Government Janitorial Contracts

Janitorial contracts cover daily cleaning services — vacuuming, mopping, restroom sanitizing, trash removal, and similar recurring custodial tasks. Facility maintenance contracts are broader and may include HVAC filter changes, light fixture replacement, painting, minor plumbing repairs, pest control, window washing, and grounds upkeep in addition to janitorial services. Integrated facility services contracts bundle multiple service lines under a single prime and are increasingly common at larger federal facilities as agencies seek to reduce vendor management complexity.

Search SAM.gov for NAICS 561720 (Janitorial Services) and 561210 (Facilities Support Services). Filter by place of performance to find local opportunities. GSA's Public Buildings Service (PBS) is the primary contracting office for civilian federal building maintenance — search for PBS solicitations specifically. Also monitor VA and DoD installation contracting offices for facility maintenance solicitations. Many federal buildings have recurring maintenance contracts that rebid annually — monitoring past awards helps identify when upcoming solicitations are likely.

AbilityOne-designated contracts are identified in SAM.gov solicitations, which will reference the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act and list the nonprofit agency performing the work. You can also check the AbilityOne program's procurement list at abilityone.gov. If a building is AbilityOne-designated, it will not be open for general competition. When scouting target facilities, search SAM.gov for historical awards at that address to see whether recent contracts were AbilityOne awards. Targeting non-designated federal buildings and state/local facilities avoids this complication.

Service Contract Act wage determinations for janitors and building cleaners are issued by county and typically run $13–$22 per hour in base wages plus fringe benefits of $4–$7 per hour, depending on location. Urban federal buildings in high cost-of-living areas (Washington DC, San Francisco, New York) have significantly higher SCA rates. Always download the specific wage determination referenced in the solicitation — using the wrong year or county determination in your bid pricing is a compliance risk and can create unplanned labor cost increases.

Yes — this is the standard growth path. Many contractors begin with one or two small federal building cleaning contracts (under $250,000) to establish past performance, then pursue larger integrated facility maintenance contracts where past performance is a scored evaluation factor. Once you have two or three successful federal contract completions documented in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS/CPARS), you become competitive for larger opportunities. Getting SDVOSB or HUBZone certification early maximizes access to set-aside pools at each revenue tier.