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ARTICLE · 24 JULY 2026

Protester Beware: Recent GAO Decision Suggests Traditional “Reasonable Possibility” Prejudice Standard May Be Evolving

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A recent GAO decision appears to significantly raise the bar for protesters seeking to demonstrate competitive prejudice in bid protests. The decision requires "convincing evidence" rather than the longstanding "reasonable possibility" standard, potentially marking a major shift in how protesters must substantiate their claims of harm from agency procurement errors.

United StatesGovernment, Public Sector
John E. McCarthy Jr.
John E. McCarthy Jr.
Cherie J. Owen
Cherie J. Owen
Zachary Schroeder
Zachary Schroeder

It is well established that “[c]ompetitive prejudice is an essential element of every viable protest.” Yet, for decades, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has tempered this requirement with two critical corollaries: protesters need only demonstrate a “reasonable possibility” that they were prejudiced by an agency’s actions, and GAO “will resolve doubts regarding prejudice in favor of the protester.” These principles have been consistent features of GAO’s bid protest jurisprudence for more than 30 years. See, e.g., United Int’l Eng'g, Inc., B-245448, Jan. 29, 1992, 71 CPD ¶ 177.

A recent GAO decision calls these settled principles into question. In Highlight Technologies, Inc., B-424060.2, May 22, 2026, GAO found that an agency’s evaluation was inconsistent with the terms of the solicitation — yet denied the protest because the protester failed to submit “convincing evidence to support its claim of prejudice.” This outcome appears to reflect a significant departure

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