South Carolina law provides a statutory procedure for the submission and resolution of bid protests. Under section 11-35-4210 of South Carolina’s Consolidated Procurement Code and section 19-445 of South Carolina’s procurement regulations, bid protests relating to procurements greater than $50,000 may be initiated with a letter directed to the appropriate chief procurement officer (“CPO”).
Filing the protest
A protest must be in writing and must set forth the grounds of protest and the relief requested with enough particularity to give notice of the issues to be decided. S.C. Code Ann. § 11-35-4210(2).
As with federal procurements and those of many other states, the deadline for the submission of a bid protest is short. If challenging the terms of a solicitation, a prospective bidder must file the protest within 15 days of the issue date of the invitation for bids or request for proposals. If an amendment to the solicitation is at issue, the protest must be filed within 15 days of the amendment.
The deadline for protesting the award or intended award of a contract is even shorter. Unsuccessful bidders must file such protests within 10 days of the date of award or notification of intent to award, whichever is earlier. The protest can be amended after it is filed, but such amendments must be filed within 15 days after the date of award. S.C. Code Ann. § 11-35-4210(1)(b).