DIBBS for machine shops and resellers: how DLA buys parts, step by step
DIBBS is where the Defense Logistics Agency posts requests for quotations on the parts it buys. This guide walks through what you need to set up, how to read a solicitation, and how to tell whether a part is worth your time before you quote.
What DIBBS is
DIBBS is the DLA Internet Bid Board System. DLA describes it as a web-based application for searching, viewing and submitting secure quotes on requests for quotations (RFQs) for DLA items of supply. You can also look up requests for proposals (RFPs), invitations for bid and past awards there.
For DLA Weapons Support, DLA says most solicitations can only be answered inside DIBBS, not through SAM.gov. Some sites, such as the depot-level repairable buyers, post on SAM.gov instead, so check both if you sell repair work.
Step 1: Register in SAM.gov and get a CAGE code
Everything starts with SAM.gov. DLA's getting-started steps are to register in SAM.gov as a vendor and receive a CAGE code, the five-character ID the government uses for your company. DLA also requires a SAM Unique Entity Identifier and a bank account that can take electronic payments, both set up in SAM.
DLA recommends your local APEX Accelerator for free help with SAM and DIBBS registration. If you want to check how a company already appears, use our CAGE code lookup.
Step 2: Register a DIBBS account
Once you have a CAGE code, DLA's registration steps are:
- Open DIBBS and choose Vendor Registration.
- Enter your CAGE code. DIBBS fills in your company name and address from SAM, and you cannot edit them in DIBBS. If the address is wrong, fix it in SAM first.
- Name a Super User, the person who controls the account. There can only be one per CAGE code.
- Enter the PIN DIBBS emails to the Super User.
- Request a postcard. DLA mails a physical address verification number to your address, and says it arrives in about 10 days. You cannot finish until you enter it.
- Accept the user agreement, set a password and challenge questions, and fill in your supplier defaults, such as how many days your quotes stay valid (the default is 90) and where award notices go.
Your Super User ID is always your CAGE code followed by 01. The Super User can add more users, numbered 02 to 99. DLA notes that award notices and contract changes go only to the primary email address, so keep it current.
Step 3: Set up cFolders for drawings
DLA posts the technical data for open solicitations, such as drawings, to cFolders. You need a DIBBS account first, then you create a cFolders account from the link on the DIBBS home page. A new cFolders account can see non-restricted technical data.
Export-controlled drawings need more. DLA requires an approved JCP certification (DD Form 2345) and DLA's own Enhanced Validation approval on top of your cFolders account. Our DD Form 2345 and JCP guide covers that process. Start early: DLA says to begin a JCP application at least 120 days before you need it.
Step 4: Read a solicitation
You can search open RFQs by NSN, federal supply class (FSC), solicitation number, purchase request number, nomenclature (the item name), approved part number or approved CAGE code. On each record, look at these first:
- NSN. The 13-digit national stock number. The first four digits are the FSC, the class the part belongs to (3040 is miscellaneous mechanical power transmission equipment). Search by the FSCs that match your machines.
- Quantity. Shown on the RFQ record next to the NSN and item name. Check it against your minimum economic run.
- AMSC. DLA's solicitation training shows the acquisition method suffix code on the item. It is the fastest filter you have. G means the government holds complete technical data; B, C, H and T mean limited sources. Our AMC and AMSC guide explains every code in plain English.
- Approved sources. On code and part number buys, the item lists approved CAGE codes and part numbers. If your company and part are not listed, you cannot quote it as an exact match.
- Tech docs. An item with technical documents has a link that opens its folder in cFolders. On an AMSC G item, the solicitation lists the drawings, with revision and date, and the specifications needed to make the part. DIBBS lets you filter the search to items with tech docs.
- Solicitation type. DLA's training notes that solicitations with a T or U are generated automatically by the system, and Q solicitations are generated by a buyer. That matters for alternate offers (step 5).
DLA's training also notes that DIBBS lets you quote while your SAM registration needs updating, but you cannot receive an award until SAM is current. SAM registration renews every year.
Step 5: Source approval, if you are not listed
DLA gives a new source two routes onto the approved list:
- Alternate offer (AO). Submitted against an active solicitation, with the solicitation number and the contracting officer named in the cover letter. DLA Land and Maritime says alternate offers against an automated solicitation (a T or U in the ninth position of the solicitation number) are not considered for that buy, only for future ones.
- Source approval request (SAR). Submitted at any time, with all the technical data needed to show you can make the part to the same or better quality than the current source. DLA's guide lists AMSC B, C and D as examples of eligible codes, and says AMSC G parts are not evaluated because they are already full and open.
DLA groups SARs into categories: an actual item you have made before, a similar item, a new manufacturer, and (in DLA's SAR/AO guide) a reverse-engineered part. DLA Land and Maritime says a review generally takes a minimum of 90 days and can run to 180 days or longer.
DLA Land and Maritime also says 80% of alternate offer and source approval packages fail, and lists the reasons: low annual demand that makes approval uneconomical, missing qualification data and drawings, unsigned drawing approval blocks, and no test plan. And approval only gives you the chance to compete; it does not guarantee orders.
Step 6: Quote
You must be registered and logged in to quote. From the RFQ record, open the quote form, fill it in, and submit. Before you do:
- Confirm the part is one you can legally offer: an approved source and part number, or an alternate offer you have submitted.
- Read the solicitation document itself, not just the RFQ summary, for quality, inspection, packaging and delivery requirements.
- Check that your quote-valid days and award email in your DIBBS defaults are what you want.
DLA's terms of use say access can be withdrawn for things like sharing account details with unregistered users, using data from DLA systems in violation of export rules (EAR or ITAR), or material misrepresentation in DIBBS.
A quick way to decide if a part is worth it
- Is it in an FSC you can make?
- Is the AMSC G, or a code you can realistically qualify for?
- Can you get the drawings (non-restricted, or with JCP and DEV)?
- Is the quantity worth a setup?
If you are a reseller with an NSN in hand and need someone to make it, or a shop wanting a second opinion on a part, send it to us.
Common questions
What is DIBBS?
The DLA Internet Bid Board System. DLA describes it as a web-based application for searching, viewing and submitting secure quotes on requests for quotations (RFQs) for DLA items of supply. You can also search requests for proposals, invitations for bid and awards.
What do I need before I can register in DIBBS?
A SAM.gov registration and the CAGE code you receive at the end of it. DIBBS pulls your company name and address from SAM, and they cannot be changed inside DIBBS.
Why is DIBBS mailing me a postcard?
To verify your physical address. DLA mails a postcard with a physical address verification number to the address in SAM, and says it usually arrives in about 10 days. You finish registration after you enter that number.
Where are the drawings for a DIBBS solicitation?
In cFolders, DLA's technical data system. You need a DIBBS account before you can create a cFolders account. A new cFolders account sees non-restricted data; export-controlled drawings need JCP certification and DLA Enhanced Validation.
Can I quote a part if I am not on the approved source list?
Not as an exact match. You can submit an alternate offer against an open solicitation, or a source approval request at any time, to become an approved source. DLA Land and Maritime notes that alternate offers on automated solicitations (a T or U in the ninth position of the solicitation number) are only considered for future buys.
Does becoming an approved source mean I will get orders?
No. DLA Land and Maritime says becoming an approved source only grants the opportunity to compete and supply the item, and does not guarantee future contracts or orders.
Send us a part number
Give us the NSN or part number you are looking at. We will tell you what the catalog says about who can make it and match it to machine shops in our directory that could quote it.
Want a person to check a solicitation for you? See the DLA bid desk. New to this? Start with our government contracting guide for machine shops, or try the free NSN and part number lookup.
Sources
- DLA: DIBBS, DLA Internet Bid Board System
- DLA: DIBBS vendor registration
- DLA: Getting started doing business with DLA
- DLA: Accessing the DLA Internet Bid Board (DIBBS) and the Collaboration Folders (cFolders). 25 March 2025
- DLA Small Business: DIBBS Solicitations (presentation with notes)
- DLA Source Approval Request (SAR) and Alternate Offer (AO) Guide
- DLA Land and Maritime: Alternate Offers
- DLA Land and Maritime: Source Approval Request and Alternate Offer guidance. May 2022. Review times and automated solicitation rule
- DLA Land and Maritime: Vendor Assistance. UEI, CAGE and EFT requirements
- DLA: DIBBS Pocket Guide. NSN and FSC structure
- DLA Vendor Information Hub: Vendor Resources
- DLA: Joint Certification Program (JCP)