Which of the following is acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at government installations?

• A. The time/date stamp on the proposal wrapper
• B. A handwritten note from the offeror
• C. An email from the offeror
• D. A printout of the offeror's online submission confirmation

Answer: (A)

The key factor here is what the government uses as the authoritative record of when a proposal was actually received. At government installations, the official time of receipt is established by the time/date stamp placed on the outer proposal wrapper by the government receipt staff. This stamp comes from the installation’s official time source, providing an objective and verifiable record that is not dependent on any documents the offeror creates or submits themselves.

Why this is the best evidence: it is controlled and reproducible by the government, and it precisely marks when possession is transferred to the government for evaluation. In contrast, a handwritten note from the offeror, an email from the offeror, or a printout of the offeror’s online submission confirmation are all generated by the offeror. They do not demonstrate that the government actually received the proposal at the claimed time and may not reflect the exact moment the government took possession or might be created after submission. Therefore, the time/date stamp on the proposal wrapper is the acceptable evidence for time of receipt.