FDA Third Party Tobacco Retailer Inspection Services (Region 4)

The FDA seeks qualified contractors to conduct third-party tobacco retail compliance inspections across Region 4 (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) under a single-award IDIQ contract, with proposals due July 31, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET. This is a total small business set-aside.

Place of performance is North Bethesda, Maryland, with inspection work performed across the 13-state Region 4 jurisdiction. The contract minimum is $10,000 and maximum is $33,500,000 over five years. The contractor must employ FDA-commissioned inspectors (no more than 30 per jurisdiction per task order) to conduct two inspection types: Undercover Buy (UB) inspections assessing age and photo identification compliance, and Advertising & Labeling (A&L) inspections verifying other regulatory compliance under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The contractor is responsible for recruiting, training, and managing underage purchasers ages 16-20, including obtaining parental consent for minors, background investigations, medical releases, legal immunity documentation, and insurance coverage. All personnel require FDA background investigations and commissioning prior to performing inspections.

Pricing is structured as fully-burdened Firm-Fixed-Price unit rates for each inspection type (ceiling rates for future task orders), with Program Management available as monthly fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, labor-hour, or time-and-materials. Non-inspection travel is capped at $10,000 per jurisdiction annually; other direct costs are capped at $100,000 annually for the entire region; witness testimony compensation is capped at $50,000 for the contract life. An Initial Task Order for Alaska requiring 250 UB and 100 A&L inspections will be issued concurrent with award. Active Year 1 task orders are anticipated for Utah, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming, issued via Request for Task Order Proposal (RFTOP). The contractor must maintain FDA's Tobacco Inspection Management System (TIMS) and use government-furnished equipment (laptops and iPhones), submit monthly reports by the 10th business day following each month, and achieve 99% compliance with performance standards. NAICS 561611 (Investigation and Personal Background Check Services), PSC H399 (Inspection—Miscellaneous). Contracting officer: Jennifer M. Mun, Jennifer.Mun@fda.hhs.gov. Amendment 0004 issued July 23, 2026 makes minor revisions ensuring Q&A consistency; Amendment 0003 addresses 84 substantive clarifications on proposal format, pricing methodology, and personnel requirements.