Request for information (RFI)

A request for information (RFI) is a non-binding market-research document in which a buyer asks suppliers to describe their capabilities, capacity, and approach — without pricing the work. No contract results directly from an RFI; it shapes the solicitation that follows.

Treat an RFI as positioning, not paperwork. Public buyers issue them to test the market before writing requirements; private buyers use them to shortlist vendors ahead of a negotiation. Responding well — with specifics, references, and honest capacity limits — is how your strengths get written into the requirement, the cheapest competitive advantage there is. Responding badly, or not at all, means the RFP that follows may be written around someone else's product. The one thing an RFI response should never contain is a price you would not want held against you later.

@misc{pi-2026-definitions-rfi,
  author = {{The Procurement Institution}},
  title  = {Request for information (RFI) — definition},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://procurementinstitution.org/definitions/rfi},
  note   = {Release 2026.10}
}