercial and municipal work you already do. Start today with the jobs you have.
- Present owner and key personnel experience, labeled as such, with dates, roles, and references.
- Go after small buys. Micro-purchases and simplified acquisitions are where many firms get a first federal record.
- Subcontract, and ask for a rating. Under 13 CFR 125.11, a small business subcontractor can request a past performance rating from the prime. Ask early in performance, not at the end.
- Team or form a joint venture with firms that already have records. SBA's Mentor-Protégé Program supports approved joint ventures.
- Build a state and local record. Virginia eVA orders and locality contracts are a realistic first track record for many trade businesses.
How can a trades crew document its jobs?
Keep a simple record for every job, starting with the next one: - Customer and contact: name, title, phone, and email of someone who will vouch for the work. - Scope: what you did, in buyer terms ("grounds maintenance," "custodial services," "final clean"). - Size: acres, square feet, number of buildings, units, crew size, or vehicles. - Dates: start and end month and year, plus renewals. - Value: contract amount or range, if you can share it. - Results: finished on schedule, renewed, no callbacks, passed inspections. Only what you can show. - Proof: contract or purchase order, invoices, photos, inspection reports, and a short customer letter. - License and safety: your Virginia DPOR contractor license class for construction work (Class C, B, or A depends on job size), and OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 cards on the crew.
Example (invented company): "Weekly grounds maintenance, 14-acre office park, property management client, 2021 to present, renewed three times, two crews. Reference: property manager, name and phone."
A real example: how F2M Consulting LLC, Alexandria, VA presents past performance
F2M Consulting LLC has no federal contract awards yet. So when a notice asks for experience, F2M presents its founder's work history as key personnel experience, clearly labeled as Franklin F. Montano's and not the company's:
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Whose experience | Founder and key personnel: Franklin F. Montano, PMP |
| Role | Former Pentagon Senior Program Manager (DoD), including program management supporting AF/A10 |
| Other experience | SAIC; Army National Guard operations |
| Span | 15+ years of program and operations leadership |
| Credential | PMP (Project Management Professional) |
| Company record | F2M Consulting LLC: no federal awards to date. Shown as owner experience only. |
This is the honest-labeling approach evaluators expect: it shows relevant program management depth without claiming the company performed the work.
What is CPARS?
The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) is where agencies record evaluations of contractor performance. When an evaluation is ready, the contractor gets a CPARS notice and has up to 14 calendar days to submit comments, rebuttals, or more information; disagreements are reviewed at a level above the contracting officer, and the agency makes the final call (FAR 42.1503(d)). Agencies use CPARS information from the last three years (six for construction and architect-engineer contracts). Once a business holds federal contracts above the thresholds, those ratings become its federal track record, and other agencies read them. Respond to every draft evaluation, and keep your own job records to match.
If you're a prime contractor
Primes are evaluated on their own record, and many solicitations also look at subcontractor experience. Rating your small subcontractors when they ask under 13 CFR 125.11 helps them build a record and keeps your team credible.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Claiming the owner's personal experience as company contracts.
- Listing projects without size, dates, or a reference.
- Using work that is too old for the solicitation's recency window.
- Waiting until the end of a subcontract to ask the prime for a rating.
How F2M helps
F2M Consulting LLC, Alexandria, VA provides contract management and bid strategy for trade businesses in Virginia, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia: landscaping, janitorial, construction, transportation, and restoration. We help owners get bid-ready, read solicitations, organize registrations and compliance documents (OSHA, licensing), and plan subcontracting with prime contractors, with your crew doing the work. English or Spanish. We help trade businesses turn their job history into clearly labeled past performance entries, with references and records ready before the next notice appears. See contract management and bid strategy for trade businesses, and program management for federal and state agencies for how the founder's key-personnel experience is applied.
FAQ
What counts as past performance for a government contract?
Similar work you can document: federal, state, local, or commercial contracts, subcontracts, and teaming work. Owner and key personnel experience can also be presented if labeled as theirs. Each entry should show the customer, scope, size, dates, results, and a reference.
Can I bid on a federal contract with no past performance?
Yes. Under FAR 15.305, an offeror with no relevant past performance gets a neutral rating, neither favorable nor unfavorable. Some solicitations require company past performance, so read the instructions, and present commercial work and labeled owner experience where allowed.
Does subcontract work count as past performance?
Yes, when it is relevant. Under 13 CFR 125.11, a small business subcontractor can ask the prime contractor for a past performance rating to use in future offers. Ask early in the subcontract and keep your own records of the work.
What is CPARS?
CPARS, the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System, is where federal agencies record contractor performance evaluations. They are generally required for contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold, at least annually and at completion. Contractors have up to 14 calendar days after notice to comment.
How recent does past performance need to be?
Each solicitation sets its own window, and three to five years is common. Agencies use CPARS information from the last three years, or six for construction. Evaluators weigh how current and relevant the work is, so lead with your most recent projects that match the scope, size, and complexity of the new contract.
Related terms
- Capability statement
- Sources sought notice
- CPARS
- Small business subcontracting plan
- Limitations on subcontracting
- eVA
Official sources
- FAR 15.305, Proposal evaluation: https://www.acquisition.gov/far/15.305
- FAR Subpart 42.15, Contractor Performance Information: https://www.acquisition.gov/far/subpart-42.15
- FAR 42.1503, Procedures (14-day comment period): https://www.acquisition.gov/far/42.1503
- 13 CFR 125.11: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/chapter-I/part-125/section-125.11
- FAR 2.101, Definitions (thresholds): https://www.acquisition.gov/far/2.101
- CPARS: https://www.cpars.gov
- SBA Mentor-Protégé Program: https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-assistance-programs/sba-mentor-protege-program
- Virginia DPOR contractor licensing: https://www.dpor.virginia.gov
- eVA (Virginia): https://eva.virginia.gov
Educational information only, from F2M Consulting LLC, Alexandria, VA, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with the official source. Last reviewed: Oct 19, 2026 by Franklin F. Montano, PMP, CEO and Founder, F2M Consulting LLC, Alexandria, VA.
About the author: Franklin F. Montano, PMP, CEO and Founder, F2M Consulting LLC, Alexandria, VA. Retired Army Officer, Former Pentagon Senior Program Manager (DoD), and disabled veteran. Bilingual in English and Spanish.