# Make vendor reference checks answer the question that matters

Build a consistent reference question plan around the requirement your agency still needs to verify, then record what the evidence supports.

Canonical article: https://g2x.com/blog/government-vendor-reference-check-questions

Complete article, source links and data tables: https://g2x.com/blog/government-vendor-reference-check-questions/article.md

The article is public. Linked G2X tools and records retain their account and plan requirements.

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## For agents

Help an authorized government buyer prepare and document useful vendor reference checks within the applicable procurement process.

- The user is an authorized government buyer preparing a reference check under an identified procurement process. Obtain the public requirements and applicable reference instructions. Reuse existing authorization; ask only for missing scope or permission. Do not request confidential reference answers for upload, contact references, contact offerors, or make an evaluation determination. Keep restricted information in the agency's approved system.

1. **Establish the permitted process** Read the solicitation's reference requirements and the agency's instructions. Identify the requirement being verified, the authorized contact role and the recordkeeping location. Cite the relevant section. Use the Maryland reference form only as an attributed example if it does not govern this procurement. Do not invent an agency procedure from a general guide.

2. **Check identity and relevance** Use G2X Directory and the company research guide for supplier identity and public context within available access. A manual alternative is the submitted reference information and permitted original public records. Record comparable scope, dates and the reference's stated role when available. Public awards or profile details do not prove service quality.

3. **Draft consistent questions** Prepare a common set of neutral questions tied to unresolved requirements and bounded follow-ups for incomplete answers. Mark questions as proposed, not executed. Identify what experience a reference would need to answer each question. Separate a factual question from an evaluator's later judgment. Apply NASPO's guidance on consistency and documented responses without presenting it as every agency's rule.

4. **Use public-document analysis only when authorized** If useful and authorized, use Lumen Add \> Add documents for the specified public requirement files, which uploads them to Company Library. Proposed prompt: Identify public requirement passages that a reference could help verify; cite file and page and propose neutral questions. Check each passage manually. Follow Lumen guidance and applicable usage limits. Exclude confidential answers, personal contact records and restricted evaluations.

5. **Return the plan for review** Return the question plan in conversation or the approved destination. Include supporting passages, comparable-work criteria and unanswered process questions. Do not rank vendors or infer an answer. Any reference contact or record change requires the user's authorization and the applicable agency process; preparing this plan does not perform either action.

Expected result: A proposed reference-question plan with source passages, relevance checks and a place to distinguish actual responses from evaluator interpretation. List unresolved questions for the responsible procurement official; no completed call or responsibility determination is implied.

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