Federal contract record structure
How to choose between federal forecasts, contract opportunities, vehicle opportunities, vehicles, IDVs, awards, transactions, and sub-awards in GovTribe.
Federal contract records answer different questions depending on where they sit in the procurement lifecycle. Use this guide when a search result, export, or MCP response includes several federal contract data types that look related but are not interchangeable.
Quick model
| Data type | Role | Use when asking |
|---|---|---|
| Federal forecast | Early planning signal. | What might an agency buy later? |
| Federal contract opportunity | Public procurement notice. | What is currently planned, solicited, amended, or announced? |
| Federal contract vehicle opportunity | Opportunity under vehicle context. | What demand is being competed through a vehicle, pool, SIN, or lane? |
| Federal contract vehicle data type | Broad contract family or buying lane. | What program, schedule, GWAC, or master vehicle organizes this market? |
| Federal contract IDV data type | Parent ordering instrument. | What parent contract or agreement can issue orders? |
| Federal contract award | Awarded contract, order, purchase order, or BPA call. | Who won and what work was awarded? |
| Federal transaction | Action-level spending or modification event. | What changed or obligated value over time? |
| Federal contract sub-award data type | Reported downstream subcontract. | Which subcontractors were reported under prime award activity? |
How to choose the right record type
| Question | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I want current or upcoming demand. | Federal forecast or federal contract opportunity. | These records are pre-award signals. |
| I want demand tied to a known vehicle. | Federal contract vehicle opportunity. | Vehicle opportunities preserve vehicle or subcategory context. |
| I want the broad market lane. | Federal contract vehicle. | Vehicles group related IDVs, opportunities, holders, and categories. |
| I want a vendor's parent contract. | Federal contract IDV. | IDVs are parent instruments used for future orders. |
| I want historical awarded work. | Federal contract award. | Awards are the main prime awarded-work records. |
| I want modification or obligation history. | Federal transaction. | Transactions are action-level records beneath awards or IDVs. |
| I want downstream subcontracting. | Federal contract sub-award. | Sub-awards are reported subcontracting activity beneath prime awards. |
How records connect
Not every record has every relationship. A contract opportunity may connect to an award when source identifiers support it. An award may connect to a parent IDV. An IDV may connect to a vehicle. An award may also connect to transactions and reported sub-awards. When direct relationships are missing, compare records through identifiers, agency roles, vendor roles, categories, dates, source URLs, and file context.
GovTribe relationship mapping
| Relationship field | Meaning | Related article |
|---|---|---|
federal_contract_vehicle | Vehicle or broad contract family connected to an opportunity, award, or IDV. | Federal contract vehicle attribute |
federal_contract_idv | Parent IDV connected to a federal contract award. | Federal contract IDV attribute |
federal_meta_opportunity_id | Notice-chain identifier connected to a federal contract opportunity. | Federal contract opportunity notice chains |
originating_federal_contract_opportunity | Upstream opportunity connected to an awarded or vehicle record. | Originating federal contract opportunity attribute |
task_orders | Child task orders connected to an IDV. | Task orders attribute |
sub_contracts | Reported contract sub-awards connected to a prime award. | Federal contract sub-award attribute |
Official source notes
- SAM.gov Contract Award Data includes award, IDV, and other transaction contract data and identifies common filters such as PIID, referenced IDV PIID, solicitation ID, NAICS, PSC, date signed, and competition fields.
- SAM.gov Opportunity Management API lists contract opportunity notice types such as solicitation, presolicitation, sources sought, award notice, and special notice.
- FAR 4.601 defines contract action reports, definitive contracts, and indefinite delivery vehicles for FPDS reporting context.
- USAspending Federal Spending Guide explains IDVs, prime award transactions, prime award summaries, and the relationship between awards and transactions.
Related articles
- Federal contract data model: Review the broader federal contract hierarchy.
- Federal contract opportunity notice chains: Use notice-chain fields to connect federal opportunities to related awards, IDVs, and vehicles.
- Federal award values and transactions: Distinguish award summaries, transaction events, obligations, and potential values.
- Source identifiers and record matching: Use identifiers and originating links to compare related records.
- Contracting and funding federal agencies: Choose the right agency role on federal contract awards and IDVs.
Vendor, awardee, recipient, and subcontractor roles
How to interpret organization roles such as vendor, awardee, recipient, prime contractor, subcontractor, grantee, subrecipient, parent, and consortium member in GovTribe.
Source identifiers and record matching
How to use GovTribe IDs, source identifiers, PIIDs, solicitation numbers, grant numbers, UEIs, source URLs, and originating-record links when matching GovTribe records.