U.S. Department of Justice 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 
www.cops.usdoj.gov 

Sole Source Justification 
Fact Sheet

What is “sole source” procurement? 

Sole source, or procurement by 
noncompetitive proposals, is procurement 
through solicitation of a proposal from 
only one source, or after solicitation 
of a number of sources, competition is 
determined inadequate. Sole source 
procurements must adhere to the standards 
set forth in the uniform administrative 
requirements, 28 CFR § 66.36 or 28 CFR 
§ 70 (as applicable). 

When is sole source approval required 
by the COPS Office? 

A grant recipient must request written 
approval from the COPS Office for 
sole source procurements in excess of 
$100,000 prior to purchasing equipment, 
technology or services, obligating funding 
for a contract, or entering into a contract 
with grant funds. For the purchase of 
equipment, technology or services under 
a COPS grant award, grant recipients 
must follow their own policies and 
procedures on procurement as long as 
those requirements conform to the federal 
procurement requirements set forth in 
28 CFR § 66.36 and 28 CFR § 70 (as 
applicable). A sole source justification 
request should be submitted if a grant 
recipient determines that the award of a 
contract through a competitive process 
is infeasible, and if one or more of the 
following circumstances apply: 

(1) 
the item/service is available only from 
one source; 

(2) 
the public exigency or emergency 
for the requirement will not permit 
a delay resulting from competitive 
solicitation; or 

(3) 
competition is determined inadequate 
after solicitation of a number of 
sources. 


What documentation must be submitted 
to the COPS Office for sole source 
approval? 

Requests for sole source procurements 
of equipment, technology or services in 
excess of $100,000 must be submitted to 
the COPS Office in writing certifying that 
the award of the contract through full and 
open competition is infeasible. 
The outline below may be helpful in 
preparing your agency’s sole source 
request and ensuring that all of the 
necessary information is included: 

•The sole source request must be 
prepared on department letterhead and 
include the grant number for which the 
sole source approval is being sought. 
The request should also include the 
following information: 

•Section I – A brief description of the 
project, the amount to be designated 
for the sole source procurement, and 
the purpose of the contract. 

•Section II – A statement identifying 
which one (or more) of the three 
circumstances identified below apply 
to the procurement transaction and an 
explanation as to why it is necessary to 
contract in a noncompetitive manner. 
Include supporting information as 
identified below under the applicable 
section(s). 

• The item/service is available only 
from one source. 

•  Contractor’s expertise linked 
to the current project (e.g., 
knowledge of project management, 
responsiveness, experience of 
contractor personnel, prior work 
on earlier phases of project, etc.) 

•  Uniqueness of items to be 
procured from the proposed 
contractor or vendor 
(compatibility, patent issues, etc.) 

•  Any additional information that 
would support the case 

• The public exigency or emergency 
for the requirement will not permit 
a delay resulting from competitive 
solicitation. 
•  When the contractual coverage is 
required by your department and 
why
•  Impact on project if deadline/dates 
are not met 
•  How long it would take an 
alternate contractor to reach the 
same required level of competence 
(equate to dollar amounts, if 
desired)
•  Any additional information that 
would support the case 

• Competition is determined 
inadequate after solicitation of a 
number of sources. 
•  Results of a market survey to 
determine competition availability; 
if no survey is conducted, please 
explain why not
•  Any additional information that 
would support the case 


•Section III – A declaration that this 
action/choice is in the best interest of 
the agency. 

Failure to provide all of the necessary 
information will delay the processing 
of your request. Your agency will 
be contacted if any of the identified 
information is missing or if additional 
supporting information is required. If the 
COPS Office determines that the request 
does not meet the standards set forth 
above, the request will be denied. 

Please be advised that conflicts of interest 
are prohibited under the procurement 
standards set forth in 28 CFR Part 66 and 
28 CFR Part 70. 

If you have any questions regarding 
the federal requirements that guide 
procurement procedures, please contact 
your Grant Program Specialist or program 
point of contact at 800.421.6770. 

Contact COPS 

For more information on COPS programs 
and resources, please contact the COPS 
Response Center at 800.421.6770, or visit 
COPS Online at www.cops.usdoj.gov. 

Updated April 2, 2007 
e0407271