How Should an Owner Write an RFP for a GC?

By Wyatt Cooper · Published October 22, 2026 · 7 min read

Key takeaways

An RFP is the document general contractors answer, so it should ask for exactly what you will score, in the order you will score it.
State the evaluation factors and their relative weight in the RFP itself; contractors write better proposals when they know what counts.
Ask for the price in a fixed form (fee percent, general conditions, insurance and bond rates) so a low fee cannot hide a high total.
Give a full schedule: the questions deadline, addenda, proposal due date, interviews and award, and one contact for everything.

An owner's RFP for a general contractor should describe the project, the delivery method and the contract form, ask for exactly what you will score (experience, team, approach and schedule, safety, and a fee in a set format), state the evaluation factors and their relative weight, and give the schedule: questions deadline, proposal due date, interviews and award. Ask every firm for the same items in the same order, so the proposals compare side by side.

The RFP is the document the contractors answer

Choosing a general contractor starts with deciding what you need and who to ask; how an owner chooses a GC covers that. This piece is about the document you send the shortlisted firms. A vague RFP gets proposals that cannot be compared: one firm sends a brochure, another a fee with no general conditions, a third a schedule with no assumptions, and you spend the evaluation leveling proposals instead of judging them.

Federal source selection is a good model even for a private owner. "All factors and significant subfactors that will affect contract award and their relative importance shall be stated clearly in the solicitation", and the solicitation says whether all factors other than cost, combined, are significantly more important than, about equal to, or significantly less important than cost (FAR 15.304). Federal RFPs also split the instructions (Section L: how to prepare the proposal) from the evaluation (Section M: the factors and their relative importance) (FAR 15.204-5). Keep both in yours.

The sections of a GC RFP

The sections of an owner's request for proposals to general contractors, and what each should contain
Section	What to include
1. Project	Location, program, size, budget range, design status and the drawings and reports attached
2. Delivery method and contract	Lump sum, construction manager at risk with a guaranteed maximum price, or design-build; the contract form to be used, attached
3. Services	Preconstruction services wanted (estimates at each design stage, constructability review, schedule) and construction services
4. Schedule	Design milestones, the expected start, substantial completion and any phasing or occupied-building limits
5. Proposal instructions	What to submit, in what order, page limits, format, and how and where to deliver it
6. Price form	Fee percent, general conditions by month, insurance and bond rates, self-performed labor rates; a form to fill in, not a free-form letter
7. Evaluation	The factors, their weights or relative importance, and whether interviews are scored
8. Requirements	Bonding, insurance limits, licensing, prevailing wage or participation goals if they apply
9. Questions and addenda	One contact, the last day for questions, and that answers go to all firms by addendum
10. Terms	Proposal validity period, the owner's right to reject all proposals, confidentiality, and no contact with others on the owner's team

Choose the delivery method before you write, because it changes what you ask for. A lump-sum bid needs complete documents and a price; a guaranteed maximum price contract signed early needs a fee, general conditions and a preconstruction approach. The delivery methods compared page sets the options side by side.

A worked example: a fee form that compares

Harlow Clinics (fictional) is hiring a construction manager at risk for a clinic with an estimated cost of the work of $12,000,000. Its price form asks every firm for the same four numbers. To keep the example simple, the fee and the insurance and bond rate are both applied to the $12,000,000 cost of the work; a real RFP should say exactly what each rate is applied to.

Three fictional fee proposals on a $12,000,000 cost of work, compared on the owner's price form
Firm	Fee	General conditions	Insurance and bonds	Total for comparison	Price points (of 25)
Ashby Construction	4.0% = $480,000	$68,000 × 14 months = $952,000	1.6% = $192,000	$1,624,000	23.3
Brennan Builders	3.5% = $420,000	$74,000 × 14 months = $1,036,000	1.8% = $216,000	$1,672,000	22.6
Calder & Rhee	4.5% = $540,000	$61,000 × 13 months = $793,000	1.5% = $180,000	$1,513,000	25.0

Brennan's fee is the lowest, but its total is the highest, because its general conditions cost more per month. Calder & Rhee has the highest fee and the lowest total, partly because it proposes 13 months instead of 14: a claim to test at the interview, since a month saved only counts if the schedule is credible. Price points follow the formula stated in the RFP: the lowest total gets the full 25 points, and each other firm gets 25 × lowest total ÷ its total. Ashby: 25 × $1,513,000 ÷ $1,624,000 = 23.3. Brennan: 25 × $1,513,000 ÷ $1,672,000 = 22.6.

The other 75 points in this RFP are experience (25), the proposed team (20), approach and schedule (20) and safety (10), each stated in the evaluation section with what earns full marks. Because the weights were published, every firm knew price was a quarter of the decision and wrote accordingly.

Run the process in a fixed order

1OwnerIssues the RFP to the shortlisted firms, with the schedule and one contact
2ContractorsAsk questions in writing by the deadline
3OwnerAnswers every firm at once by numbered addendum
4ContractorsSubmit proposals in the required order and price form
5Owner's panelScores the written proposals against the stated factors, then interviews
6OwnerNegotiates with the top-ranked firm and awards

An owner's RFP for a general contractor, from issue to award

Some owners split the process in two. Federal two-phase design-build is one example: phase one evaluates technical approach and technical qualifications, such as specialized experience, capability to perform and the team's past performance, and expressly excludes cost or price factors; price comes in phase two from the short list (FAR 36.303-1). A private owner can do the same: qualifications first, then a full RFP with the fee form to three firms.

Mistakes that weaken an RFP

Asking for "your fee" with no form, then comparing a percentage against a lump sum.
Hiding the weights, then scoring mostly on price.
No page limit, so the longest proposal looks the most thorough.
Changing the scope in a phone call with one firm instead of an addendum to all.
Leaving the contract form out of the RFP, so exceptions surface after selection.
Interviewing without a scoring sheet written in advance.

Once a firm is selected, it runs its own bidding to the trades; the owner's guide follows the job from there to closeout.

The bottom line

A good RFP for a general contractor tells the firms what you will score and how much each part counts, asks for the price in one form, and fixes the schedule and the rules before the first question arrives.

Write it that way and the proposals arrive comparable, the interviews test real differences, and the award is one you can explain to your board.

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Sources

FAR 15.304, Evaluation factors and significant subfactors — Acquisition.gov, U.S. General Services Administration. Read October 22, 2026.
FAR 15.204-5, Part IV, Representations and Instructions (Sections L and M) — Acquisition.gov, U.S. General Services Administration. Read October 22, 2026.
FAR 36.303-1, Phase One (two-phase design-build) — Acquisition.gov, U.S. General Services Administration. Read October 22, 2026.

Questions

What should an RFP for a general contractor include?

The project description, delivery method and contract form, the services wanted, the schedule, proposal instructions, a price form, the evaluation factors and their weights, requirements such as bonding and insurance, the questions and addenda process, and the terms of the RFP itself.

What is the difference between an RFP and an invitation to bid?

An invitation to bid asks for a price on complete documents and is usually awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. A request for proposals asks for price and other information, such as team, approach and schedule, and is scored on several factors.

Should an owner tell GCs how proposals will be scored?

Yes. Stating the factors and their relative weight lets each firm put its effort where it counts, and it makes the decision easier to defend. Federal rules require it in negotiated procurements.

How do you compare general contractor fees?

Ask every firm for the same numbers in a price form, such as fee percent, general conditions per month, months, and insurance and bond rates, then compare the totals on the same cost of work. A low fee can sit beside high general conditions.