Section L · Instructions to offerors
Revised November 2026Guides
21 plain-language guides to the paperwork the tools support, about 2 hours of reading in all. Each one names its official sources. How the project itself is built and run is under Platform.
Pick a route
Bidding for the first time
From opening the solicitation to a priced answer.
Getting registered and paid
The codes that decide what you can bid on, and the rules for invoices.
Handling government information
What you have to protect, and the files compliance work runs on.
Working where nothing connects
Moving software across a boundary, and running this site inside one.
Showing 21 of 21 guides
L.1
Start here
What the site is, where your information goes and how to check a result before you rely on it.
5 guides · 28 min
- L.1.1Getting startedWhat ClearedStack is, who it is for, what you can use today and where to go next.5 min
- L.1.2What happens to what you typeWhere your information goes when you use the site or a tool, what can still see it, and how to confirm all of it yourself.6 min
- L.1.3Check a tool’s answerHow to verify a result against the regulation behind it before it goes into a bid, and what to keep as a record.6 min
- L.1.4Common questionsShort answers about cost, privacy, trust, using the tools at work and what to do when something does not behave.8 min
- L.1.5How to navigate this siteThe four sections, the contract-style labels you will see, search and keyboard shortcuts, and how to report a mistake.3 min
L.2
Field guides
Plain-language background on the work the tools support: reading a solicitation, pricing labor, protecting government information, getting paid.
8 guides · 62 min
- L.2.1Read a solicitationHow a federal solicitation is laid out, which sections to read first and what to find before you decide to bid.8 min
- L.2.2Answer every requirementTurn a solicitation into a numbered list of requirements, a compliance matrix, an outline and a page budget, so nothing is missed.7 min
- L.2.3Labor rates and wrap ratesHow a wage becomes a billing rate: direct and indirect costs, fringe, overhead, G&A and fee, with a worked example you can check by hand.8 min
- L.2.4Invoices and late payment interestWhat makes an invoice proper, when the government’s payment is due and how Prompt Payment Act interest is worked out when it is late.7 min
- L.2.5Protecting government informationFCI and CUI, the security requirements that come with each, how NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC fit together, and how CUI is marked.9 min
- L.2.6STIGs, OSCAL and SBOMsThree machine-readable formats that security compliance work runs on: what each one is, what is inside the file and how to check one.7 min
- L.2.7Working on disconnected networksThe checks you run by hand when nothing can phone home: checksums, transfer manifests, certificates, lockfiles and image digests.7 min
- L.2.8Codes, registration and small business statusSAM registration, NAICS and PSC codes, size standards, the set-aside programs and what it means to be a nontraditional defense contractor.9 min
L.3
Host your own copy
Run the site on your own server, your own cluster or a network with no internet connection.
3 guides · 18 min
- L.3.1Host as plain filesBuild the site into a folder of ordinary files and serve it from any web server, with no containers involved.5 min
- L.3.2Host on KubernetesRun your own copy on a Kubernetes cluster with the manifests in the repository: deploy, expose, lock down, update and troubleshoot.6 min
- L.3.3Run it on a closed networkMove a copy onto a network with no internet connection: what to carry, how to prove it arrived intact and how to keep it current.7 min
L.4
Contribute
Ask for a tool, report a mistake, build a tool that can be listed or improve this site.
3 guides · 23 min
- L.4.1Request a tool or add your ownHow to ask for a tool or a guide, report a mistake, and get a tool you built listed in the catalog.6 min
- L.4.2Build a tool that can be listedThe five listing conditions in practical terms, with a way to meet each one and a checklist to run before you ask for a listing.8 min
- L.4.3Work on this siteSet the site up on your own machine, find your way around the code, add a guide, a platform page or a catalog entry, and send the change.9 min
L.5
Reference
Terms and sources to look up when you need them.
2 guides · 17 min
Before you rely on a guide
The guides explain public rules in plain language. They are not legal, accounting or compliance advice, and rules change. Each guide about a regulation names its official sources and the month it was last checked. When a guide and the current text of a regulation disagree, the regulation wins, and Where the rules live shows where to read it.
Missing or wrong
If a guide is unclear, out of date or does not exist yet, open an issue on GitHub, or write to [email protected]. Every guide is a plain text file in src/guides/.