# Mark your proposal proprietary

> How to use a restriction legend so your proposal data stays protected, plus rules for defensible numbers and for AI tools.

Last verified October 2026. Page: https://victavio.com/learn/proprietary-legend

Your proposal may contain pricing, methods and other business information you do not want shared. Sending a proposal to the government does not hand over ownership of what is in it. Marking it correctly helps protect it.

## Use a restriction legend

A restriction legend is a short notice that tells the government which pages hold data you want kept from public release and used only to evaluate your offer.

1. **If the solicitation gives a legend, use it word for word.**
2. **If it gives none, use the legend described in FAR 52.215-1, paragraph (e).** It goes on the title page and lists the pages it covers. Each of those pages then carries a short note that points back to the title page legend.
3. **Put the legend on the cover, and the note in the footer of each page you mark.**

Mark the pages that truly hold sensitive data, such as your pricing, your methods and your staffing plan. Marking does not make public facts secret, and it never excuses you from answering a required item.

## Make every number defensible

Every number about your performance should hold up if the buyer checks it against the solicitation or its own market research. That includes:

- Response times and turnaround times.
- Capacity: how many users, sites or tickets you can handle.
- Uptime, accuracy and savings.

For each number, know where it came from: a past job, a measured result or a vendor specification. If you cannot back a number, remove it or change it to what you can prove.

## Rules for AI tools

AI writing tools can help, but they bring risks:

- **Keep sensitive data out of public AI tools.** That includes buyer documents marked for limited use, your pricing, and anything about other companies.
- **Check the solicitation for AI rules.** Some ask you to disclose or certify how you used AI, or limit its use.
- **Have a person review every AI-drafted line,** and check each fact against your records and the solicitation.
- **Add the structure yourself.** AI returns text. Tables, figures and callouts are yours to add.
- **Keep a note of which tools touched each submission.**

Never submit chatbot output as it came out.

## A final check

Before you submit:

- Is the legend on the cover, with the right pages listed?
- Do the marked pages carry the footer note?
- Can you source every performance number?
- Has a person reviewed every AI-assisted section?

On paid plans, Victavio's briefs quote the notice text exactly, so you can check each claim against the source.

## Official sources
- [FAR 52.215-1: Instructions to offerors, competitive acquisition (paragraph (e), restriction on disclosure and use of data)](https://www.acquisition.gov/far/52.215-1)
- [FAR Part 15: Contracting by negotiation](https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-15)

This lesson is general information, not legal advice. Rules change. Check the official source before you act.
Victavio is a Kilobytez LLC product.
Not a government agency. SAM.gov registration is free.