How many past-performance references do I need?
Most solicitations ask for three to five recent, relevant references. Relevance and recency matter more than the raw number.
The exact count is set by each solicitation, but three to five is typical. What evaluators weigh is not how many you list but how closely each one matches the current work in size, scope, and complexity, and how recent it is, usually within the last three to five years.
A few tightly matched references, described against the evaluation criteria and backed by CPARS ratings where available, beat a long list of loosely related jobs. If you are new, look for subcontracting or commercial work you can position as relevant.
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Related terms: Past performance, CPARS