Emergency Procurement List

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) has built-in flexibilities that allow contracting officers to act quickly for an urgent need. These flexibilities can be used without a formal emergency declaration or contingency operation designation.

Contracting officers may use the following flexibilities to support emergencies:

1. System for Award Management (SAM). Contractors may not need to be registered in SAM when submitting offers for contracts awarded due to unusual urgency or by deployed contracting officers supporting military, diplomatic, or emergency operations overseas. (See 4.1102).
2. Disaster Response Registry. Contracting officers must consult the Disaster Response Registry via https://www.sam.gov (Search Records, Advanced Search, Disaster Response Registry Search) to determine contractors’ availability for removing debris, distributing supplies, rebuilding, and any other disaster or emergency relief activities inside the United States and outlying areas. (See 26.205).
3. Synopsis Notices. Contracting officers do not have to publish a notice of proposed contract actions if there's an urgent need and the Government would be harmed by waiting. (See 5.202(a)(2)).
4. Unusual and compelling urgency. Agencies may limit the number of potential offerors and do not have to use full and open competition for urgent needs. (See 6.302-2).
5. Federal Supply Schedules (FSSs), Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs), and Indefinite Delivery Contracts. These pre-established contracts can offer streamlined purchasing, pre-negotiated prices, and terms for rapid responses. (See subparts 8.4 and 16.5).
6. Federal Prison Industries (FPI). Agencies do not have to buy from FPI if immediate delivery or performance is required due to a public exigency. (See 8.605(b)).
7. AbilityOne Specifications. The usual notification requirements for changes to AbilityOne specifications are waived in emergencies. (See 8.712(d)).
8. Qualification Requirements. Agencies can choose not to enforce certain qualification requirements during an emergency. (See 9.206-1).
9. Priorities and Allocations. The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) supports prioritizing contracts for national defense, emergency preparedness, and energy programs during a national emergency. (See subpart  11.6.)
10. Single Source Solicitation. For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, contracting officers can solicit from only one source in certain situations. (See 13.106-1(b).)
11. Oral Requests for Proposals Oral RFPs are allowed under certain conditions. (See 15.203(f).)
12. Letter Contracts. Letter contracts can be used to start contract work immediately when needed. (See 16.603.)
13. Interagency Acquisitions. Using contracts from other Government agencies is permitted under certain conditions. (See subpart 17.5.)
14. Socioeconomic Small Business Awards. Contracts can be directly awarded to—

i.     The Small Business Administration (SBA) for eligible 8(a) small business concerns;

ii.   Small businesses in Historically Underutilized Business Zones;

iii.  Eligible Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) concerns; or

iv.  Eligible Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged WOSB (EDWOSB).

15. Overtime Approvals. Overtime approvals can be made retroactively if justified by emergency circumstances. (See 22.103-4(i).)
16. Trade Agreements. Certain trade agreement rules may not apply to emergency procurements that are not awarded under full and open competition (See 25.401(a)(5)).
17. Bid Guarantees. The requirement for bid guarantees can be waived for emergency acquisitions when performance bonds are required. (See 28.101-1(c).)
18. Assignment of Claims. The "no-setoff" provision in contracts can be used to support national defense during national emergencies or natural disasters. (See 32.803(d).)
19. Electronic Funds Transfer. The requirement for electronic payments can be waived to support unusual and compelling needs or emergency acquisitions. (See 32.1103(e).)
20. Protest to GAO. In urgent and compelling situations, the head of the contracting activity can override a Government Accountability Office (GAO) protest to allow the contracting process to continue. (See 33.104(b) and (c).)
21. Contractor Rent-Free Use of Government Property. Rental charges may not apply to Government property used in approved Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) programs under specific conditions. (See 45.301.)
22. Extraordinary Contractual Actions. To make national defense easier under the extraordinary emergency authority granted by Public Law 85-804, agencies can—

i.     Authorize advance payments to support national defense efforts made at or after award of negotiated and sealed bid contracts (see 32.405.);

ii.   mend contracts without consideration (see 50.103-2(a));

iii.  Correct or mitigate contract mistakes (see 50.103-2(b)); or

iv.  Formalize informal commitments (see 50.103-2(c)).