Government contracts for cargo vans — the real doors

Checked October 2026

The short answer: yes, government contracts exist at cargo van size. The Postal Service runs contract routes that a single cargo van can serve. The VA buys medical courier routes. Cities and counties buy local delivery. None of it sits on a load board. It sits on government bidding sites, and the first step is a free registration that puts your business in the system.

The doors, from biggest to closest

The Postal Service. The US Postal Service contracts out a large number of highway contract routes, and many of them are small — a single cargo van serving a local route is a normal size for this work. Postal contract routes post through the Postal Service's own supplier system and on the federal contract site. This is steady, scheduled work, paid by the route.

The VA and health agencies. Veterans Affairs hospitals need the same medical courier work as any hospital — specimens, supplies, pharmacy runs — and they buy it by contract. These post on the federal contract site, and they ask for the same papers private medical work asks for: a registered business, insurance, and training where specimens are involved.

Federal contract listings. The central door is SAM.gov, the federal site where contract opportunities are posted. Registration is free and gives your business a Unique Entity ID, which is the number the system knows you by. Courier work files under NAICS code 492110 — knowing that code is how you filter thousands of unrelated postings down to delivery work.

State, city, and county work. Local governments post their own contracts on their own portals: courier runs for health departments, delivery for schools and offices, and seasonal work. These are smaller, closer, and often less crowded than federal work, because fewer drivers ever look.

What the process really looks like

Government work is slow on purpose. A medical courier guide puts the honest frame on it: expect a proposal cycle of sixty to ninety days, and expect past performance to matter. That means the normal order is commercial contracts first — private labs, pharmacies, and distributors — and government contracts when you can show a record. The registration itself is paperwork, not a test: business entity, EIN, the SAM.gov registration, and the insurance the posting asks for.

What it is not

It is not fast money and it is not a starter's first door. A driver who needs work this month should knock on the companies in his city first — the distributors, supply houses, warehouses, and local businesses in this book. Government contracts are the second layer: real, steady, and worth registering for while your commercial routes carry the week. Search your city for the companies, and register on SAM.gov when your papers are in order.