How ScoutGov
Works
From account creation to personalized recommendations — here's everything you need to know.
Create Your Free Account
Sign up with your name and email. It takes less than a minute. No credit card required.
Set Up Your Business Profile
Enter your NAICS codes, certifications (small business, 8(a), WOSB, veteran-owned, HUBZone), headquarters state, target states, and keywords describing your capabilities. This profile is the foundation for matching.
Get Matched Opportunities
ScoutGov runs multiple searches based on your profile, then ranks the results across six signals: NAICS exact match (with partial credit for adjacent codes in the same subsector), set-aside eligibility, contract-size fit against your stated sweet spot, description alignment via Postgres full-text search of your capability statement, deadline proximity, and procurement type. Every recommendation tells you exactly which signals fired.
Search, Save, and Train
Run your own searches with filters pre-filled from your profile. Save the contracts you're pursuing and dismiss the ones that don't fit. ScoutGov tracks the patterns — by agency, NAICS, and set-aside — and shifts future rankings to favor work like what you've saved and away from work like what you've dismissed. The system gets sharper as you use it.
Use ScoutGov From Your AI Assistant (Pro)
Pro users can connect ScoutGov to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible AI tools. Your assistant can search the full opportunity corpus, pull scored recommendations with explanations, save or dismiss what you find, and update your business profile — all from inside the chat. Sign in once with OAuth; no API keys to manage.
The Data Source
About SAM.gov
SAM.gov (System for Award Management) is the official U.S. government website where federal agencies post contract opportunities. Every solicitation, pre-solicitation, sources-sought notice, and award notice is published here.
Over 30,000 new opportunities are posted every month across every industry — IT, construction, healthcare, manufacturing. The federal government awards over $750 billion in contracts annually.
SAM.gov provides a public API that lets applications like ScoutGov search these opportunities programmatically. Each opportunity includes title, agency, NAICS code, set-aside type, response deadline, place of performance, and more.
Usage Limits
Built-In, Not Bring-Your-Own
ScoutGov handles the SAM.gov connection for you — no API key, no setup, no key rotation. Each plan has a monthly search allowance to keep the service fast for everyone.
| Plan | Monthly Searches | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 50 searches | Trying ScoutGov and evaluating fit |
| Pro | 1,500 searches | Daily use — dozens of searches + recommendations |
Most active users never hit the Pro limit. Searches run against ScoutGov's local copy of SAM.gov data — fast and unaffected by SAM.gov's rate limits.
Boundaries
What ScoutGov Does Not Do
ScoutGov is a discovery and recommendation tool. It helps you find relevant opportunities — it does not replace SAM.gov.
Does not submit bids or proposals
You still respond to opportunities through SAM.gov or the contracting officer directly.
Does not verify certifications
The qualification assistant provides guidance only, not legal or eligibility advice.
Does not replace SAM.gov
SAM.gov is always the official source of truth for opportunity details, submission requirements, and deadlines.
Is not affiliated with the U.S. government
ScoutGov is an independent tool that uses publicly available SAM.gov data.
Ready to Find Contracts
That Fit Your Business?
No Credit Card Required · Instant Dashboard Access