Defense Tech BaseGive the buyer a reason to continue the conversation
A capability statement is a short introduction to your company’s relevant work. It helps a buyer or prime decide whether to speak with you, refer you to a program, or request more evidence. It is not a proposal, a certification, or a substitute for responding to the solicitation. Lead with one capability and proof that matters to the reader.
What belongs on the page
| Section | What the buyer needs | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Company and contact | Legal name, website, location, one accountable contact and current identifiers where assigned. | Invented UEI/CAGE numbers or certification logos you cannot support. |
| Core capability | Two or three things you can deliver, described in the buyer’s terms. | A long catalog of everything your team could theoretically build. |
| Evidence | A test, deployment or delivered project with the conditions, result and your role. | Presenting an employee’s previous employer’s contract as your company’s past performance. |
| Differentiators | A relevant measurable advantage or useful integration feature. | “Innovative,” “world-class,” or unsupported comparisons. |
| Proposed next step | A bounded demonstration, technical discussion or integration review. | A vague request to “partner” without a decision to make. |
APEX NorCal’s capability-statement guidance and the VA’s capability-statement packet provide official assistance resources. Our downloads turn the same introductory task into an editable startup-focused format.
Tailor the template in five passes
- Pick one recipient. Name the program, prime or mission area in your working notes. Identify the job they need done.
- Select evidence. Choose your two most relevant results. Say whether they came from a lab test, commercial deployment or government project, and what remains untested.
- Describe your contribution. State whether you supplied a component, integrated a system or delivered the whole effort. Get permission before naming customers or sharing restricted details.
- Check identifiers. Include assigned identifiers and accurate business status. A NAICS code describes an industry; it is not a qualification badge.
- Make the ask specific. Propose an appropriate next discussion or demonstration and explain what the buyer will learn.
Use a clean PDF for distribution after editing the Word file. Keep text selectable, links usable and file size modest. Keep the editable version for the next buyer. Do not compress a proposal into tiny type to keep it on one page.
A worked example
Fictional example — Northline Sensor Works
Capability: We build bench instrumentation for engineering teams evaluating vibration in small electromechanical assemblies.
Evidence: In a fictional July 2026 internal test, our team repeated the same bench setup five times and exported a complete dataset for every run. This demonstrates the documentation approach, not independent qualification or operational performance.
Proposed next step: A 20-minute discussion of your bench-test interfaces, measurement needs and acceptance criteria.
This example makes a modest claim and shows its limits. It does not pretend that a bench test demonstrates field readiness. The downloaded example includes all the sections, and all company and project details are fictional.
If you have no federal past performance
Show relevant commercial work, a documented prototype test, or key-person experience with clear attribution. Explain what that experience establishes and what it does not. A buyer may need different evidence depending on the solicitation. Do not fill the space with agency logos from events you attended or programs you have merely applied to.
For a services company, emphasize the work package, responsible people and comparable delivery. For hardware, state product maturity, integration interfaces and test evidence. For software, describe the workflow, deployment environment and what data the product needs. A prime contractor will also want to understand how your contribution fits its larger system.
Review before sending
- Can the reader describe your capability after reading the first two sentences?
- Is each result attributable and permitted to share?
- Have you separated tested capabilities from planned development?
- Are the contact details, registration status and business claims current?
- Does the next step fit this buyer’s process?
Your next step
Complete the template for one buyer, then use the first-contract guide to qualify the opportunity. If your evidence comes from earlier research funding, prepare the lineage described in the Phase III guide.
Use this workflow with your AI assistant
Copy the capability statement skill and bring your own evidence. Includes a downloadable skill and fictional example.