Quick answer: For federal contracts, search the award in SAM.gov's Contract Awards search or on USAspending.gov. The "Recipient" on the award is the incumbent, and the period-of-performance dates show when the work could come up for recompete. For state and local contracts, use the state's own contract search or a public records request, because there is no single national database.
Why does the incumbent matter?
Every recompete starts with someone already doing the work. Knowing who that is tells you how the agency buys today, which vehicle it used, roughly what it paid, and when the current deal runs out. It also tells you whether to compete head-on, team with the incumbent, or sell through the reseller that holds the order.
It's a question that comes up on our calls with new users, too. The data is public. It's just spread across systems that changed this year.
Where do you look up a federal contract's incumbent now?
If you still have FPDS.gov bookmarked, it no longer works the way it used to. SAM.gov states that all public-facing FPDS functionality has moved to SAM.gov, FPDS.gov now redirects there, and the old ezSearch tool was decommissioned on February 24, 2026. GSA's February 2026 bulletin calls SAM.gov "the only authoritative location" for searching federal contract data.
That leaves two practical places to search:
- SAM.gov Contract Awards. Choose the "Contracting" domain, then "Contract Awards," per SAM.gov's Contract Data page. For larger pulls, the same page points to the Data Bank for reports.
- USAspending.gov. The same contract data, presented for browsing, with award summaries, transaction history, and downloads.
Start with what you know, such as the agency, a keyword, a NAICS or Product Service Code (PSC), or a contract number from an old solicitation, and narrow from there.
Which fields tell you who holds it and when it ends?
A handful of fields do most of the work. Definitions below come from the USAspending glossary:
- Recipient: the company that received the award. This is your incumbent.
- PIID: the Procurement Instrument Identifier, the contract or order number. Use it to track the same contract across modifications.
- Parent Award ID: the vehicle the order was placed under, such as a GSA Schedule or an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract.
- Current End Date: when the award ends without exercising any more options.
- Potential End Date: when it ends if every pre-priced option is exercised.
The gap between those two dates is the most useful thing on the page. A contract whose current end date is close, with options left, may simply be extended. A contract nearing its potential end date has run out of road and usually needs a new award.
What about task orders on contract vehicles?
Much of federal IT and product buying happens through orders on vehicles like GSA Schedules, NASA SEWP, and GWACs (Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts). Those RFQs mostly stay inside the vehicle's ordering portal, as we covered in why contract vehicle RFQs don't appear on SAM.gov. The awards are a different story. FAR 4.606 requires agencies to report orders above the micro-purchase threshold placed under indefinite-delivery vehicles, including GWACs and GSA Schedules.
So the order shows up in award data, linked to its parent vehicle. Keep in mind that the recipient is the company holding the order. On a product buy, that is often a reseller rather than the manufacturer whose product was delivered. If you're an OEM, the recipient tells you which partner the agency bought through, not who made the product.
Also note that the end-date fields don't apply to the vehicle itself, only to awards and orders under it. A vehicle's end date and an agency's order end date are two separate questions.
Do SAM.gov notices name the incumbent?
Sometimes. Three notice types are worth checking:
- Award notices. FAR 5.301 requires contracting officers to publicize awards over $25,000 that are covered by a trade agreement or likely to involve subcontracting. These notices name the awardee.
- Justification notices. When an agency limits competition, FAR 6.305 generally requires the justification to be posted within 14 days after award. These can reveal a sole-source extension to the current holder.
- Noncompetitive presolicitation notices. Under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul version of Part 5, which many agencies have adopted by class deviation, these notices must identify the intended source.
A competitive recompete solicitation isn't required to name the incumbent, though some do. When it doesn't, the award search above is the reliable route.
How do you find the incumbent on a state or local contract?
SLED (state, local, and education) contracts have no FPDS equivalent. Each state runs its own system, and coverage varies. Two examples:
- Texas: the Legislative Budget Board's Contracts Database holds state agency contracts above reporting thresholds (generally contracts over $50,000) and can be searched by agency, vendor, subject, and award date.
- Arizona: the State Procurement Office runs the Arizona Procurement Portal (APP), where a "State Contracts" search filters by keyword, organization, commodity, contract ID, dates, and status.
Cities, counties, and school districts are harder. Many post board agendas and award approvals rather than searchable contract lists, and some purchases run through cooperative contracts held by another government. When the trail runs cold, a public records request to the buying entity is the fallback.
How do you turn incumbent data into pipeline?
- Build a recompete list. Pull awards in your NAICS or PSC codes with end dates 12 to 24 months out, and track both end dates for each.
- Read the history. Modifications, option exercises, and justification notices tell you whether the agency is happy or just buying time.
- Watch for early signals. Sources sought notices and RFIs on a contract nearing its end often signal that a recompete is being planned. See how to win federal deals before the RFQ drops.
- Find the people. The award record gives you the contracting office. Our guide to finding the contracting officer and POC covers the next step.
Where Govly fits
Govly puts federal award data and SLED award data in the same place you track opportunities. You can search and filter awards by agency, recipient, and set-aside to see who's buying what, from whom, and for how much. On the SLED side, Govly builds award records from public records requests and turns unstructured purchasing files into searchable data, which helps when a state or city has no contract search of its own. Contact data is attached to contracts and opportunities, so the incumbent, the buyer, and the next RFQ sit side by side.
See who holds the contracts you want to win. Book a demo.
FAQ
- Do I need an account to search federal contract awards? SAM.gov requires a user account to search contract award data, while USAspending.gov can be searched without one.
- Why can't I find a recent Defense Department award? Under DFARS PGI 204.604, DoD contract action data isn't available for public view until 90 days after the date signed, so recent DoD awards show up late.
- Can I get a copy of a federal contract through FOIA? Yes, you can request one under the Freedom of Information Act, but pricing and other confidential commercial details may be withheld under Exemption 4.
- Does FOIA cover state and city contracts? No. FOIA applies only to federal agencies, but every state has its own open records or public information law you can use instead.
