If you search SAM.gov by NAICS code — or use a tool that does — you never see the notices posted without one. Sources Sought, Special Notices, and draft RFPs are exactly where the early, shapeable work lives, and they’re the first thing a code-first search drops. HE Pursuit indexes every notice and makes it searchable by keyword, so nothing hides.
Most opportunity tools — and SAM.gov’s own filtered search — key everything off the NAICS code. But a large share of federal notices are posted with no NAICS code at all: Sources Sought, Special Notices, draft RFPs. If your search is NAICS-first, those notices are invisible to you. They never show up, and you never know what you missed.
Filter by 541512 and you only ever see notices tagged 541512. Special Notices, industry-day announcements, and draft solicitations routinely ship with a blank NAICS field — so a NAICS filter, by construction, can never return them. The result is a blind spot exactly where the early, shapeable work lives.
The best time to influence a federal requirement is before the RFP exists. Sources Sought and RFIs are where agencies test the market — and where an early, credible response can shape scope, evaluation criteria, and set-aside decisions. Many carry no NAICS code, so they’re the first thing a filtered search drops.
Draft RFPs, pre-solicitations, and Special Notices tell you what’s coming and give you time to team, position, and prepare. These are frequently posted without a NAICS code — the exact category of notice that never surfaces in a code-first search.
HE Pursuit mirrors the full SAM.gov opportunity feed — every notice type, with or without a NAICS code — and makes it searchable by keyword, not just code. Search “contract writing,” “zero trust,” or your capability in plain language and see the notices a NAICS filter would have hidden. Nothing drops through the cracks because it wasn’t tagged.
Finding a hidden notice is only half the job. HE Pursuit runs each one through the same bid/no-bid qualification — fit, eligibility, and pursuit value — so you get a Go, Conditional Go, or No-Go recommendation in minutes, not just another notice in a list.
In SAM.gov’s Contract Opportunities search, the NAICS filter limits results to notices tagged with that code. That works for most solicitations, which carry one. A notice posted without a NAICS code can never match the filter, so pair it with a keyword search across all notice types.
Yes. The place-of-performance filter narrows results by state. But place of performance is optional on a notice, and many leave it blank, so a state filter also drops those. Run the search once with the filter and once without before you conclude there is nothing in your area.
Yes. Searching opportunities on SAM.gov is free and needs no account, and registering your entity is free too. Companies that charge to register you are selling an optional service, not passing on a government fee.
Paste any live notice number — including a Sources Sought or Special Notice — and see the analysis for yourself.
Try it on a live notice — free