NextBidData sources & freshness
Where the data comes from
NextBid reads public notices from multiple public procurement sites: U.S. federal systems and state and local procurement portals. Federal coverage is nationwide, including U.S. federal work abroad. State and local coverage is expanding. The current list of sources, with when each was last checked, is on the status page, because it changes as we add sites.
Every record carries a link to the original notice on the source site and the time NextBid last checked that source for it.
How the data flows
Sources → NextBid collection and normalization → the NextBid Data service → you, your applications and your AI agents.
NextBid collects and normalizes public procurement data across our source network, then publishes that data to the NextBid Data service for API and MCP access. Customer requests never query our collection systems directly.
How fresh it is
Each source is checked on its own schedule. The NextBid Data service, which the API, MCP and this site read, is refreshed from our collection systems several times a day. Every count on this site shows the time it was taken ("as of").
Agencies can change a notice at any time, including after our last check. That is why every record links to the official notice.
What "open" means
An opportunity is open when NextBid considers it available for response, based on its source status and its deadline. Records with a past response deadline are never counted as open.
The exact rule:
- Open: the source lists the opportunity as open and its deadline is in the future or not given; or the source gives no status and the deadline is in the future.
- Not open: listed as open but the deadline has passed; or no status and the deadline has passed or is not given (counted as status unknown).
"Due within 30 days" counts only open opportunities with a known deadline inside the next 30 days.
Set-asides: designated or mentioned
Designated means the issuing agency reserved the opportunity for a program, such as small business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB or WOSB. Mentioned means program language appears in the text, but the agency did not designate it. We always show the two separately. Neither one is a size or eligibility determination; the SBA and the contracting officer decide that.
What NextBid changes
- One record per opportunity. When the same opportunity appears on more than one site, we keep one record and keep every source link.
- Consistent fields. Dates, agencies, codes and status are put into the same shape for every source.
- Trade classification. We map the source's own codes (such as NAICS, PSC or a portal's category) to NextBid trades, and fall back to the notice's wording when there is no code. The source code is kept beside our classification.
- Documents. When the source publishes documents we can retrieve, we store the original files and convert them to text. Some sites require a vendor login or do not publish documents publicly, so some records have fewer documents or none.
None of this changes what the agency said. The agency's own values are kept with the record.
The official source controls
The issuing agency's official notice always controls. If anything on NextBid differs from it, the official notice is right. Confirm deadlines, amendments, eligibility and submission requirements with the official source before you bid. NextBid does not accept bids, register you in SAM.gov, or speak for any agency.
Known limits
- Coverage is not every public procurement site in the U.S. It grows as we add sources.
- Some sources publish documents only to registered or logged-in vendors.
- Some set-aside wording is not yet mapped to a program, so set-aside counts can be lower than the true number while we map it.
- A notice can change between our checks.
Found a mistake?
Tell us at Report a data error. Include the NextBid opportunity number if you have it.