A size protest you lost, an 8(a) or SDVOSB status denial, a WOSB decertification — SBA determinations can vaporize an award or a pipeline in one letter. The Office of Hearings and Appeals reviews them, on short clocks and cold records.
Appeals from size determinations and status protests go to SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals on tight windows measured in days from receipt — calendar the letter's own date immediately, because the windows are jurisdictional and unforgiving. Review runs on the record for clear error: affiliation math, receipts calculations, ostensible-subcontractor findings, control analyses. It is technical appellate work, and precision wins it.
Prevention clause: most OHA losses were drafting losses first. Teaming agreements, operating agreements, and JV terms written against the affiliation rules are cheaper than any appeal.
Decisions typically issue in weeks-to-a-few-months — fast for appellate work — and the filing windows at the front are days. Both ends of the calendar demand immediate action.
Depends on the procurement posture and the agency's stance — sometimes yes, sometimes the award waits. The appeal strategy and the contract strategy get coordinated, not sequenced.
OHA decisions can face further review in limited circumstances at COFC. The odds conversation is honest and case-specific — some records support the trip; many counsel a restructuring instead.