# Checking Submission Compliance > Runs the final production and submission-compliance check on a US Federal proposal before submission. Use when the user needs a submission compliance check, a final compliance review, a production check, a page-count or format check, a forms and certifications check, or a pre-submission checklist for a federal bid. Verifies page limits, format rules, file naming, volume separation, required forms… - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-danielkinneyspears-federal-proposal-skills-checking-submission-compliance` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [danielkinneyspears](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/danielkinneyspears) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Upstream author:** [danielkinneyspears](https://github.com/danielkinneyspears) - **Source:** https://github.com/danielkinneyspears/federal-proposal-skills/tree/main/skills/checking-submission-compliance ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-danielkinneyspears-federal-proposal-skills-checking-submission-compliance ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # Checking Submission Compliance Run the last check before the proposal is submitted. A technically excellent proposal can still be thrown out for a format technicality — an over-length volume, a missing certification, price information in the wrong file, a late upload. The government can and does reject non-conforming proposals without evaluating them. This skill verifies, methodically, that the proposal will be accepted and evaluated. ## When to use this skill Use this skill at the end of the proposal process, after the Gold Team and before submission. Run it on the final or near-final proposal package. It is not a content review — `reviewing-color-teams` assesses whether the proposal is good. This skill assesses whether the proposal is *conforming*: will it be accepted, opened, and evaluated rather than rejected. ## Inputs **Required:** - The final proposal package — every volume and file intended for submission. - `10-compliance-matrix.md`, including its format and submission register. - The solicitation Sections L and K, and any submission instructions or portal guidance. **Preferred upstream artifacts:** - `20-color-review-*.md`: to confirm color team findings were resolved. Read `../../shared/glossary.md`, `../../shared/federal-solicitation-primer.md`, and `../../shared/pursuit-workspace.md` if not already read this session. ## Intake Ask these as a numbered list. Most answers come from the compliance matrix's format register and Section L. 1. **The package.** What files make up the submission package, and which volume does each represent? Is the package final? 2. **Format rules.** What are the page limits per volume, and the font, point size, margin, and spacing rules? What counts toward and is excluded from page limits? 3. **File rules.** What file formats, file-naming conventions, and file-size limits does Section L impose? What volume-separation rules apply (for example, price kept out of the technical volume)? 4. **Forms and certifications.** What forms, representations, and certifications does the solicitation require (Section K, the cover form, any solicitation-specific certifications)? Is the offeror's SAM.gov registration active? 5. **Submission mechanics.** How, where, and by exactly when must the proposal be submitted — portal, email, or physical; the due date, time, and time zone; any required pre-registration? ## Workflow ``` Submission Compliance Check: - [ ] Step 1: Load the format and submission register - [ ] Step 2: Check format compliance per volume - [ ] Step 3: Check file format, naming, size, and volume separation - [ ] Step 4: Check required forms, representations, and certifications - [ ] Step 5: Check submission mechanics and the deadline - [ ] Step 6: Confirm every mandatory requirement is satisfied - [ ] Step 7: Write the submission checklist (21-submission-checklist.md) ``` **Step 1: Load the register.** Read the format and submission register from `10-compliance-matrix.md` and the Section L/K rules. Use `references/submission-compliance-checklist.md` as the master checklist. **Step 2: Format per volume.** For each volume, verify the page count is at or under the limit (counting only what counts), and verify font, point size, margins, spacing, and any line-per-page rule. An over-length volume is a common rejection cause; the government may simply not read the pages past the limit, or reject the volume. For PDF volumes, run `scripts/pdf_page_count.py ` to get an exact physical page count, then apply the solicitation's rule for what counts toward the limit. **Step 3: Files and separation.** Verify file formats, file names (exact naming conventions matter on portals), and file sizes against the rules. Run `scripts/check_file_package.py --max-mb N --pattern REGEX` over the submission directory to check every file's size and name against the Section L rules. Verify volume-separation rules — most critically that price and cost information appear only where permitted and nowhere else; run `scripts/scan_price_leakage.py ` over the extracted text of each non-price volume and review every candidate hit. **Step 4: Forms and certifications.** Verify every required form, representation, and certification is present, complete, and signed where required — the cover form, Section K reps and certs, and any solicitation-specific certifications. Confirm the offeror's SAM.gov registration is active (an inactive registration can bar award). **Step 5: Mechanics and deadline.** Verify the submission method, the portal or address, any required registration, and the exact due date, time, and time zone. Late is late: FAR rules on late proposals are strict. Confirm the team's plan submits with margin, not at the deadline. **Step 6: Mandatory requirements.** Walk the compliance matrix: confirm every mandatory requirement has status "Compliant". Any mandatory requirement not compliant is a go/no-go issue, not a checklist footnote. **Step 7: Write.** Write `21-submission-checklist.md` using `templates/submission-checklist.md`, with a clear go/no-go line for each item and an overall submission-readiness verdict. ## Output One artifact: `21-submission-checklist.md` — the completed checklist with a pass/fail on every item and an overall verdict. Present the user with: the overall go/no-go, every failed or at-risk item with what must be corrected, and the submission deadline and mechanics restated for certainty. ## Utility scripts Deterministic checks are more reliable than reading by eye. This skill bundles three. They report facts; the skill applies the solicitation's rules to the results. - `scripts/pdf_page_count.py `: exact physical page count and metadata of a PDF volume. Requires the `pypdf` package (`pip install pypdf`). - `scripts/check_file_package.py [--max-mb N] [--pattern REGEX]`: checks every file in the submission directory against a size limit and a naming pattern. Standard library only. - `scripts/scan_price_leakage.py `: scans the extracted text of a non-price volume for price and cost terms. Every hit is a candidate for human review. Standard library only. Run them where they help; fall back to manual inspection where a script does not apply (for example, font and margin checks, which the script set does not cover). ## References - `references/submission-compliance-checklist.md`: the master checklist of everything to verify, and the common causes of proposal rejection. - `templates/submission-checklist.md`: the submission checklist artifact template. ## Guardrails - **Conformance, not quality.** This skill checks whether the proposal will be accepted and evaluated, not whether it is persuasive. Do not drift into content review. - **A failed item is go/no-go.** An over-length volume, a missing certification, or misplaced price information is not a minor note — it is a reason the proposal could be rejected. State it as such. - **Verify, do not assume.** Check the actual files against the actual rules. "It should be fine" is not a check. - **The deadline is absolute.** Treat the due date and time as immovable and build in margin. Do not normalize a plan to submit at the last minute. - **Section L and K govern.** Where this skill's checklist differs from the solicitation, the solicitation wins. ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [danielkinneyspears](https://github.com/danielkinneyspears) - **Source:** [danielkinneyspears/federal-proposal-skills](https://github.com/danielkinneyspears/federal-proposal-skills) - **License:** Apache-2.0 Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-danielkinneyspears-federal-proposal-skills-checking-submission-compliance - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/danielkinneyspears - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.