LMS RFP template: vendor-neutral, editable and free to download

This LMS RFP template is a free, vendor-neutral request for proposal that you can edit in Word and send to LMS vendors. It has 14 sections and two appendices: 106 pre-written requirement lines covering functional, technical and security needs, a three-year pricing table, a weighted scoring sheet and a demonstration script.

It is written for procurement and L&D teams in mid-market and enterprise organisations who are issuing an LMS request for proposal and need responses they can compare line by line. Everything you fill in sits in [square brackets], guidance notes are in italics so you can delete them before sending, and no line is worded around one product.

Many LMS RFP templates are published by LMS vendors, so check any template, this one included, for lines worded around a single product. This one adds two things a plain feature checklist lacks: evidence for every answer, and a scoring method fixed before the responses arrive.

What is inside the LMS RFP template

The file is an A4 Word document of about 40 pages. It uses real heading styles, so the navigation pane and table of contents work. Each line in the three requirement tables has an ID, a default priority (Must, Should or Could) that you can change, a vendor response chosen from five options (yes out of the box, configuration, customisation, third party, no) and a column for evidence.

How to use the template in six steps

1. Fill in the background first. Section 2 asks for objectives, audiences, registered and active user numbers, your current system and the systems to integrate. Vendors answer and price more accurately with those facts.
2. Cut what does not apply. Delete single lines or whole groups, such as e-commerce, and add your own. If a capability is unfamiliar, our LMS features checklist explains it.
3. Keep the Must list short. A Must is a line where a "no" removes the vendor. The defaults are a starting set, so change any Must that is not a true gate to Should. Everything else is scored.
4. Set the weights before sending. Section 13 has default weights that total 100. Agree them with your stakeholders and do not change them once responses arrive.
5. Send it to three to five vendors that already pass your basic checks. More makes scoring slow, and fewer leaves little to compare.
6. Score on the same sheet. Every evaluator uses the same criteria and scale for every vendor.

The RFP is one stage of a wider selection. Our guide on how to choose an LMS covers the whole method, from outcomes to the pilot.

How to write requirements vendors cannot answer with "yes"

A feature list with a yes or no column tells you little, because a vendor can answer yes without saying how the feature is delivered. Three changes fix that.

• Ask for evidence. Each line in the template names the proof wanted: a documentation link, a screenshot, a sample export file, a named reference customer or a step in the demonstration script.
• Separate must-have from scored items. Must lines are pass or fail gates. Should and Could lines earn points.
• State volumes. "Supports large audiences" cannot be tested. A number of concurrent users at peak, backed by a load test summary or a reference customer of similar size, can.

The response options matter as much as the question. A plain "yes" hides the difference between a feature that works today and one that needs paid development, so the template makes vendors choose between out of the box, configuration, customisation and third party.

The LMS RFP questions that expose problems

Some lines look routine, yet they are often where vendors differ. Read these answers first.

• Data export and exit. Ask what you can export yourself during the contract, in which formats, how long access lasts after termination and when your data is deleted. A vendor that is vague here may be hard to leave.
• Uptime and support. Ask for the availability figure written into the contract, how it is measured, what is excluded and what remedy applies when it is missed. A target on a web page is not a commitment.
• Security evidence. Ask what independent assurance exists, such as an ISO/IEC 27001 certificate or a SOC 2 report, and whether its scope covers the product and hosting you are buying. Ask for the latest penetration test summary too.
• Content standards. Name each one: SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, xAPI, cmi5 and LTI 1.3. Then send your own sample packages, because "supported" and "works with your content" are different claims. Our comparison of SCORM, xAPI and cmi5 explains what each one tracks.
• SSO and provisioning. Sign-in (SAML 2.0 or OpenID Connect) and the account lifecycle (SCIM 2.0) are separate questions. Ask what happens to training records when a leaver is deprovisioned. See SAML vs OIDC for LMS single sign-on.
• Accessibility. Ask for conformance with WCAG 2.2 at Level AA and for the current Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR). An ACR is based on a completed VPAT, the template published by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI). ITI does not review or approve completed VPATs, so check the date, the product version tested and who did the testing.
• Pricing structure and price protection. Ask exactly what is counted (registered or active users, and how "active" is defined), what is a paid add-on, and the maximum annual increase during the term and at renewal.

How to score LMS RFP responses

Scoring is designed before the RFP goes out. The template uses three layers.

• Gates. A complete response, every Must met, security and accessibility evidence supplied and exit terms accepted. A proposal that fails a gate is out, whatever its score.
• Weighted criteria. Nine criteria with weights that total 100. Functional fit carries the most by default, followed by technical fit and three-year cost. Change them to match your priorities.
• A 0 to 5 scale. 0 is no response, 3 meets the requirement with limited evidence, and 5 is met in full and shown live or confirmed by a reference customer. An answer without the evidence requested cannot score above 3. It is the 1 to 5 scale from our how to choose an LMS guide plus a 0 for an unanswered line; the arithmetic is the same.

Have at least three people score independently, then discuss the large gaps. Do not sign on paper scores alone. Shortlisted vendors run the same demonstration script with your sample data, and the top one or two go through a short pilot, reference calls and a security review.

These ranges are our indicative planning assumptions, not measured figures, so adjust them. They total roughly 10 to 22 weeks, against the eight to twelve weeks our how to choose an LMS guide suggests without a formal RFP: the RFP adds drafting time, a vendor response period and a formal contract stage. Public-sector procurements can take longer where rules set minimum time limits and approval steps.

RFP, RFI or RFQ: which one do you need?

A full RFP is more process than a small purchase needs. If you have a few hundred learners, one simple use case and no procurement rule that demands a tender, a short requirements list, three scripted demonstrations and a scorecard will get you to a sound decision faster. Use the template's requirement tables as that list and leave out the formal sections.

How we can help

We run vendor-neutral LMS selections: requirements workshops, RFP drafting, response scoring, demonstration scripts and estimates of integration and migration effort before you sign. See our LMS consulting service, or talk to an LMS engineer about your RFP.