A defense parts RFQ is a buy you can send only when three things are true: you are allowed to quote it, you can deliver in the stated days, and your price is under the last award. Then you build the DIBBS batch file. Allowed. On time. Under the last award. Then the batch file.
This is for the quote clerk at a machine shop, fabricator, distributor, or reseller. One person, a parts list, no contracts department. The morning list should already be cut to leave-it or send-it. You are not hunting the whole of SAM.gov before coffee.
Allowed
A solicitation is a defense buy for your shop only if you are allowed to quote it.
- Approved source. If the NSN is source-controlled, DLA buys it from the approved source, often by a specific part number. If you are not that source, leave the row. See Approved Source on DIBBS: What AMSC B, C and D Mean.
- Set-aside. If the buy is set aside for a small-business status you do not hold, leave the row. See Small Business Set-Asides on SAM.gov for Machine Shops.
Both gates are on the solicitation. Read them before you price anything.
On time
The RFQ states the delivery days. If the shop cannot make the part, or the distributor cannot ship it, inside that window, it is not your row. Do not quote a date you cannot keep and hope the buyer moves it.
Under the last award
Compare the price you can sell at with the last award on that buy. If you cannot come in under it, skip the row. The clerk's job is to see that number before the quote goes out, not after the award goes to someone else.
Then the batch file
Rows that pass those three checks go on the DIBBS batch file. That file is what you upload to quote. FedOpp does not submit the bid and does not send the quote. You do, from DIBBS, after you have checked the row.
CMMC Level 2, only when the RFQ writes it
CMMC Level 2 is a clause on the contract when the solicitation writes it there. On DLA hardware RFQs that shows up as a standard text object:
- RD004 is CMMC Level 2 self-assessment.
- RD005 is CMMC Level 2 assessed by a C3PAO (a certified third-party assessment organization).
DLA's small-business FAQ (September 14, 2026) uses those names, and it says DFARS 252.204-7021 and DFARS 252.204-7025 are what state the level for that specific solicitation. If they state a level, you need that level to receive the award. Many RFQs do not state a level. Do not assume one. If you are the dealer or distributor who would receive the award, DLA says that role is not an exception: the company getting the award is the one they check.
FedOpp is not CMMC certified. The clause on the row is the gate, not a badge on this site. Longer background is in CMMC Level 1 Self-Assessment: A 2026 Guide for Small Shops.
What to do with the row
Open the row. Check the gate: allowed, on time, under the last award, and a CMMC level only if the RFQ writes one. Then quote or skip.
Sources
- Defense Logistics Agency, CMMC Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (September 14, 2026), for RD004, RD005, and who must meet the level on the solicitation
- DFARS 252.204-7021, Contractor Compliance With the CMMC Level Requirements, acquisition.gov
Practical notes for a quote clerk, not legal advice. The solicitation controls.