A request for information is a document a buyer sends to potential suppliers to learn about available solutions, approaches and indicative costs before a formal procurement. It does not commit the buyer to purchase anything.

What is the difference between an RFI and an RFP?

An RFI gathers information to understand the market and shape requirements. An RFP asks suppliers for a specific, priced proposal against defined requirements, which the buyer evaluates and may award.

What questions should an RFI include?

Questions about the respondent company, how they would meet your objectives, implementation and support, security and compliance basics, an indicative pricing model and comparable references. Keep them open-ended and the total number manageable.

Is pricing in an RFI binding?

No. RFI pricing is an indication for budgeting and should be labelled non-binding. Binding prices come in response to an RFP or RFQ.

How long should vendors have to respond to an RFI?

Long enough to give a considered answer given the length of the RFI and any holidays in the period. Too short a window favors vendors who send generic material.

Can vendors answer RFIs with RFP software?

Yes. Response tools that handle RFPs usually handle RFIs too, drafting answers from approved content. Buyers will still notice generic answers that ignore the background section, so respondents should tailor them.

RFI Template: Free Request for Information (Word)

What it is and when to use it

This template is written for the buyer. It covers the cover page and timeline, background and objectives, 26 numbered questions in six groups (company, capability, implementation, security, pricing indication, references), response instructions and the no-obligation terms that keep an RFI from being mistaken for a solicitation. Send it when you know the problem but not yet the shape of the answer.

Use it when

You are new to the category and need to learn what is possible before writing requirements.
You want a realistic budget range and a shortlist before running a full RFP.
Policy requires market engagement before a formal procurement.

Skip it when

You already know your requirements and the vendors: go straight to an RFP or RFQ.
You only need a price for a defined item: that is an RFQ.

What is inside the template

The document has 10 sections, each with grey guidance to delete before sending and highlighted [square-bracket] blanks to fill:

Cover page and timeline: Identifies the RFI, the issuer and the dates, and states up front that it is not a solicitation.
Background: Explains who you are and the situation that prompted the RFI, so respondents can tailor answers.
Objectives and scope: States what you want to learn and the boundaries of the need.
Questions: company: Establishes who the respondent is and whether they have done this before.
Questions: capability: Learns how each respondent would meet your objectives, in their own words.
Questions: implementation and support: Gets a realistic view of effort, timeline and what you would need to provide.
Questions: security and compliance: Screens out options that could never pass your security review.
Questions: pricing indication: Collects non-binding price models and ranges to set a budget.
Questions: references: Finds out whether the respondent can point to comparable customers.
Response instructions and terms: Tells respondents how to submit and sets the confidentiality and no-obligation terms.

How to fill it in, section by section

Cover page and timeline

Identifies the RFI, the issuer and the dates, and states up front that it is not a solicitation.

Give respondents enough time to answer well. Short deadlines get you short, generic answers.
Include a date for written questions and say whether answers will be shared with all respondents.

Background

Explains who you are and the situation that prompted the RFI, so respondents can tailor answers.

Describe the current process or system, its volume and its pain points in plain terms.
Share what you can about scale (users, sites, transactions). Respondents can only estimate effort if they know the size.

Objectives and scope

States what you want to learn and the boundaries of the need.

List the outcomes you are after, not features. Let respondents tell you how they would get there.
Say what is out of scope so you do not receive answers about adjacent products.

Questions: company

Establishes who the respondent is and whether they have done this before.

Keep it short. You can ask for detailed corporate information in the RFP.

Questions: capability

Learns how each respondent would meet your objectives, in their own words.

Ask open questions ("describe how...") rather than yes/no. Yes/no questions belong in the RFP requirements.
Ask what they would not recommend, as well as what they would. It separates advisers from order-takers.

Questions: implementation and support

Gets a realistic view of effort, timeline and what you would need to provide.

Ask for typical timelines for comparable customers, and what the customer’s team had to do.

Questions: security and compliance

Screens out options that could never pass your security review.

Ask for certifications and hosting regions now. Save the full security questionnaire for the shortlist.

Questions: pricing indication

Collects non-binding price models and ranges to set a budget.

Ask for the pricing model and a range for your stated scale. Say clearly that figures are non-binding.
Ask what drives cost up or down, so you can shape scope before the RFP.

Questions: references

Finds out whether the respondent can point to comparable customers.

Ask for comparable customers, not just famous logos.

Response instructions and terms

Tells respondents how to submit and sets the confidentiality and no-obligation terms.

Set a page or word limit and a format (for example answer in this document, PDF under 20 pages).
State whether the RFI could lead to an RFP and whether responding is a condition of being invited.

Common mistakes

Writing an RFP and calling it an RFI

Two hundred mandatory requirements and a pricing schedule is not a request for information. Vendors either decline or send boilerplate, and you learn nothing you did not already assume.

Only yes/no questions

An RFI is your chance to hear how vendors would approach the problem. Closed questions get you a capability checklist; open questions get you options you had not considered.

Hiding the scale

Without user counts or volumes, every pricing indication is a guess, and you will set a budget on the wrong guess.

Forgetting the no-obligation language

Without a clear statement that the RFI is not a solicitation, respondents may treat it as one, and in public procurement it can create obligations you did not intend.

Never closing the loop

Respondents spent time on your RFI. Tell them what happens next, even if the answer is "no RFP this year".

Tools that automate parts of this

On the buyer side, an RFI is a document and an inbox. On the vendor side, RFIs land in the same queue as RFPs, and the tools below draft RFI answers from approved content.

REResponsive: One content library across RFPs, RFIs and questionnaires, with an intake-to-submission workflow.
BRBreezeDocs: Generative AI drafting for RFPs, RFIs and security questionnaires, with flat pricing for small teams.
SWSweetspot: AI Form Fill for RFIs, PPQs, vendor packets and security questionnaires in federal bids.
VIVisibleThread: Cited AI drafts of RFI and questionnaire answers from approved content.

Capabilities above are restated from each vendor’s profile, where the sources are listed. Confirm current features and pricing with the vendor before you buy.

RFI template (request for information)

Download the RFI template