Here’s What to Include in an RFP Cover Letter
An RFP cover letter is one page that names the reader, opens with something specific about them, states who you are and which requirements you match, and closes with a signature. Here's each element, the mistakes that recur in every one of them, and what to leave out entirely.
An RFP cover letter is a one-page business letter that opens your response and makes the case, in summary, that your organization is the right fit. It contains six things: an addressee by name, a specific opening line about the issuer rather than about you, a short statement of who you are, a summary of why you match this scope, an acknowledgement of what you are submitting, and a signed close with contact details. Anything else you are tempted to add belongs in the proposal itself.
What Should an RFP Cover Letter Include?
| Element | What goes here | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Addressee | The named contact from the solicitation, with title | "To Whom It May Concern" - or the agency, not a person |
| Opening line | Something specific about the issuer or the project | A thank-you that could open any letter to anyone |
| Who you are | Two or three sentences: what you do, size, where | A company history going back to the founding |
| Why you fit | The two or three requirements you match best, named | A list of everything you do, matched to nothing |
| What you are submitting | A short acknowledgement of the required components | Re-explaining the whole proposal |
| Close | Offer to answer questions, signature, contact details | No signature, or contact details only in the appendix |
This guide covers what goes in the letter. Two companion pieces cover the rest: how to format and lay one out, and how a cover letter differs from an executive summary - the distinction that causes the most duplicated effort.
How Do You Open a Cover Letter Without Sounding Generic?
Start with them, not with you. The opening sentence of most cover letters is a thank-you that would work equally well addressed to any organization in the country, which means it tells the evaluator nothing and wastes the position on the page they are most likely to actually read. Replace it with one specific, verifiable observation about the issuer or the project - a program they recently launched, a constraint their scope describes, the reason this procurement exists. You can thank them in the second paragraph, where it costs you nothing. The test is simple: if the sentence would survive a find-and-replace of the organization's name, it is not doing any work.
How Specific Should the "Why Us" Be?
Specific enough to name requirements. Pick the two or three places where you match this scope unusually well and say so directly, referencing the requirement rather than gesturing at your general excellence. If the work is in a rural county and you have delivered in rural counties, that belongs here. If the solicitation emphasizes a technology you have deployed at this scale, that belongs here. What does not belong is the full capability list - a cover letter that claims everything claims nothing, and the evaluator has your whole proposal to read for the details. Our guide to the content you already have covers where to find the evidence to support these claims quickly.
Find the bid that fits.Search Bid BananaWho Should You Address It To?
The named contact in the solicitation, spelled correctly, with their title. That person is usually the procurement contact and often sits on the evaluation panel, so the letter is being read by the person it is addressed to. If the solicitation gives no name, call the procurement office and ask - it takes five minutes and it is not an improper contact, since asking who to address correspondence to is administrative rather than substantive. If your solicitation has a formal question process and a rule against contacting anyone else during the open period, follow that rule instead and use the office or title rather than guessing at a name.
What Should You Leave Out?
- Reused text with another client's name in it. The single most damaging error in the document, and it survives because cover letters get recycled harder than any other section.
- Your full company history. Two decades compressed into the two facts that connect you to this buyer is stronger than the whole timeline.
- Pricing. It belongs in the pricing section, in the format they asked for, and often in a separate sealed envelope or upload.
- Anything contradicting the proposal. The cover letter is written first and edited last; if the approach changed, the letter has to change with it.
- Requirements answers. If it responds to a scored question, it belongs in the scored section where an evaluator will look for it.
Does the Cover Letter Get Scored?
Usually not, and that is worth understanding rather than resenting. In most public solicitations the cover letter is not a scored factor, so nothing written there earns points directly - but it is frequently the first page an evaluator reads, and it sets an expectation the rest of the document either meets or disappoints. Occasionally a solicitation does specify cover letter contents, in which case those contents are a compliance requirement and omitting them can cost you before scoring starts. Read the submission checklist to find out which situation you are in. Either way it is worth a careful proofread, since a typo on page one colors everything after it.
Find a Bid Worth Writing To
A tailored cover letter takes an hour, which is only worth spending on a solicitation you can genuinely win. Search open RFPs on Bid Banana.
Frequently asked questions
What should be included in an RFP cover letter?▼
Six things: the named contact as addressee, an opening line specific to the issuer rather than a generic thank-you, two or three sentences on who you are, a statement of the requirements you match best, a short acknowledgement of what you are submitting, and a signed close with contact details. Keep it to one page and leave everything else to the proposal.
How do you start an RFP cover letter?▼
With something specific about the issuer or the project, not about yourself. Most cover letters open with a thank-you that would work addressed to any organization, wasting the line an evaluator is most likely to read. Name a program they launched, a constraint in their scope, or why the procurement exists. If the sentence survives swapping the organization's name, rewrite it.
Who should an RFP cover letter be addressed to?▼
The named contact in the solicitation, spelled correctly and with their title - that person is usually the procurement contact and often sits on the evaluation panel. If no name is given, call the procurement office and ask, which is administrative rather than substantive contact. Where a solicitation restricts contact during the open period, use the office or title instead.
How long should an RFP cover letter be?▼
One page. The evaluator has your full proposal to read and is comparing it against several others, so a long cover letter delays the information they actually need. If the solicitation specifies cover letter contents or a length, follow that instead, since in that case the letter is a compliance requirement rather than an optional courtesy.
Is the RFP cover letter scored?▼
Usually not. In most public solicitations it is not a scored factor, so nothing in it earns points directly, though it is often the first page read and sets an expectation the proposal has to meet. Some solicitations do specify required cover letter contents, and there omitting them is a compliance failure that can cost you before scoring begins.