Short answer: On an automated DIBBS quote, “bid without exception” means the quote is in exact compliance with the solicitation. DLA’s automated evaluation only considers that bid type. A different delivery, a surplus offer, or a corrected part number can still be “bid without exception.” An alternate product, a packaging or FOB change, a quantity change, or any text in Remarks makes the quote ineligible for an automated award.

What the bid type does

Automated DLA RFQs are submitted on DIBBS. The current rules are in the DLA Master Solicitation for Automated Simplified Acquisitions, Revision 105 (May 20, 2026). Suppliers have to follow the revision in effect at award. Check the revision date on DLA’s Policy and Directives page before you quote.

Qualified quotations are defined there as quotes in exact compliance, with the bid type equal to “bid without exception,” submitted on DIBBS. The automated program evaluates those quotes on price. It does not use quantity price breaks.

The steps for entering the quote are in how to quote on DIBBS. Read the PDF first. The search row does not carry the packaging, FOB, or inspection terms you are agreeing to. See how to read a DLA RFQ.

Differences that are still “bid without exception”

Revision 105 lists six things that are not exceptions. They do not, by themselves, make the quotation ineligible for award:

• Delivery days different from the required delivery days. Enter your own days after date of order on the quote. See DLA delivery days.
• A superseding or previously approved part, or a correction to the CAGE and part number in the procurement item description, when the item is described by the manufacturer’s CAGE and part number.
• A used, reconditioned, or remanufactured item, or unused former Government surplus. This is a Part I rule for the one-time buy. On a “U” solicitation it flips. See the next section.
• Other than a domestic end product, on an unrestricted solicitation.
• A hazardous item.
• “Other” when the solicitation states a higher-level quality requirement.

Select “bid without exception” for these. Changing the bid type to “bid with exception” is what takes the quote out of automated evaluation.

What blocks an automated award

These are exceptions. Any one of them makes the quotation ineligible for an automated award:

• An alternate product, or any other exception to the item description.
• An exception to packaging.
• An exception to the FOB terms. See FOB origin vs FOB destination.
• An exception to inspection requirements.
• An exception to the required quantity. Quote the total quantity when the RFQ states a definite quantity.
• A quantity variance greater than the solicitation allows.
• “None” when a higher-level contract quality requirement is required.
• Quoting the use of child labor.
• Anything in Remarks.

Remarks is the one shops miss. A note in that box is an exception under Revision 105, even when the rest of the quote matches. Leave Remarks empty if you want the quote in the automated evaluation.

Two more bars sit outside that list. Solicitations with first article testing or production lot testing are not candidates for automated evaluation. Every quote on those is evaluated manually. See first article testing. Alternate offers are not considered for automated award. They can be sent for evaluation on a future buy, to the location named in the solicitation. If the item is source-controlled, read the AMSC decoder and approved source on DIBBS before you treat your part as a match.

“U” solicitations treat surplus differently

Part I covers the one-time automated buy. Part II covers the Automated Indefinite Delivery Contract, the “U” in the ninth position of the solicitation number. On those, two extra items are exceptions and block an automated award:

• A used, reconditioned, or remanufactured item, or unused former Government surplus.
• A validity period shorter than 90 days.

The DIBBS registration default for “Quote Valid For” is 90 days. A shorter validity on a “U” solicitation is an exception under Part II.

Qualifications the bid type does not replace

A “bid without exception” quote still has to meet every qualification the solicitation cites. Revision 105 names these when they appear on the buy:

• Export-controlled data: an active United States/Canada Joint Certification Program certification, and DLA controlling-authority approval, for the quoter and the manufacturer. If the material is surplus, only the quoter needs the certifications. DLA does not hold the award open while someone applies. See JCP certification.
• The quoted manufacturer is on the Qualified Products List or Qualified Manufacturers List named in the buy.
• The quoter is on the Qualified Suppliers List of Distributors, or the Qualified Suppliers List, when that list applies.
• Trade Agreements (DFARS 252.225-7020), when the offer is a product of a non-designated country and another quote is not.

No bid, revisions, and the return time

Quotes are due at 3:00 p.m. Eastern on the return date. If that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, it moves to the next business day. You can revise a quote on DIBBS until the solicitation is awarded. The new quote replaces the old one. Selecting “no bid” withdraws it the same way.

A quote can lose the automated path and still be looked at by a buyer when the buy goes to manual evaluation. Manual evaluation can weigh price, delivery, and past performance. Quoting more delivery days than DLA asked for can take a quote out of consideration on a manual buy. The automated path is the one “bid without exception” protects.

Where FedOpp fits

Ask CCO, FedOpp's AI Chief Contracting Officer, reads the open RFQ against your Match Profile and tells you whether a clean, without-exception quote is realistic before you price it.

FedOpp builds the DIBBS batch quote file in DLA’s format from the rows you choose to pursue. You still pick the bid type, you still leave Remarks empty when you want an automated award, and you still upload the file on DIBBS yourself. FedOpp does not submit the quote. The $55 a month plan is today’s DIBBS solicitations. The $199 a month plan adds the batch file, award history, and the solicitation reader, after a 7-day free trial.

Frequently asked questions

What is bid without exception on DIBBS?

It is the bid type for a quote in exact compliance with the solicitation. DLA’s automated evaluation only considers quotes with that bid type.

Does a different delivery day force bid with exception?

No. Revision 105 says quoting different delivery days is not an exception. Enter your days after date of order and keep the bid type as bid without exception.

Do remarks block an automated award?

Yes. “Quoting Remarks” is listed as an exception that makes the quotation ineligible for an automated award.

Can I quote surplus as bid without exception?

On a Part I one-time buy, unused former Government surplus is not an exception. On a Part II “U” solicitation, that same surplus quote is an exception and is ineligible for an automated award.

How do I withdraw a DIBBS quote?

Select the bid type “no bid” before the solicitation is awarded. That submission replaces the quote you sent earlier.

Last verified 2026-10-22 · Author FedOpp

Sources

• DLA Master Solicitation for Automated Simplified Acquisitions, Revision 105 (May 20, 2026)
• DLA Policy and Directives
• DLA Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS)

Practical notes, not legal advice. The solicitation controls.