View source for Bid Protest - Who May Protest

==Who May Protest==
By law, a GAO protest must be filed by an "interested party," which means an actual or prospective bidder or offeror with a direct economic interest in the procurement. 4 C.F.R. § 21.0(a). In challenges of the evaluation of proposals and the award of contracts, this generally means an offeror that would potentially be in line for award if the protest were sustained.

Although many parties retain an attorney in order to benefit from the attorney's familiarity with GAO's bid protest process and with procurement statutes and regulations, an attorney is not required for purposes of filing a protest. However, where the record includes another company's proprietary information or the agency's source-selection-sensitive information, only attorneys will be allowed to see that information (and then only if the attorneys are admitted under a protective order, as discussed below)<ref>http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/bid/filing.html -- February 11, 2014</ref>.

==Related Topics and Pages==
[[Bid Protest - What to Protest]]

[[Bid Protest - Preparation of a Protest]]

[[Bid Protest - When to Protest]]

[[Bid Protest - Where to Send a Protest]]

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[[Category:Bid Protest]]