Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) apply to all federal contracts, and are used by all federal agencies when they purchase supplies or services.
Some regulations are printed out in their entirety (“Clauses Incorporated in Full”), but others may simply be referenced (“Clauses Incorporated by Reference”). Even if a regulation is only referenced, it has the same legal weight as if it was printed in full.
It is your responsibility to read and understand these regulations. You’ll find that many of them refer to standard business practices such as Equal Opportunity, Child Labor Laws and so on.
Not all the regulations listed in a solicitation document necessarily pertain to that particular bid. You may see a list of regulations, but only those marked with an X are relevant.
The FAR is updated regularly, as necessary. You can download the complete current version of the regulations at the website. The regulations are divided into 52 sub-sections, each dealing with a specific aspect of federal acquisition law.
Of particular note to contractors are Parts 12 through 15 (bid types); Part 19 (set-aside programs); and Part 38 (Federal Supply Schedule or GSA contracting)
| Part 1 | Basic policies and general information about FAR. |
| Part 2 | Definition of Words & Terms. |
| Part 3 | Improper Business Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest. |
| Part 4 | Administrative Matters. |
| Part 5 | Publicizing Contract Actions. |
| Part 6 | Competition Requirements. |
| Part 7 | Acquisition Planning. |
| Part 8 | Required Sources of Supplies & Services-Prison Industries, AbilityOne, GSA Schedules |
| Part 9 | Contractor Qualifications. Debarment; Qualified Products; Team Arrangements. |
| Part 10 | Market Research. |
| Part 11 | Describing Agency Needs. |
| Part 12 | Acquisition of Commercial Items. |
| Part 13 | Simplified Acquisition Procedures – under Simplified Acquisition Threshold ($150,000) |
| Part 14 | Sealed Bidding. |
| Part 15 | Contracting by Negotiation. |
| Part 16 | Types of Contracts. |
| Part 17 | Special Contracting Methods. Multi-year contracting; Options. |
| Part 18 | Emergency Acquisitions. |
| Part 19 | Small Business Programs – Set-Asides – 8(a); women/veteran-owned; HUBZone. |
| Part 20 | Reserved |
| Part 21 | Reserved |
| Part 22 | Application of Labor Laws to Government Acquisitions. |
| Part 23 | Environment, Energy/ Water, Occupational Safety, Drug-Free Workplace. |
| Part 24 | Protection of Privacy and Freedom of Information. |
| Part 25 | Foreign Acquisition. Buy American Act, trade agreements. |
| Part 26 | Other Socioeconomic Programs-Indian; Disaster; Historically Black Colleges |
| Part 27 | Patents, Data, and Copyrights. |
| Part 28 | Bonds and Insurance. |
| Part 29 | Taxes. For general information only –not the full scope of tax laws/regulations. |
| Part 30 | Cost Accounting Standards Administration. |
| Part 31 | Contract Cost Principles and Procedures. |
| Part 32 | Contract Financing. Payment methods; partial/progress payments; loan guarantees. |
| Part 33 | Protests, Disputes, and Appeals. |
| Part 34 | Major System Acquisitions. |
| Part 35 | Research and Development Contracting. |
| Part 36 | Construction and Architect & Engineer Contracts. |
| Part 37 | Service Contracting. |
| Part 38 | Federal Supply Schedule Contracting. |
| Part 39 | Acquisition of Information Technology. |
| Part 40 | Reserved |
| Part 41 | Acquisition of Utility Services. |
| Part 42 | Contract Administration and Audit Services. |
| Part 43 | Contract Modifications. |
| Part 44 | Subcontracting Policies and Procedures. |
| Part 45 | Government Property. |
| Part 46 | Quality Assurance. |
| Part 47 | Transportation. |
| Part 48 | Value Engineering. |
| Part 49 | Termination of Contracts. |
| Part 50 | Extraordinary Contractual Actions. |
| Part 51 | Use of Government Sources by Contractors. |
| Part 52 | Scope of Part. |
Agency Supplemental Regulations
In addition to the FAR, each agency can issue its own supplements:
At the FAR-Site website you can view all these supplemental regulations.