This part prescribes policies and procedures relating to the administrative aspects of contract execution, contractor-submitted documents, reporting, retention, and files.

4.001 Definitions.

As used in this part-

Executive means officers, managing partners, or any other employees in management positions.

First-tier subcontractmeans a subcontract awarded directly by the Contractor to acquire supplies or services (including construction) for performing a prime contract. It does not include the contractor’s supplier agreements with vendors, such as long-term arrangements for materials or supplies that benefit multiple contracts and/or the costs of which are normally applied to a contractor’s general and administrative expenses or indirect costs.

Generic entity identifiermeans an identifier assigned to a category of vendors, not specific to any individual or entity.

Total compensationmeans the cash and noncash dollar value earned by the executive during the contractor’s preceding fiscal year and includes the information described at 17 CFR 229.402(c)(2).

4.002 Electronic commerce in contracting.

Agencies must use electronic commerce to the maximum extent that is practicable and cost-effective, see 41 U.S.C. 2301.

Subpart 4.1 - Presolicitation

4.101 Contract files.

(a) Each office performing contracting, contract administration, or paying functions must establish a file containing the records of each solicitation and contractual action.

(b) The file documentation must comprehensively record the transaction history to ensure—

(1) A complete background is available for making informed decisions at each step in the acquisition process;

(2) There is clear support for all actions taken;

(3) Necessary information is accessible for reviews and investigations; and

(4) Essential facts are available in case litigation or congressional inquiries arise.

Subpart 4.2 - Solicitation, Evaluation, and Award

4.201 Unique procurement instrument identifiers.

(a) Agencies must use a procurement instrument identifier (PIID) unique Governmentwide to identify each solicitation, contract, agreement, or order. The PIID must be used in all related procurement actions including forms and electronic generated formats.

(b) The PIID consists of a combination of thirteen to seventeen alpha and/or numeric characters sequenced to convey certain information. Do not use special characters (such as hyphens, dashes, or spaces).

(1) Positions 1 through 6. Use the issuing office Activity Address Code to identify the department/agency and office issuing the instrument.

(2) Positions 7 through 8. Use the last two digits of the fiscal year in which the procurement instrument is issued or awarded (i.e., signed).

(3)Position 9. Use one of the upper-case letters according to Table 4-1. Departments and independent agencies may assign those letters identified for department use below according to agency policy; however, any use must be applied to the entire department or agency.

Table 4-1—PIID Instrument Designation
Instrument	Letter designation
(i) Blanket purchase agreements	A
(ii) Invitations for bids	B
(iii) Contracts of all types except indefinite-delivery contracts (see part 16)	C
(iv) Indefinite-delivery contracts (including Federal Supply Schedules, Governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs), and multi-agency contracts)	D
(v) Reserved for future Federal Governmentwide use	E
(vi) Task orders, delivery orders or calls under—	F
• Indefinite-delivery contracts (including Federal Supply Schedules, Governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs), and multi-agency contracts);
• Blanket purchase agreements; or
• Basic ordering agreements.
(vii) Basic ordering agreements	G
(viii) Agreements, including basic agreements and loan agreements, but excluding blanket purchase agreements, basic ordering agreements, and leases. Do not use this code for contracts or agreements with provisions for orders or calls	H
(ix) Do not use this letter	I
(x) Reserved for future Federal Governmentwide use	J
(xi) Reserved for departmental or agency use	K
(xii) Lease agreements	L
(xiii) Reserved for departmental or agency use	M
(xiv) Reserved for departmental or agency use	N
(xv) Do not use this letter	O
(xvi) Purchase orders (assign V if numbering capacity of P is exhausted during a fiscal year)	P
(xvii) Requests for quotations (assign U if numbering capacity of Q is exhausted during a fiscal year)	Q
(xviii) Requests for proposals	R
(xix) Reserved for departmental or agency use	S
(xx) Reserved for departmental or agency use	T
(xxi) See Q, requests for quotations	U
(xxii) See P, purchase orders	V
(xxiii) Reserved for future Federal Governmentwide use	W
(xxiv) Reserved for future Federal Governmentwide use	X
(xxv) Imprest fund	Y
(xxvi) Reserved for future Federal Governmentwide use	Z

(4) Positions 10 through 17. Use the number assigned by the issuing agency in these positions. Agencies may choose between four and eight characters to be used, but the same number of characters must be used agencywide. Do not use leading or trailing zeroes to equal the maximum in any system or data transmission. A separate series of numbers may be used for any type of instrument listed in paragraph (b)(3) of this section. An agency may reserve blocks of numbers or alpha-numeric numbers for its various components to use.

(c) Agencies must use a non-unique identifier for a procurement action (i.e., supplementary PIID) that is used with the PIID. The supplementary PIID is used to identify amendments to solicitations and modifications to contracts, orders, and agreements. The supplementary PIID is reported as a separate data element used with, but not appended to, the PIID.

(1) Amendments to solicitations. Use a four-position numeric serial number in addition to the 13–17-character PIID beginning with 0001.

(2)Modifications to contracts, orders, and agreements. Use a six-position alpha, numeric, or a combination of both, in addition to the 13–17-character PIID. For example, a modification could be numbered P00001.

(i)Position 1. Use the letter P if the modification is issued by the procuring contracting office. Use the letter A if the modification is issued by the contract administration office (if other than the procuring contracting office).

(ii)Positions 2 through 6. These positions may be alpha, numeric, or a combination of both, according to agency procedures.

(iii)Each office authorized to issue modifications must assign the supplementary identification numbers in sequence (unless provided otherwise in agency procedures). Do not assign the numbers until the contracting officer determines that a modification is to be issued.

(d)

(1) Agencies must not change the PIID unless one of the following circumstances applies:

(i)The PIID serial numbering system is exhausted.

(ii)Continued use of a PIID is administratively burdensome (e.g., for implementing new agency contract writing systems).

(iii)The contract is transferred between contracting departments.

(2)If one of the circumstances described at 4.201(d)(1) applies, the contracting officer may assign a new PIID by issuing an administrative contract modification (see part 43). The modification must identify both the original and the newly assigned PIID.

4.202 Uniform use of line items.

4.202-1 Policy.

(a)Procurement instruments must identify the supplies or services to be acquired as separately identified line items and, as needed, subline items.

(b) Line items—

(1) Are established to define deliverables or organize information about deliverables;

(2)Describe characteristics for the item purchased, e.g., pricing, delivery, and funding information; and

(3)May be subdivided into separate unique subsets (called subline items) to ease administration. Subline items are established to define deliverables (deliverable subline items) or organize information about deliverables (informational subline items). If a line item has deliverable subline items, the line item itself is informational.

4.202-2 Establishing line items.

Establish separate line items for deliverables that have the following characteristics except as provided at 4.202-5:

Separately identifiable.

(1)A supply is separately identifiable if it has its own identification (e.g., national stock number (NSN), item description, manufacturer's part number).

(2) Services are separately identifiable if they have no more than one statement of work or performance work statement.

(3)If the procurement instrument involves a first article (see part 9), establish a separate line item for each item requiring a separate approval. If the first article consists of a lot composed of a mixture of items that will be approved as a single lot, a single line item may be used.

Single unit price or total price. Single accounting classification citation. A single deliverable may be funded by multiple accounting classifications when the deliverable effort cannot be otherwise subdivided. (d)(e)

(d) Separate delivery schedule, destination, period of performance, or place of performance.

(e) Single contract pricing type (e.g., fixed-price or cost-reimbursement).

4.202-3 Establishing subline items.

Subline items may be used to facilitate tracking of performance, deliverables, payment, and contract funds accounting or for other management purposes. The list of characteristics at 4.202-2 applies to deliverable subline items, but it is not applicable to informational subline items. A line item with subline items must contain only that information that is common to all subline items thereunder. All subline items under one line item must be the same contract type as the line item.

(a)Deliverable subline items. Deliverable subline items may be used for several related items that require separate identification. For example, instead of establishing multiple separate line items, subline items may be established for—

(1)Items that are basically the same, except for minor variations such as—

(i)Size or color;

(ii)Accounting classification, but see also 4.202-4(a)(4); or

(iii)Date of delivery, destination, or period or place of performance;

(2)Separately priced collateral functions that relate to the primary product, such as packaging and handling, or transportation; or

(3)Items to be separately identified at the time of shipment or performance.

(b)Informational subline items.

(1) Informational subline items may be used by agencies for administrative purposes. This type of subline item identifies information that relates directly to the line item and is an integral part of it (e.g., parts of an assembly or parts of a kit).

(2)Position informational subline items within the line item description, not in the quantity or price fields.

4.202-4 Required data elements for line items and subline items.

(a) Except as provided in 4.202-5, each line item or subline item must include in the schedule (or in a comparable section of the procurement instrument), at a minimum, the following information as separate, distinct data elements:

(1) Line item or subline item number established in accordance with agency procedures.

(2) Description of what is being purchased.

(3) Product or Service Code (PSC).

(4) Accounting classification citation.

(i) Line items or deliverable subline items. If multiple accounting classifications for a single deliverable apply, include the dollar amount for each accounting classification in the schedule (or a comparable section of the procurement instrument).

(ii) Informational subline items. An accounting classification citation is not required. (See 4.202-3).

(5)

(i)For fixed-price line items:

(A) Unit of measure.

(B) Quantity.

(D) Total price.

(ii)(ii) For cost-reimbursement line items:

(A) Unit of measure.

(B) Quantity.

(D) Fee (if any).

(E) Total estimated cost plus any fee.

(b) If a contract contains a combination of fixed-price, time-and-materials, labor-hour, or cost- reimbursement line items, identify the contract type for each line item in the schedule (or a comparable section of the procurement instrument) to facilitate payment.

(c) Each deliverable line item or deliverable subline item must have its own delivery schedule, destination, period of performance, or place of performance expressly stated in the appropriate section of the procurement instrument (“as required” constitutes an expressly stated delivery term). When a line item has deliverable subline items, identify the delivery schedule, destination, period of performance, or place of performance at the subline item level, rather than the line item level.

(d) Terms and conditions in other sections of the contract (such as contract clauses or payment instructions) must also specify applicability to individual line items if not applicable to the contract as a whole.

4.202-5 Exceptions to required data elements.

(a) Indefinite-delivery contracts —

(1) General. The following required data elements are not known at time of issuance of an indefinite-delivery contract, however each order must provide them at issuance: accounting classification, delivery date and destination, or period and place of performance.

(2) Indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) and requirements contracts.

(i) IDIQ and requirements contracts may omit the quantity at the line item level for the base award provided that the total contract minimum and maximum, or the estimate, respectively, is stated.

(ii) Multiple-award IDIQ contracts awarded using the procedures at parts 13 or 15 may omit price or cost at the line item or subline item level for the contract award, provided that the total contract minimum and maximum is stated (see part 16).

(b) Item description and PSC. These data elements are not required in the line item if there are associated deliverable subline items that include the actual detailed identification. When this exception applies, use a general narrative description for the line item.

(c) Single unit price or single total price. The requirement for a single unit price or single total price at the line item level does not apply if any of the following conditions are present:

(1) There are associated deliverable subline items that are priced.

(2) The line item or subline item is not separately priced.

(3) The supplies or services are being acquired on a cost-reimbursement, time-and-materials, or labor-hour basis.

(4) The procurement instrument is for services and firm prices have been established for elements of the total price, but the actual number of the elements is not known until performance (e.g., a labor-hour contract for maintenance/repair). The contracting officer may structure these procurement instruments to reflect a firm or estimated total amount for each line item.

4.203 System for Award Management..

(a) If the contractor has furnished a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) when completing the solicitation provision at 52.204-3 [Reserved]., Taxpayer Identification, or paragraph (l) of the solicitation provision at 52.212-3 [Reserved], Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, the contracting officer shall, unless otherwise provided in agency procedures, attach a copy of the completed solicitation provision as the last page of the copy of the contract sent to the payment office.

(b) If the TIN or type of organization is derived from a source other than the provision at 52.204-3 [Reserved]. or 52.212-3 [Reserved](l), the contracting officer shall annotate the last page of the contract or order forwarded to the payment office to state the contractor’s TIN and type of organization, unless this information is otherwise provided to the payment office in accordance with agency procedures.

(c) If the contractor provides its TIN or type of organization to the contracting officer after award, the contracting officer shall forward the information to the payment office within 7 days of its receipt.

(d) Federal Supply Schedule contracts. Each contracting officer that places an order under a Federal Supply Schedule contract (see subpart 8.4) shall provide the TIN and type of organization information to the payment office in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section.

(e) Basic ordering agreements and indefinite-delivery contracts (other than Federal Supply Schedule contracts).

(1) Each contracting officer that issues a basic ordering agreement or indefinite-delivery contract (other than a Federal Supply Schedule contract) shall provide to contracting officers placing orders under the agreement or contract (if the contractor is not required to provide this information to the System for Award Management)-

(i) A copy of the agreement or contract with a copy of the completed solicitation provision at 52.204-3 [Reserved]. or 52.212-3 [Reserved](l) as the last page of the agreement or contract; or

(ii) The contractor’s TIN and type of organization information.

(2) Each contracting officer that places an order under a basic ordering agreement or indefinite-delivery contract (other than a Federal Supply Schedule contract) shall provide the TIN and type of organization information to the payment office in accordance with paragraph (a) or (b) of this section.

4.203-1 Policy.

(a)The System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.sam.gov is the primary method used to collect the following information from entities interested in obtaining Federal Government contracts:

(1)Identifying information about the entity, to issue the unique entity identifier (UEI) and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code;

(2)Entity-level representations and certifications (see 52.204-7(c)(1)); and

Information necessary to receive payment under a contract, collect debts, or for Government reporting purposes, such as taxpayer information required by 31 U.S.C. 7701(c) and 3325(d); 26 U.S.C. 6041, 6041A, and 6050M; and implementing regulations issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

(b) Offerors or quoters are required to have an active Federal Government contracts registration in SAM when they submit an offer or quotation, and at the time of award, except for—

(1) Purchases under the micro-purchase threshold that use a Governmentwide commercial purchase card as the method of purchase and payment;

(2) Micro-purchases that do not use the electronic funds transfer method for payment and are not required to be reported in the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS);

(3) Classified contracts when registration in SAM could compromise the safeguarding of classified information or national security;

(4) Contracts awarded without providing full and open competition due to unusual or compelling urgency (see part 6);

(5)Contracts awarded by—

(i) Deployed contracting officers supporting military operations including, but not limited to, contingency operations as defined in 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(13) or humanitarian or peacekeeping operations as defined in 10 U.S.C. 3015(2);

(ii) (ii) Contracting officers located outside the United States and its outlying areas supporting diplomatic or developmental operations; or

(iii) (iii) Contracting officers supporting emergency operations, such as responses to natural or environmental disasters, or national or civil emergencies (see part 18);

(6) Contracts with individuals for performance outside the United States and its outlying areas; and

(7) Contract actions at or below $30,000 awarded to foreign vendors for work performed outside the United States, if it is impractical to obtain SAM registration.

(c) For contracts described under paragraph (b)(4) of this section, the contractor must register in SAM within 30 days after contract award or at least three days before submitting the first invoice, whichever occurs first.

(d) For contracts or agreements described under paragraph (b)(5) of this section, if practical, the contracting officer must modify the contract to require SAM registration.

(e) When SAM registration is not required, the contracting officer must collect certain offeror identifying information and entity-level representations and certifications at the time of receipt of an offer or quotation (see 4.203-2(a)(2)).

(f) Agencies must protect against improper disclosure of nonpublic information contained in SAM.

4.203-2 Procedures.

(a)At the time an offer or quotation is submitted—

(1)Use the offeror or quoter’s UEI to verify that the entity has an active Federal Government contracts registration in SAM, and document the date of SAM verification in the contract file; or

(2)If a solicitation does not require registration in SAM—

Review the information provided in response to the provision at 52.204-90, Offeror Identification, and validate the CAGE code using the CAGE code search feature at https://cage.dla.mil; and

(ii)Verify the offeror has included in its offer the entity-level representations and certifications normally collected in SAM.

(b) Use the legal business name or “doing business as” name and physical address in SAM for the successful offeror’s UEI to identify the contractor in the award document and all corresponding forms and data exchanges. Do not change data retrieved from SAM.

4.204 Taxpayer identification information.

(a) Agencies must collect the taxpayer identification number (TIN) to comply with the following statutory requirements—

(1) Debt collection. 31 U.S.C. 7701(c) requires each contractor doing business with a Government agency to furnish its TIN to that agency. 31 U.S.C. 3325(d) requires the Government to include the TIN of the contractor receiving payment with each certified voucher. The Government may use the TIN to collect and report on any delinquent amounts arising out of the contractor's relationship with the Government.

(2) Information reporting to the IRS. The TIN is required for Government reporting of certain contract information and payment information to the IRS. 26 U.S.C. 6109 requires a contractor to provide its TIN if a Form 1099 is required. The payment office is responsible for submitting reports to the IRS.

(b) Contracting officers will obtain the TIN from—

(1) SAM if offerors are required to be registered in SAM, see 4.203-2(a)(1) and 52.204-7; or

(2) Offers if offerors are not required to be registered in SAM, see 4.203-2(a)(2) and 52.204-90.

4.205 Personal identity verification.

(a) Agencies must include their implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 and the Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS PUB) Number 201 in solicitations and contracts. For information on personal identity verification (PIV) products and services see http://www.idmanagement.gov.

(b) When acquiring PIV products and services not using the General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule for HSPD-12 Product and Service Components, agencies must ensure that the applicable products and services are approved as compliant with FIPS PUB 201 including—

(1) Certifying the products and services procured meet all applicable Federal standards and requirements;

(2) Ensuring interoperability and conformance to applicable Federal standards for the lifecycle of the components; and

(3) Maintaining a written plan for ensuring ongoing conformance to applicable Federal standards for the lifecycle of the components.

4.206 Contracting officer's signature.

Only contracting officers can sign contracts on behalf of the United States. The contracting officer's name and official title must be typed, stamped, or printed on the contract. The contracting officer normally signs the contract after the contractor has signed it. A digital signature using a certificate from the PIV or Common Access Card (CAC) assigned to the contracting officer is considered acceptable as a written signature.

4.207 Contractor's signature.

(a) Individuals. A contract with an individual must be signed by that individual. A contract with an individual doing business as a firm must be signed by that individual, and the signature must be followed by the individual's typed, stamped, or printed name and the words “, an individual doing business as ______________________” [insert name of firm].

(b) Partnerships. A contract with a partnership must be signed in the partnership name. Before signing for the Government, the contracting officer must obtain a list of all partners and ensure that the individual(s) signing for the partnership have authority to bind the partnership.

(c) Corporations. A contract with a corporation must be signed in the corporate name, followed by the word “by” and the signature and title of the person authorized to sign. The contracting officer must ensure that the person signing for the corporation has authority to bind the corporation.

(d) Joint venturers. A contract with joint venturers may involve any combination of individuals, partnerships, or corporations. The contract must be signed by each participant in the joint venture in the manner prescribed in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section for each type of participant. When a corporation is participating, the contracting officer must verify that the corporation is authorized to participate in the joint venture.

(e) Agents. When an agent is to sign the contract, other than as stated in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section, the agent's authorization to bind the principal must be established by evidence that satisfies the contracting officer.

(f)Digital signatures. Contractor’s digital signatures are acceptable as a written signature when using authentication and/or signature certificates from a PIV or CAC obtained from a credentialed organization.

4.208 Solicitation provisions and contract clauses.

(a) Insert the provision at 52.204-5, Women-Owned Business (Other Than Small Business), in solicitations that—

(1) Are not set aside for small business concerns;

(2) Exceed the simplified acquisition threshold; and

(3) Are for contracts that will be performed in the United States or its outlying areas.

(b) When offerors are required to be registered in SAM, insert—

(1) The provision at 52.204-7, System for Award Management—Registration, in the solicitation. Use the provision with its Alternate I for acquisitions described at 4.203-1(b)(4); and

(2) The clause at 52.204-13, System for Award Management—Maintenance, in the solicitation and contract. Use the clause with its Alternate I for acquisitions described at 4.203-1(b)(4).

(1) In the solicitation—

(i)The provision at 52.204-90, Offeror Identification; and

(ii)Each provision listed in paragraph (c)(1) of the provision at 52.204-7, if applicable based on each provision prescription; and

(2)In the solicitation and contract, the clause at 52.204-91, Contractor Identification.

(d)Insert the clause at 52.204-9, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel, in solicitations and contracts when contract performance requires contractors to have routine physical access to a Federally-controlled facility and/or routine access to a Federally-controlled information system.

Insert the clause at 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards, in solicitations and contracts valued over $30,000—

(1)That are not for the acquisition of commercial products or commercial services; and

When the award is required to be reported in FPDS.

(f)

(1)The clauses in paragraphs (f)(2) and (3) of this section provide requirements for obtaining information from agency service contractors. The clauses are not required for—

(i)Actions entirely funded by the Department of Defense;

(ii)Contracts for commercial services; or

(iii)Classified solicitations, contracts, or orders.

(2)Insert the clause at 52.204-14, Service Contract Reporting Requirements, in solicitations and contracts for services (including construction) that meet or exceed the thresholds at 4.303(b), except for indefinite-delivery contracts.

(3)Insert the clause at 52.204-15, Service Contract Reporting Requirements for Indefinite-Delivery Contracts, in solicitations and indefinite-delivery contracts for services (including construction) where one or more orders issued thereunder are expected to each meet or exceed the thresholds at 4.303(b).

(g)Insert the clause at 52.204-19, Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications, in all solicitations and contracts.

Subpart 4.3 - Post-award

4.301 Contract reporting.

(a) As required by 41 U.S.C. 1122 and 1712, the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), https://www.fpds.gov, provides a comprehensive web-based tool for agencies to report contract actions.

(1) At a minimum, agencies must report—

(i) The following contract actions over the micro-purchase threshold, regardless of solicitation process used:

(A) Definitive contracts, including purchase orders and imprest fund buys awarded by a contracting officer.

(B) Indefinite delivery vehicle (identified as an “IDV” in FPDS) and all calls and orders awarded under it; and

(ii) that change previously reported contract action data, regardless of dollar value.

(2) Agencies may submit actions other than those listed at paragraph (a)(1) of this section if approved in writing by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP).

(3) Agencies will not report the following types of contract actions in FPDS:

(i) Imprest fund transactions below the micro-purchase threshold, including those made via the Government purchase card (unless specific agency procedures prescribe reporting these actions).

(ii) Orders from the General Services Administration (GSA) stock and the GSA Global Supply Program.

(iii) Purchases made at GSA or AbilityOne service stores, as these items stocked for resale have already been reported by GSA.

(iv) Purchases made using non-appropriated fund activity cards, chaplain fund cards, individual Government personnel training orders, and Defense Printing orders.

(v) Actions that, according to other authority, will not be entered into FPDS (e.g., reporting of the information would compromise national security).

(vi) Contract actions in which the required data would constitute classified information.

(vii) Resale activity (i.e., commissary or exchange activity).

(viii) Revenue generating arrangements (i.e., concessions).

(ix) Training expenditures not issued as orders or contracts.

(x) Interagency agreements other than interagency acquisitions required to be reported.

(xi) Letters of obligation used in the A-76 process.

(b) Agencies awarding assisted acquisitions or direct acquisitions must report these actions and identify the Program/Funding Agency and Office Codes from the applicable agency codes maintained by each agency at the System for Award Management (SAM). These codes represent the agency and office that has provided the predominant amount of funding for the contract action. For assisted acquisitions, the requesting agency will receive socioeconomic credit for meeting agency small business goals, where applicable. Requesting agencies must provide the appropriate agency/bureau component code as part of the written interagency agreement between the requesting and servicing agencies (see part 17).

(c) Agencies awarding contract actions with a mix of appropriated and non-appropriated funding must only report the full appropriated portion of the contract action in FPDS.

(d) Agencies may consolidate, at least monthly, multiple action reports for a vendor when it would be overly burdensome to report each action individually.

(e)

(1) Agencies may use a generic entity identifier, rather than an entity’s assigned unique entity identifier (UEI), for—

(i) Contract actions valued at or below $30,000 that are awarded to a contractor that is—

(A) A student;

(B) A dependent of either a veteran, foreign Service officer, or military member assigned outside the United States and its outlying areas (as defined in 2.101); or

(C) Located outside the United States and its outlying areas for work to be performed outside the United States and its outlying areas and the contractor does not otherwise have a UEI;

(ii) Contracts valued above $30,000 awarded to individuals located outside the United States and its outlying areas for work to be performed outside the United States and its outlying areas; or

(iii) Contracts when specific public identification of the contracted party could endanger the mission, contractor, or recipients of the acquired goods or services. The contracting officer must include a written determination in the contract file of a decision applicable to authority under this paragraph (g)(1)(iii).

(2) The Integrated Award Environment program office will maintain the list of generic entity identifiers that agencies may use.

(f) Responsibilities.

(1) The Senior Procurement Executive in coordination with the head of the contracting activity is responsible for developing and monitoring a process to ensure timely and accurate reporting of contractual actions to FPDS.

(2)

(i) The contracting officer awarding the contract action is responsible for accurately completing the individual contract action report (CAR). Unpublished CARs in FPDS are not considered complete.

(ii) Complete the CAR in FPDS within three business days after contract award.

(iii) Complete the CAR for any action awarded without providing full and open competition due to unusual or compelling urgency or according to any of the emergency acquisition flexibilities (see part 18) within 30 days after contract award.

(3) The chief acquisition officer of each agency required to report its contract actions must submit to OFPP within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, an annual certification of whether, and to what degree, agency CAR data for the preceding fiscal year is complete and accurate.

4.302 Personal identity verification.

(a) Agency procedures for the return of Personal Identity Verification (PIV) products must ensure that Government contractors account for all forms of Government-provided identification issued to Government contractor employees under a contract, i.e., the PIV cards or other similar badges, and must ensure that contractors return such identification to the issuing agency as soon as any of the following occurs, unless otherwise determined by the agency:

(1) When no longer needed for contract performance.

(2) Upon completion of a contractor employee's employment.

(3) Upon contract completion or termination.

4.303 Service contracts inventory.

(a) Requirement. As required by section 743(a) of Division C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117), agencies covered by the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act (Pub. L. 105-270), except the Department of Defense, must submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) annually an inventory of activities performed by service contractors. The information reported in the inventory will be publicly accessible.

(b) Reporting requirements thresholds.

(1) Except as exempted by OFPP guidance, service contractor reporting is required for contracts and first-tier subcontracts for services based on type of contract and estimated total value. For indefinite-delivery contracts, the contracting officer must determine the reporting requirements based on the type and estimated total value of each order under the contract.

(2) Reporting is required according to the following thresholds:

(i) All cost-reimbursement, time-and-materials, and labor-hour service contracts and orders with an estimated total value above the simplified acquisition threshold.

(ii) All fixed-price service contracts awarded and orders with an estimated total value of $500,000 or greater.

(3)Reporting is required for all first-tier subcontracts for services as prescribed in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section.

(1) Agencies are required to compile annually an inventory of service contracts performed for, or on behalf of, the agency during the previous fiscal year to determine the extent of the agency's reliance on service contractors. Agencies must submit a service contract inventory to OMB by January 15 annually. Then, each agency must post the inventory on its Web site and publish a Federal Register Notice of Availability by February 15 annually.

(2) Agencies must review contractor reported information for reasonableness and consistency with available contract information. The agency is not required to address data for which the agency would not normally have supporting information. If revisions to the contractor-reported information are warranted, the agency must notify the contractor no later than November 15. By November 30, the contractor shall revise the report, or document its rationale for the agency. Authorized agency officials may review the reports at https://www.sam.gov.

4.304 System for Award Management.

(a) Contractors must maintain throughout the life of the contract through final payment—

(1) Their registration, if they are required to be registered in SAM; or

(2) Their identifying information, if they are not required to be registered in SAM.

(b) Contracting officers must validate the contractor has an active Federal Government contracts registration in SAM at the following times:

(1)For contracts described at 4.203-1(b)(4), within 30 days after contract award, or at least three days before submitting the first invoice, whichever occurs first.

(2)Before exercising any options on a contract.

(3)For novation and change-of-name agreements, see paragraph (c) of the clause at 52.204-13.

(4)For assignees for the purpose of assignment of claims (see part 32), see paragraph (d) of the clause at 52.204-13.

4.305 Contractor identification.

(a) Contractors are required to maintain their UEI and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code throughout the life of the contract.

(b)Contractors must communicate any change to their UEI or CAGE code to the contracting officer within 30 days after the change, so the contracting officer can issue a modification to update the UEI or CAGE code on the contract. A change in the unique entity identifier does not necessarily require a novation.

4.306 Executive compensation.

(a) As required by section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-282), as amended by section 6202 of the Government Funding Transparency Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-252), contractors must report first-tier subcontract award data and the total compensation of the five most highly compensated executives of the contractor and of each first-tier subcontractor.

(b) Certain data from FPDS will pre-populate SAM data to help contractors complete and submit their reports. If the FPDS data is inaccurate, the contracting officer will correct the data in FPDS.

4.307 Payment office.

Provide the payment office information required to make proper payments under a contract, at least the taxpayer identification number, type of organization, the unique entity identifier, and, if applicable, the electronic funds transfer indicator.

4.308 Contract closeout.

(a) Insert the provision at 52.204-5 Women-Owned Business (Other Than Small Business)., Women-Owned Business (Other Than Small Business), in all solicitations that-

(1) Are not set aside for small business concerns;

(2) Exceed the simplified acquisition threshold; and

(3) Are for contracts that will be performed in the United States or its outlying areas.

(b) Insert the provision at 52.204-6 [Reserved]., Unique Entity Identifier, in solicitations that do not contain the provision at 52.204-7 System for Award Management., System for Award Management, or meet a condition at 4.605(c)(2).

(c) Insert the clause at 52.204-12 [Reserved]., Unique Entity Identifier Maintenance, in solicitations and resulting contracts that contain the provision at 52.204-6 [Reserved]., Unique Entity Identifier.

4.308-1 Procedures for closing out contract files.

(a) The administrative closeout procedures must ensure that—

(1) Disposition of classified material is completed;

(2) Final patent report is cleared. If a final patent report is required, the contracting officer may proceed with contract closeout according to the following procedures, or as otherwise prescribed by agency procedures:

(i) Final patent reports should be cleared within 60 days of receipt.

(ii)If the final patent report is not received, the contracting officer must notify the contractor of the contractor's obligations and the Government's rights under the applicable patent rights clause, according to part 27. If the contractor fails to respond to this notification, the contracting officer may proceed with contract closeout upon consultation with the agency legal counsel responsible for patent matters regarding the contractor's failure to respond.

(3)Final royalty report is cleared;

(4)There is no outstanding value engineering change proposal;

(5)Plant clearance report is received;

(6)Property clearance is received;

(7)All interim or disallowed costs are settled;

(8)Price revision is completed;

(9)The prime contractor settles its subcontracts;

(10)Prior year indirect cost rates are settled;

(11)Termination docket is completed;

(12)Contract audit is completed;

(13)Contractor's closing statement is completed;

(14)Contractor's final invoice has been submitted; and

(15)Contract funds review is completed and excess funds deobligated.

(b)When the actions in paragraph (a) of this section have been verified, the contracting officer administering the contract must prepare a contract completion statement containing the following information:

(1) Contract administration office name and address (if different from the contracting office).

Contracting office name and address.

(3)Contract number.

(4)Last modification number.

(5)Last call or order number.

(6)Contractor name and address.

(7)Dollar amount of excess funds, if any.

(8)Voucher number and date, if final payment has been made.

(9)Invoice number and date, if the final approved invoice has been forwarded to a disbursing office of another agency or activity and the status of the payment is unknown.

(10)A statement that all required contract administration actions have been fully and satisfactorily accomplished.

(11)Name and signature of the contracting officer.

(12)Date.

(1)The signed original in the contracting office contract file (or forwarded to the contracting office for placement in the files if the contract administration office is different from the contracting office); and

(2)A signed copy in the appropriate contract administration file if administration is performed by a contract administration office.

4.308-2 Contract closeout by the office administering the contract.

(a) The contract administration office must initiate administrative closeout of the contract after receiving evidence of its physical completion. At the start of this process, the contract administration office must review the contract funds status and notify the contracting office of any excess funds the contract administration office might deobligate.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, contract files should be closed according to Table 4-2.

Table 4-2— Time Standards for Closing Out Contract Files
Files for:	Should be:
(1) Contracts using simplified acquisition procedures	Considered closed when the contracting officer receives evidence of receipt of property and final payment, unless otherwise specified by agency regulations.
(2) Firm-fixed-price contracts, other than those using simplified acquisition procedures.	Closed within 6 months after the date on which the contracting officer receives evidence of physical completion.
(3) Contracts requiring settlement of indirect cost rates.	Closed within 36 months of the month in which the contracting officer receives evidence of physical completion.
(4) All other contracts.	Closed within 20 months of the month in which the contracting officer receives evidence of physical completion.

(c) When closing out the contract files at 4.308-2(b)(2), (3), and (4), the contracting officer must use the closeout procedures at 4.308-1. However, these closeout actions may be modified to reflect the extent of administration that has been performed. Use quick closeout procedures (see part 42), when appropriate, to reduce administrative costs and to enable deobligation of excess funds.

(d) Do not close a contract file if—

(1)The contract is in litigation or under appeal; or

(2)In the case of a termination, all termination actions have not been completed.

4.309 Storage, handling, and contract files.

(a) Agencies must keep acquisition records according to Table 4-3. This requirement also applies to record copies stored on alternate media when original documents have been converted to alternate media for storage.

Table 4-3—Retention Periods
Record	Retention period
(1) Contracts (and related records or documents, including successful and unsuccessful proposals, except see paragraph (a)(2) of this section regarding contractor payrolls submitted under construction contracts.)	6 years after final payment.
(2) Contractor's payrolls submitted under construction contracts according to Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)), with related certifications, anti-kickback affidavits, and other related records.	3 years after contract completion unless contract performance is the subject of an enforcement action on that date (see paragraph (a)(8) of this section).
(3) Unsolicited proposals not accepted by a department or agency.	Retain according to agency procedures.
(4) Files for canceled solicitations.	6 years after cancellation.
(5) Other copies of procurement file records used for administrative purposes.	When business use ceases.
(6) Documents pertaining generally to the contractor.	Until superseded or obsolete.
(7) Data submitted to FPDS. Electronic data file maintained by fiscal year, containing unclassified records of all procurements exceeding the micro-purchase threshold, and information required under 4.301.	6 years after submittal to FPDS.
(8) Investigations, cases pending or in litigation (including protests), or similar matters (including enforcement actions).	Until final clearance or settlement, or, if related to a document identified in paragraphs (a)(1) through (7) of this section, for the retention period specified for the related document, whichever is later.

(b) Agencies must prescribe procedures for the handling, storing, and disposing of contract files, according to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) General Records Schedule 1.1, Financial Management and Reporting Records. The Financial Management and Reporting Records can be found at http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/grs.html. The procedures should conform with the regulatory requirements in paragraph (a) of this section, which have been acknowledged and approved by NARA in its guidance.

(c) If administrative records are mixed with program records and cannot be economically segregated, keep the entire file for the period approved for the program records. Similarly, if documents described in Table 4-3 are part of a subject or case file that documents activities that are not described in the table, treat them the same manner as the files of which they are a part.

Subpart 4.4 - [Reserved]

Subpart 4.5 - [Reserved]

Subpart 4.6 - [Reserved]

Subpart 4.7 - Contractor Records Retention

4.700 Scope of subpart.

This subpart provides policies and procedures for contractors to retain records to meet the records review requirements of the Government. In this subpart, the terms “contracts” and “contractors” include “subcontracts” and “subcontractors.”

4.701 Purpose.

The purpose of this subpart is to generally describe records retention requirements and to allow reductions in the retention period for specific classes of records under prescribed circumstances.

4.702 Applicability.

(a) This subpart applies to records generated under contracts that contain one of the following clauses:

(1) Audit and Records—Sealed Bidding (52.214-26).

(2) Audit and Records—Negotiation (52.215-2).

(b) This subpart is not mandatory on Department of Energy contracts for which the Comptroller General allows alternative records retention periods. Apart from this exception, this subpart applies to record retention periods under contracts that are subject to 10 U.S.C. chapter 137 legacy provisions ( 10 U.S.C. 3064) and 10 U.S.C. 3016 and chapter 203 or 40 U.S.C. 101, et seq.

4.703 Policy.

(a) Except as stated in 4.703(b), contractors must make available records, which includes books, documents, accounting procedures and practices, and other data, regardless of type and regardless of whether such items are in written form, in the form of computer data, or in any other form, and other supporting evidence to satisfy contract negotiation, administration, and audit requirements of the contracting agencies and the Comptroller General for—

(1) 3 years after final payment; or

(2) For certain records, the period specified in 4.705, whichever of these periods expires first.

(b) Contractors must make available the foregoing records and supporting evidence for a longer period than is required in 4.703(a) if—

(1) A retention period longer than that cited in 4.703(a) is specified in any contract clause; or

(2) The contractor, for its own purposes, retains the foregoing records and supporting evidence for a longer period. Under this circumstance, the retention period must be the period of the contractor's retention or 3 years after final payment, whichever period expires first.

(3) The contractor does not meet the original due date for submission of final indirect cost rate proposals specified in paragraph (d)(2) of the clause at 52.216-7, Allowable Cost and Payment. Under these circumstances, the retention periods in 4.705 must be automatically extended one day for each day the proposal is not submitted after the original due date.

(c) Nothing in this section must be construed to preclude a contractor from duplicating or storing original records in electronic form unless they contain significant information not shown on the record copy. Original records need not be maintained or produced in an audit if the contractor or subcontractor provides photographic or electronic images of the original records and meets the following requirements:

(1) The contractor or subcontractor has established procedures to ensure that the imaging process preserves accurate images of the original records, including signatures and other written or graphic images, and that the imaging process is reliable and secure to maintain the integrity of the records.

(2) The contractor or subcontractor maintains an effective indexing system to permit timely and convenient access to the imaged records.

(3) The contractor or subcontractor retains the original records for a minimum of one year after imaging to permit periodic validation of the imaging systems.

(d) If the information described in paragraph (a) of this section is maintained on a computer, contractors must retain the computer data on a reliable medium for the time periods prescribed. Contractors may transfer computer data in machine readable form from one reliable computer medium to another. Contractors' computer data retention and transfer procedures must maintain the integrity, reliability, and security of the original computer data. Contractors must also retain an audit trail describing the data transfer. For the record retention time periods prescribed, contractors must not destroy, discard, delete, or write over such computer data.

4.704 Calculating retention periods.

(a) The retention periods in 4.705 are calculated from the end of the contractor’s fiscal year in which an entry is made charging or allocating a cost to a Government contract or subcontract. If a specific record contains a series of entries, the retention period is calculated from the end of the contractor’s fiscal year in which the final entry is made. The contractor should cut off the records in annual blocks and retain them for block disposal under the prescribed retention periods.

(b) When a contractor relies upon records generated during a prior contract for certified cost or pricing data in negotiating a succeeding contract, the prescribed periods must run from the date of the succeeding contract.

(c) If two or more of the record categories described in 4.705 are interfiled and screening for disposal is not practical, the contractor must retain the entire record series for the longest period prescribed for any category of records.

4.705 Specific retention periods.

The contractor must retain records according to Table 4-4.

Table 4-4—Contractor Records Retention Periods
Category	Record type	Retention period
Financial and cost accounting records	Accounts receivable invoices, adjustments to the accounts, invoice registers, carrier freight bills, shipping orders, and other documents that detail the material or services billed on the related invoices	4 years
	Material, work order, or service order files, consisting of purchase requisitions or purchase orders for material or services, or orders for transferring material or supplies	4 years
	Cash advance recapitulations, prepared as posting entries to accounts receivable ledgers for amounts of expense vouchers prepared for employees' travel and related expenses	4 years
	Paid, canceled, and voided checks, other than those issued for paying salary and wages	4 years
	Accounts payable records to support disbursements of funds for materials, equipment, supplies, and services, containing originals or copies of the following and related documents: remittance advices and statements, vendors' invoices, invoice audits and distribution slips, receiving and inspection reports or comparable certifications of receipt and inspection of material or services, and debit and credit memoranda	4 years
	Labor cost distribution cards or equivalent documents	2 years
	Petty cash records describing expenditures, to whom paid, name of person authorizing payment, and date, including copies of vouchers and other supporting documents	2 years
Pay administration records	Payroll sheets, registers, or their equivalent, of salaries and wages paid to individual employees for each payroll period; change slips; and tax withholding statements	4 years
	Clock cards or other time and attendance cards	2 years
	Paid checks, receipts for wages paid in cash, or other evidence of payments for services rendered by employees	2 years
Acquisition and supply records	Store requisitions for materials, supplies, equipment, and services	2 years
	Work orders for maintenance and other services	4 years
	Equipment records, consisting of equipment usage and status reports and equipment repair orders	4 years
	Expendable property records, reflecting accountability for receiving and using material to perform a contract	4 years
	Receiving and inspection report records, consisting of reports reflecting receipt and inspection of supplies, equipment, and materials	4 years
	Purchase order files for supplies, equipment, material, or services used to perform a contract; supporting documentation and backup files including, but not limited to, invoices, and memoranda, e.g., memoranda of negotiations showing the principal elements of subcontract price negotiations	4 years
	Production records of quality control, reliability, and inspection	4 years
	Property records (see part 45)	4 years

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Caveat

The FAR Council created deviations will include clauses and provisions currently required by statute and Executive Order. OMB and the FAR Council will work with Congress to recommend statutory changes and with the White House to recommend rescission of requirements stemming from prior Executive Orders that are inconsistent with the goals of Executive Order 14275 to stop the inefficient use of American taxpayer dollars in federal procurement. Any changes to Executive Orders or statute will be reflected when the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul turns to rule-making.

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FAR Overhaul - Part 4

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