The capability statement
What is a capability statement and what goes on it?
It is a one-page summary a government buyer uses to decide whether to talk to you. It carries your core competencies, past performance, differentiators, and the company data a contracting officer needs to look you up: UEI, CAGE code, NAICS codes, socio-economic certifications and point of contact. One page, scannable, specific to the agency you are sending it to. The ones that fail read like marketing brochures, not answers to a procurement question.
Last reviewed 6 August 2026.
What goes on the page
- Core competencies
- What you do, in the buyer's vocabulary and not in yours. Four to six bullets. If a contracting officer cannot map them to something they buy, the page has failed at the top.
- Past performance
- Contracts you have delivered, with the customer, the scope, the value and the dates. Commercial work counts when you have no government work yet, and specifics beat adjectives every time.
- Differentiators
- Why you and not the incumbent. Certifications, a clearance, a proprietary method, geography, a delivery record. "Quality and customer service" is not a differentiator and appears on almost every one of these.
- Company data
- UEI, CAGE code, NAICS codes you are registered under, socio-economic status such as small disadvantaged, woman-owned, veteran-owned or HUBZone, accepted payment methods, and a named human with a direct phone number.
What gets one ignored
Length. One page. Two pages says you did not know the convention, which is itself information about how much government work you have done.
Genericness. A statement sent unchanged to every agency reads that way. Reordering competencies to match the agency's mission takes ten minutes and changes the response rate.
Missing the boring fields. No CAGE code and no NAICS means a contracting officer cannot check whether you are eligible for what they are about to set aside, so they move on.
What it is actually for
Small business outreach events, an approach to a prime contractor looking for subcontractors, a response to a sources sought notice, and the email you send a small business specialist at an agency. It is a door-opener, not a bid.
The related move worth knowing: responding to a sources sought notice or a request for information, with this attached, is how a requirement sometimes gets written in a way you can win. That happens before any solicitation exists, and it is invisible to anyone only watching for open opportunities.
Who asks this most
The answer above is the same whoever you are. What Quillify does about it is not.
Related
- Grants and government contracts are not the same thingWhat is the difference between a grant and a government contract?
- What to have ready before you need itWhat documents do I need to apply for a grant?
- SAM.gov registration and your UEIHow long does SAM.gov registration take, and do I need it?
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