Standing
Standing to File a Size Protest
Generally speaking, to file a size protest the protestor must have submitted a bid or proposal, which has not been eliminated from competition for reasons other than size.
The regulation prohibits protests by companies who have been eliminated from competition for reasons unrelated to size because they would be unable to compete for the award even if their protest were successful.
For example, if a Contracting Officer decides that a company is not in the competitive range or its proposal is not responsive, protesting company would not have “standing” to protest. Similarly, if a Contracting Officer found that a company was not responsible and requested a Certificate of Competency (COC) determination, this too could result in a lack of standing if SBA were to deny the COC. White Hawk/Todd, A Joint Venture, SBA No. SIZ-4888 (2008)
The following parties may file an SBA size protest.
- Contracting Officer
- Unsuccessful Offeror
- SBA Government Contracting Area Office
- Other Interested Parties
- Other Government Officials
Standing to file a Size Appeal
To appeal an SBA Area Office size protest decision, you must show that you were “adversely affected” by the size determination. There is no right to appeal if the size determination has no apparent impact or consequence to you. Therefore, an alleged affiliate has no standing to appeal when the alleged affiliate itself has not been found other than small and has not been adversely affected by the size determination. Size Appeals of Sabre88, LLC, et al., SBA No. SIZ-5113 (2010)
