INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE - Continuing Education Provider Registration
Closed Special Notice Posted
- Solicitation number
- 26-00016
- Agency
-
Internal Revenue Service
Department of the Treasury
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- Woman-Owned Small Business Sole Source
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Place of performance
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States
- Points of contact
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published a Notice of Intent to award a sole source contract to Advocation Strategies, a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB). This special notice, posted on February 18, 2026, pertains to the continued operation and maintenance of an educational website platform that serves as the official registration system for IRS-approved continuing education (CE) providers. The procurement falls under NAICS code 541611 (Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services) and is authorized under FAR 6.302-5 and 15 U.S.C. 637(m), which permit sole source awards to underrepresented women-owned small businesses. The platform at ceprovider.us enables tax professionals' continuing education providers—including educational institutions, professional associations, and businesses—to register, manage courses, renew their approval status, and upload participant records. The IRS has selected this vendor because of the specialized nature of the existing system and the vendor's established expertise in managing this critical compliance infrastructure.
The primary objective of this procurement is to ensure continued operation of the CEProvider.us platform, which manages IRS-approved CE provider registrations and maintains compliance with federal standards and security requirements. Interested parties must submit a written notification of interest and capability statement by the March 4, 2026 deadline to demonstrate their qualifications. Participation is restricted to Women-Owned Small Businesses verified under the SBA's WOSB Federal Contracting program, making this a set-aside opportunity. The contract includes a base period through August 31, 2026, with four optional one-year renewal periods available, providing up to five years of performance. The selected contractor will be responsible for platform development and maintenance, CE provider registration and renewal services, call center operations, secure payment processing, comprehensive reporting to the IRS, and compliance with extensive security requirements including FedRAMP certification and NIST standards. Notably, the contractor recovers costs through subscription fees collected from CE providers rather than through direct government payment.
Notice text
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) hereby submits a notice of intent to award a sole source firm fixed price purchase order to Advocation Strategies (AS). Advocation Strategies was verified via Eligible NAICS for the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting program U.S. Small Business Administration. The NAICS code for this procurement is
541611.
This procurement is for an educational website host service for the IRS. This vendor website is available only to authorized users. The website is as follows: http://www.ceprovider.us. The current website host charges a subscription fee to contractors who offer training. In turn these contractors post and conduct training for a fee. CEProvider.us is the official online system used by the IRS to manage continuing-education (CE) providers. Organizations use it to register, submit course information, and maintain their status as an IRS-approved CE provider for courses offered to tax professionals (such as enrolled agents and tax return preparers).
The subscribers are organizations, educational institutions, professional associations, or businesses that wish to offer IRS-approved continuing education. All IRS-approved courses and programs must be registered in this system. Each provider receives a unique
provider number, and each course receives a program number. The platform ensures compliance with IRS standards for course content, reporting, and recordkeeping. Registered CE providers also use the site to renew their approval, add or update programs, and upload participant records via PTIN uploads. Advocation Strategies does not charge the government a fee to run the website, they get fee from contractor subscriptions. The vendor provides various reports to the IRS on a routine basis. The provider must comply with federal government regulations. Because regulations are subject to change the provider must make changes to stay complaint. In addition, the vendor must meet all applicable security requirements.
The authority permitting this sole source procurement without full and open competition is prescribed by FAR 6.302-5 “Authorized or required by statute” under (b)(7) Sole source awards under the WOSB Program– 15 U.S.C. 637(m) (see 19.1506). Therefore, in accordance FAR 19.1506, Women Owned Small Business specifically underrepresented WOSB under certain NAICS codes are permitted to be awarded as a sole source.
This notice serves as a Notice of Intent to award a purchase order and is NOT a request for quotes (RFQs). Requests for capability briefings will not be considered. A RFQ will not be publicly posted and requests for copies of an RFQ shall not be honored or acknowledged. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether conducting a competitive procurement is in the best interest of the Government. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by responding to this notice.
Those responsible sources that believe they can perform these services in their entirety must submit a written notification of interest and capability statement by 03/04/2026. All information submitted shall support your firm’s capabilities to provide all the required
services and shall be furnished at no cost or obligation to the Government. Responses shall be submitted via email to the following address: bryan.l.davis@irs.gov. Telephone requests or inquiries will not be accepted.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of Intent CE Provider.pdf |
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