How to Decline an RFP: Letter, Timing, and Templates

Declining an RFP means formally telling the issuing organization that your company will not submit a proposal. A good decline is a short, courteous written notice sent before the deadline that thanks the buyer, gives a brief honest reason, and keeps the relationship open for future opportunities.

Most proposal teams treat the decision to walk away as an internal matter and then let the notice slip. That is a missed chance. The buyer's procurement contact will see your company name again, and a clear note takes only a few minutes to send. The table below maps common reasons for declining to wording that works and wording to avoid.

Why Knowing How to Decline an RFP Protects Your Pipeline

Every response draws on the same finite pool of writers, subject matter experts, and reviewers. A bid/no-bid framework presented by Megan Large of Burns & McDonnell and reported in Winning the Business, the APMP publication, says a pursuit team that is overextended should skip the bid, because pushing ahead risks several weak bids and no wins. The same source adds that bid/no-bid decisions should be reevaluated early and often rather than made once.

Declining is also a form of quality control. The hours you save on a poor-fit RFP can go to a stronger opportunity, where a better-resourced response raises your odds. That is the logic behind every bid/no-bid process, and it only works when the team is willing to act on the answer.

A decline sent on time also does something a silent no-show cannot. It tells the buyer that you read the request, respect their process, and would like to be considered next time. A courteous note is a better last impression than silence.

When to Decline an RFP

Decide with written criteria, not instinct

Run a formal go or no-go check before any writing begins. The RocketDocs guide to the bid/no-bid decision covers six criteria and a weighted decision matrix. The Burns & McDonnell approach reported by Winning the Business starts with four questions, including whether the opportunity fits the business plan and whether you have at least a 35 percent chance of winning. Treat any threshold as a starting point that your team calibrates against its own win history.

Common triggers for a no-bid

Several situations point toward declining, and most of them are visible on the first read of the RFP:

• You first learned of the opportunity when the RFP was released and have no relationship with the buyer. The Burns & McDonnell framework treats missing early awareness as a hard stop. Our guide to capture management explains how to build that awareness earlier.
• A mandatory requirement, certification, or contract term is something you cannot meet.
• The deadline collides with other pursuits, leaving no time for subject matter experts or review.
• The RFP shows warning signs such as vague scope or an unrealistic timeline. See our RFP red flags pre-screening guide for a fuller list.

If you find yourself declining often, the problem is usually upstream. Our guide on how to qualify RFPs and win more business explains how to filter opportunities before they reach your queue.

How to Decline an RFP Step by Step

The mechanics are simple, which is why they are easy to skip. Follow the same steps each time so the decision is documented and the notice goes out on schedule.

1. Confirm the decision against your written criteria and record the score.
2. Identify the right recipient. Use the procurement contact named in the RFP instructions, and copy your relationship owner if you have one.
3. Check the RFP for any intent-to-bid or no-bid notice requirement, and note how the issuer wants to be contacted.
4. Send the notice before the submission deadline, ideally as soon as the decision is final, so the buyer can plan around it.
5. Keep the message short, using the structure in the next section.
6. Log the decision, the reason, and the date in your response tracker.

Some buyers expect a formal response. One state education agency, for example, publishes a Statement of No Bid/Proposal form for its food service management solicitations. Vendors return it to the solicitation contact and select a reason, such as being unable to meet all of the specifications. Always read the instructions for how the issuer wants to hear from you.

What to Include in an RFP Decline Letter

A strong decline letter has four parts: a thank-you, one brief and honest reason, a statement that you would welcome future opportunities, and a named contact. Keep it to a few sentences. Long explanations invite debate and can sound defensive.

Here is sample wording you can adapt:

Subject: [RFP name], notice of intent not to submit

Dear [Contact name], thank you for including [Company] in the [RFP name] process. After careful review, we have decided not to submit a proposal. [One brief, honest reason, for example: the scope falls outside our current focus areas.]

We respect the work that went into this request and would welcome the chance to be considered for future opportunities. Please keep us on your vendor list. Sincerely, [Name, title, contact details]

Match the tone to the relationship

For an existing customer or a buyer you know well, call or email the relationship owner first, then send the written notice with a slightly more specific reason. For a buyer who does not know you, keep the note brief and limited to the current RFP.

What to leave out

Skip criticism of the RFP or its requirements, mentions of competitors or pricing, and promises to bid later that you may not keep. A neutral reason such as capacity or scope fit is enough.

What to Do After You Decline

Log the decision, the reason, and the date in your response tracker, then review the log each quarter. If the same reason appears repeatedly, such as missing certifications or short deadlines, you have found a pattern worth fixing in your pursuit strategy rather than a string of unrelated misses.

When the answer is yes, a clear process matters just as much. Our guide on how to respond to an RFP walks through the full response. Declining well is easier when your past answers, deadlines, and team capacity live in one place, which is the problem a response management platform is built to solve. To see how that works in practice, book a RocketDocs demo.