What should an RFI form contain?
Short answer
An RFI form contains the buyer’s request, with the need, the questions, the deadlines and a no-award statement, and a response section where each supplier answers in the same order.
Key takeaways
- An RFI form has two parts: the request, which tells suppliers what you need to learn and how to answer, and the response form, which every supplier fills in with the same headings.
- The request part holds the purpose and no-award statement, background, numbered questions, timeline, one point of contact, the submission address and the terms.
- The response part holds the respondent’s identity, a contact person, numbered answers, assumptions, confidential markings and a signed declaration, including conflicts of interest.
- Keep the questions few and numbered, each with an answer format and a length limit, so the answers can be laid side by side in one comparison sheet.
- Public buyers add rules: US federal RFIs use the FAR wording on no award, and New Zealand’s government model says an RFI must not be used to select or shortlist suppliers.
What is an RFI form?
An RFI form is the document a buyer uses to ask possible suppliers for information before a purchase. It holds the request, with the need, the questions, the deadlines and a no-award statement, and a response form that every supplier fills in, in the same order.
Picture a buyer who sends an RFI as a plain email with ten questions. Six suppliers reply: two send brochures, one sends a 40-page proposal, three answer some of the questions in their own order. Comparing them takes days. The same RFI with a response form, numbered questions and a page limit gets six answers that fit in one table. That is what the form is for.
This page covers the procurement RFI form. In construction, an “RFI form” is a different document, a question about the drawings of a signed contract; it is explained at the end of this page. What an RFI is and when to use one is explained in what RFI means in business; how it differs from a quotation or a proposal request is in RFI vs RFP vs RFQ.
What goes in the request part of an RFI form?
The request part is what the buyer writes. New Zealand’s government model RFI, a public template from New Zealand Government Procurement, is a good reference because it is complete and short. Its sections, adapted for any buyer, are these:
| Section | Fields | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Cover | Buyer’s name, title of the procurement, reference number, release date, deadline for questions, deadline for responses (with time and time zone) | Every later message can quote the reference and the dates |
| What we need | One or two paragraphs on what you need to know and why; what you do not want (for example: no quotes or proposals at this stage) | Suppliers decide in a minute whether to answer |
| Why respond | What the supplier gains by answering: a better understanding of a future need, a chance to suggest options | Answering costs suppliers time; say why it is worth it |
| About us | A short description of the organisation and how this RFI fits its plans | Lets suppliers judge fit without guessing |
| Status | That this is not a tender, that no contract will be awarded on the basis of the RFI, and that answers will not be paid for | Protects the buyer and sets expectations |
| Timeline | Deadline for questions, date by which the buyer answers, deadline for responses, what happens next | Every supplier works to the same dates |
| Point of contact | One named person, role and email; no other contact during the RFI | One channel keeps all suppliers equally informed |
| How to submit | Address or portal, file format, response form to use, whether late or posted responses are accepted | Answers arrive in one place, in a usable format |
| Our requirements | Background, key outcomes and the numbered questions | The core of the RFI: what you want to learn |
| Terms | Confidentiality, costs borne by the respondent, ownership of documents, conflict of interest, the buyer’s right to change or end the RFI | Sets the rules once, so the questions stay short |
Ten short sections are enough; the length of an RFI belongs in its questions, not in its introduction.
The status line deserves exact words because it is what makes the RFI an RFI. In US federal procurement, the standard provision says the government “does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited”, and that a response “will be treated as information only.” Private buyers often adapt that sentence.
What goes in the RFI response form?
The response form is what the supplier fills in. Sending it as a separate document, with fixed headings, is the simplest way to get comparable answers. New Zealand’s model response form asks respondents not to change its section headings or their order, “as this needs to be consistent across all Respondents”. Its fields are these:
| Section | Fields the supplier completes |
|---|---|
| Reference | Buyer, procurement name, reference number, date of the response |
| About the respondent | Single or joint response; full legal name, trading name, physical and postal address, registered office, website, legal form (sole trader, partnership, company, charity), business and tax registration numbers, country of tax residence |
| Point of contact | Name, position, phone, mobile and work email of the person who speaks for the respondent |
| Responses | One row per question: the question as the buyer numbered it, then the answer; images, links and attachments named in the answer |
| Assumptions | Anything the respondent takes as given, such as information or help the buyer will provide |
| Confidential information | Parts marked as commercially sensitive; the template warns that a respondent cannot mark the whole document confidential unless it truly is |
| Declaration | Agreement to the RFI terms, a conflict of interest declaration with details if any, and a statement that the information is true, accurate and complete, signed by an authorised person |
The respondent block identifies who answered; the response table is what you will compare; the declaration makes the answers someone’s responsibility.
Two details save time later. Ask for the legal name and the registration number now, because they are what you will check if the supplier is invited to the next step. And ask suppliers to paste the relevant part of a brochure into the answer rather than attach the whole brochure; the New Zealand template warns that a buyer may not read a long attached document.
How do you write the questions in an RFI form?
Number every question, say what form the answer takes, and set a limit. Then a reader can put answer 3 from six suppliers side by side. Keep each question tied to a decision you have to make; a question whose answer would not change your next step should go.
Here is a fictional example: a regional health authority plans to buy a patient transport booking service and does not know what the market offers. Its RFI has twelve questions; four are shown.
| No. | Question | Answer format | Limit | What the answer decides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Which booking channels do you support today: phone, web, app, integration with hospital systems? | Tick list, then free text | 150 words | Which channels the requirements will ask for |
| 5 | Which hospital patient systems do you exchange data with today, and how? | Table: system, method, number of customers | 10 rows | Whether integration is a standard feature or a project |
| 8 | How long does a typical start-up take for 40,000 trips a year, and what does the customer provide? | Free text | 200 words | The timetable and internal effort |
| 11 | What pricing models do you offer? Give an indicative range for our volume. | Model and range, not a quote | 100 words | The budget request and the price schedule of the next request |
A format and a limit per question turn six free-form replies into one comparison table.
Question 11 asks for a range, not a price. The New Zealand template tells buyers not to ask for specific prices or quotes, but allows a request for rough budget estimates. Firm prices belong in the request for quotation or the proposal request that follows.
How do buyers send an RFI form and handle questions?
Send the RFI through one channel and keep every supplier on the same information. In practice that means an e-sourcing or e-tendering portal for most public buyers and many large companies, or a single email address for smaller purchases. A portal keeps the documents, the questions and the answers in one record; email works if one person owns the mailbox. The tools are described in e-sourcing.
- Publish or send the request part and the response form together, with the reference number on both.
- Take supplier questions only through the point of contact, and only until the deadline for questions.
- Answer every question by the date you set, and share the questions and answers with all suppliers, without the name of the supplier who asked. The New Zealand terms describe this practice.
- If you change a date or a document, tell every supplier through the same channel, and move the deadline if the change needs more work.
- Acknowledge each response after the deadline, and log late responses according to your rules.
The rule behind these steps is fairness, and US federal law states it for exchanges with industry. FAR 15.201(f) says that when specific information about a proposed purchase, needed to prepare proposals, is given to one or more potential offerors, it “must be made available to the public as soon as practicable”, to avoid an unfair competitive advantage. That rule is US federal; private buyers have no such duty, but suppliers who learn that a competitor got extra information rarely answer the next request.
How do you compare RFI responses?
Copy the answers into one sheet built from the form: one row per question number, one column per respondent. Because every supplier followed the same numbering, this is clerical work, not interpretation. Then add a short note per cell rather than a score.
| Question | Respondent A | Respondent B | Respondent C | What we learn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3. Booking channels | Phone, web, app | Phone and web; app planned | Phone, web, hospital integration | All three take web bookings; only one connects to hospital systems today |
| 5. Hospital systems | None listed | Two systems, file exchange | Three systems, live interface, named customers | Integration is not standard; it must be a requirement |
| 8. Start-up time | 12 weeks | 6 months, customer supplies data | 4 months | Plan at least four months; data preparation is ours |
| 11. Pricing | Per trip, range given | Annual fee | Per trip, range given | Two pricing models to allow for in the price schedule |
The last column is the RFI’s result: what changes in your requirements, budget and next step.
Two cautions. First, separate evidence from claims: a named customer using a live interface is evidence, “fully configurable” is not. Second, check what your rules allow you to do with the answers. A private buyer may use them to decide whom to invite next. A public buyer may not always: New Zealand’s government model says an RFI is market research and “must not be used to select or shortlist suppliers”, so answering, or not answering, the RFI cannot decide who takes part in the next stage. The full sequence that follows is in the RFP process.
What should an RFI form leave out?
- Firm prices and binding offers: they need a defined scope, which an RFI does not yet have.
- Questions that evaluate the supplier rather than the market, such as staff CVs or detailed references. The New Zealand template says buyers are not looking to evaluate respondents at this stage and should not ask for skills and experience.
- Brand names and design details that point to one product. New Zealand’s template refers buyers to the government rule on technical specifications here; public buyers elsewhere have similar rules.
- Hundreds of requirement lines copied from an old tender. Suppliers answer them with brochures.
- A demand for unpaid design work. If you need a study, pay for one.
Which rules apply to public-sector RFI forms?
The form’s content is much the same everywhere; the rules around it depend on the jurisdiction. Two examples, each valid only where it applies:
- United States, federal agencies. FAR 15.201(e) allows RFIs when the government does not presently intend to award a contract and wants price, delivery, other market information or capabilities for planning purposes. Responses “are not offers”, and “There is no required format for RFIs.” The provision at FAR 52.215-3 supplies the standard no-award wording, and FAR 10.002 lists formal requests for information among market research techniques. The FAR is being rewritten, so check the current text before reusing a clause.
- New Zealand, government agencies. New Zealand Government Procurement publishes a model RFI and a model response form, to be used together. The model treats the RFI as market research only, not a tender, and its terms let the buyer share questions and answers with all respondents without naming who asked.
In the European Union and the United Kingdom, an RFI is a form of preliminary market consultation or engagement, with its own conditions; they are summarised in what RFI means in business. For the wider frame of public buying, see public procurement.
Is a construction RFI form the same thing?
No. Many searches for “RFI form” are about construction, where an RFI is a written question raised during a project, often by the contractor, about the drawings or specifications of a contract already signed. The American Institute of Architects publishes a standard version, G716, and states that neither the request nor the response authorises work that adds cost or time.
Its fields show the difference. The New Jersey Department of Transportation’s construction RFI form, DC-162, asks for an RFI number, project and contract numbers, the originator and recipients, the document concerned (road plans, bridge plans, specifications, contractual), drawing and structure numbers, a description, the date a response is needed and a priority. The department’s answer section carries a disclaimer that the response does not entitle the contractor to more time or a higher price, and boxes for cost impact and time impact. A procurement RFI form asks the market what it could offer; a construction RFI form asks the design team what the contract means.
Questions
Is an RFI form the same as an RFI template?
Not quite. A template is the reusable blank document, with instructions for the buyer. The RFI form is the completed request, with your need, questions and dates, plus the response form suppliers fill in. Most buyers start from a template and turn it into a form for each purchase.
Should the RFI response form be in Word, PDF or online?
Use a format suppliers can fill in and you can copy from: an editable document or the response pages of an e-sourcing portal. A locked PDF makes answers hard to compare. Whatever the format, keep the numbered questions and the headings fixed so every response follows the same order.
How long should an RFI form be?
Short enough that a supplier can answer in a few hours. For many purchases, ten to twenty numbered questions, each with a word or page limit, is enough. If the request part runs to many pages before the first question, the background is probably doing the work of a specification.
Who signs an RFI response?
A person authorised to commit the respondent, such as a director or a senior manager, signs the declaration that the information is true and complete and that conflicts of interest are disclosed. In a joint response, each party signs its own declaration in New Zealand’s model form.
Can an RFI form ask for a supplier’s financial statements?
It can, but it is rarely useful at this stage, because the RFI does not select anyone. Financial checks belong to the qualification step of the tender that follows. Ask in the RFI only for what helps you understand the market, such as typical contract sizes or customer types.
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