Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

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The FAR

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is the basic rulebook for government contracts. It contains all the rules governing the contracting process as well as all the forms and clauses used in government contracts.

Recently, the FAR went through a significant rewrite to reflect and implement all of the changes made by all the recent laws. In order to do business with the federal government, you need to have a basic knowledge of what is in the FAR and how to use it. See appendix 4 of our book for a breakdown of the FAR's contents.

The FAR is divided into 53 parts, each dealing with a separate aspect of the federal acquisition process. Relevant parts for small businesses include Part 19, on Small Business Programs, and Part 52, which contains the standard terms and conditions contained in a government contract.

Although the FAR is the primary acquisition regulation for the government, each government agency may issue an agency acquisition supplement to the FAR. So, among others, we have the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), the General Services Acquisition Regulation Supplement (GSARS), and the National Aeronautics Space Administration FAR Supplement (NASFARS). Many of these are available on this web site, or that of the agency.

Download a Zip file of the DFARS
in Word format (27.5 MB)
Download the a Zip file of the DFARS
in PDF format (3.74 MB)

Note: These supplements are not stand-alone documents, but must be read in conjunction with the FAR.

Congress gave the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) the authority to develop its own acquisition regulations; therefore it is not bound by the FAR. Although the FAA has chosen to adopt or adapt many parts of the FAR, don’t assume that its provisions are all just like those in the FAR. Some quasi-government agencies, like the Tennessee Valley Authority or United States Postal Service, are not bound by the FAR, but many of their acquisition regulations are adaptations of FAR provisions.

You can buy a hard copy of the FAR from the Government Printing Office (GPO), read it on the web, or download it here.

Download a Zip file of the FAR
and its appendix
in PDF format (41.5 MB)

Note: This is a very large file. Only attempt to download it if you have a cable, DSL, or T-1 connection to the internet AND have a fast processor.

If you order the FAR from the Government Printing Office, make sure that the price includes all updates, as they occur, so you will always have current information when you prepare a proposal. Updates are important because of the potential impact on the way you bid. It could change the cost and therefore your quote!

If you view the FAR on the web, make sure that you check the update date for the same reason. The softbound type, or the version available from this web site, is current until the next update.

Read the far on the web at:
www.arnet.gov/far/loadmainre.html

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