Post-Award Protest Primer: Part 3

Now that we've discussed the award letter and debriefings, we'll move on to next steps: timeliness of initial protest filings and the protest timeline.  In the context of all post-award debriefings, there are two timeliness considerations.  First, meeting the GAO's timeliness requirements and, second, whether the filing will result in an automatic stay.  Having discussed debriefings last week, we will first look at what is technically an "exception" to the timeliness rules related to a required debriefing, then turn to protests when a debriefing is not required.  We will also discuss what may be one of the biggest traps of protest timeliness: protests in the context of a competitive range determination.  Finally, we will walk through the timeline of a post-award protest after filing.