Nuclear Regulatory Commission Government Contracts — Contractor Guide
Researched by the BidStride Research Team
The NRC regulates the civilian use of radioactive materials and ensures the safe operation of nuclear power plants. NRC contracts for technical and scientific support services related to nuclear safety, cybersecurity, probabilistic risk assessment, environmental review, and regulatory research. NRC is a small agency with highly specialized procurement needs in nuclear engineering and safety analysis.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission awards approximately $500M+ in contracts annually with a 28% small business contracting goal. Typical contract types used include IDIQ, FFP, T&M, CPFF. All NRC solicitations above the simplified acquisition threshold are posted on SAM.gov.
$500M+
28%
of prime contract dollars
Key Procurement Offices
Nuclear Regulatory Commission contracting is distributed across these offices and commands. Target your business development toward the offices most aligned with your capabilities, and build relationships before solicitations are released.
- NRC Acquisition Management Division (AMD)
- Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
- Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Top NAICS Codes — NRC Contracting
These NAICS codes appear most frequently in Nuclear Regulatory Commission solicitations. Ensure your SAM.gov registration includes the codes matching your services.
Small Business Goals — NRC
Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a statutory small business prime contracting goal of 28% of annual contract dollars. This applies across all socioeconomic categories including 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, and SDVOSB.
Ensure your certifications are current on SAM.gov to qualify for set-aside competitions. Contracting officers are required by law to first consider whether requirements can be met by small businesses before opening competition to all offerors.
Key Regulations — NRC Contracts
Contractors bidding on Nuclear Regulatory Commission contracts should understand these regulations and clauses. Review them before submitting any proposal.
- NRC Acquisition Regulation (NRCAR)
- FAR
- 10 CFR Nuclear Regulations
- NRC Security Requirements
Always verify applicable clauses in the actual solicitation. Clause applicability depends on contract type, value, and specific program requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions — NRC Contracting
NRC contracts for nuclear engineering, probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), reactor safety analysis, radiation protection, seismic analysis, structural engineering, cybersecurity for nuclear facilities, and environmental impact assessment. Contractors need nuclear-qualified engineers (often with nuclear licensee experience) and specialized analytical tools like NRC's MELCOR and MACCS codes.
NRC's relatively small budget means individual contracts are smaller and competition may be less intense than at large agencies. NRC uses a mix of competitive sealed bids, best value trade-off procurements, and sole source contracts for unique technical capabilities. The specialized nature of nuclear regulatory work limits the competitive pool, which can benefit firms that develop genuine nuclear expertise.
NRC's cybersecurity regulations (10 CFR 73.54) require nuclear power plant licensees to protect digital computer and communication systems from cyberattacks. Contractors supporting nuclear plant licensees must meet strict cybersecurity requirements. NRC itself also contracts for cybersecurity assessment of its own systems and for research on nuclear facility cyber threats.
The emergence of small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced reactor designs is creating new regulatory review workloads for NRC. NRC is hiring and contracting for technical support to review novel reactor designs from companies like NuScale, TerraPower, and Kairos Power. This creates new contracting opportunities for firms with advanced reactor analysis capabilities.
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