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Spotlight PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 The EU e-invoicing mandate is here — France Sept 2026, Belgium Jan 2026, Germany 2025.

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Foundations

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Standards

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Flagship messages

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Tools

X12 836 — Procurement Notices

The 836 transmits US federal procurement notices — sources sought, RFI, RFP, award notice — from a contracting agency to SAM.gov or vendors.

Purpose

The 836 documents a procurement notice to be published or distributed: sources sought (market research), RFI (request for information), pre-solicitation, solicitation (RFP/RFQ), award notice, justification & approval. It feeds SAM.gov (formerly FedBizOpps / FBO).

It is required by FAR Part 5 for any action > $25K. Acknowledged by 997. Often followed by 805 (Contract Pricing Proposal) from vendors.

Envelope structure

The 836 travels within the three X12 envelope levels (ISA/IEA, GS/GE with functional group PN, and ST/SE). Didactic example in release 004010:

x12 example-836.x12 
ISA*00*          *00*          *ZZ*AGENCY        *ZZ*SAMGOV        *260515*1300*U*00401*000000836*0*P*>~
GS*PN*AGENCY*SAMGOV*20260515*1300*1*X*004010~
ST*836*0001~
BGN*00*PN-W912DY26R0099*20260515~
N1*BY*US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS*24*EIN-USACE~
REF*ZZ*NOTICE-TYPE-SOLICITATION~
REF*ZZ*NAICS-237310~
DTM*002*20260801~
DTM*036*20260615~
AMT*EC*4500000.00~
SE*9*0001~
GE*1*1~
IEA*1*000000836~

Common segments

  • Header — ST, BGN (Solicitation number).
  • Agency — N1*BY.
  • Type / NAICS — REF*ZZ.
  • Dates — DTM*002 (proposal due), DTM*036 (response deadline).
  • Estimated value — AMT*EC.
  • Summary — SE.

Common pitfalls

  • Set-asides: a 836 mis-flagged on set-aside (8(a), WOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB) opens the opportunity to everyone — high legal cost.
  • Sources sought ≠ RFP: a sources sought is market research, not a solicitation; vendors must not submit proposals to a sources sought.
  • FAR Part 5 publication minima: a 836 must stay published at least 15 days (30 for > $7M); pulling it too early causes a protest.

Documentation

The code 836 and the name Procurement Notices are public and listed on x12.org/products/transaction-sets. The complete structure of loops, qualifiers and code lists is distributed by DISA via the proprietary Implementation Guides (TR3). ediverse.io covers only public concepts, the envelope and didactic examples.