FAR Council Issues Rewrites to FAR Parts 8 and 12

On August 14, 2025, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) issued draft revisions to FAR Part 8 and FAR Part 12 (as well as to FAR Parts 4 and 40). These are the latest rewrites under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) initiative pursuant to Executive Order 14275, “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement,” which we previously reported on here.

The OFPP issued a press release on August 15, 2025, describing these FAR deviations as “the most significant reform to federal commercial buying procedures in over four decades.” The OFPP also stated that agencies may “immediately begin eliminating one-third of requirements from their future contracts that are not required by statute or executive orders and have little to do with contract outcomes,” and directed agencies to use government-wide contracts for common commercial products and services. OFPP noted that non-regulatory resources will be released for the FAR rewrites, including (1) the FAR Companion Guide, which provides tips and insights on using the new streamlined FAR; (2) the Practitioner’s Albums with learning tools to accelerate adoption of innovative practices; and (3) the Category Guide, which includes practical advice from category managers for using government-wide contracts. The Practitioner Albums have accompanied each round of FAR rewrites on the RFO website.

FAR Part 8 – Required Sources of Supplies and Services

Key rewrites:

• To procure commercial products or services, agencies should use an existing government-wide contract or blanket purchase agreement (BPA) designed best-in-class (“BIC”) by the OFPP, when a commercial product or commercial service meets an agency’s need, unless an exception is granted by the Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA). Where a BIC-designated contract is not suitable, agencies should consider using another government-wide contract or BPA.
• HCA approval is no longer required for single-award BPAs over $100 million.
• General Services Acquisition Manual (GSAM/R) Part 538 is revised to incorporate the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ordering procedures. FAR Parts 38 (Federal Supply Schedule Contracting) and 51 (Use of Government Sources by Contractors) are also deleted and moved to GSAM/R 538.71 and FAR Part 8, respectively, in order to centralize information and supply chain security policies.
• Agencies may approve FSS contractors’ use of other FSS contracts in performance of an FSS order.
• FSS contractors have three days to request a brief explanation of the basis for an award decision, which aligns with general debriefing timelines.
• Agencies may rely on GSA’s contractor responsibility determinations at the FSS contract level – agencies are not required to make additional responsibility determinations. GSA’s class deviations implementing the FAR Council’s Part 8 model deviation text and GSAR model deviation text will become effective November 3, 2025.

FAR Part 12 – Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services

Key rewrites:

• FAR Part 12 has been reorganized into four subparts: (1) Pre-solicitation; (2) Solicitation, Evaluation and Award; (3) Post-Award; and (4) Micro-purchases.
• Simplified procedures for purchases of commercial products and services up to $7.5 million (or $15 million for emergencies/major disasters) have been moved from Part 13 to Part 12.
• The “commercial service” definition at FAR 2.101 has been revised to include construction. The “commercially available off-the-shelf item or COTS Item” definition has been revised to remove the specific parenthetical inclusion of construction materials in the definition, and the “nondevelopmental item” definition has been revised to remove the “exclusively for governmental purposes” qualifier.
• Two “master” clauses, 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Products and Commercial Services, and 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Products and Commercial Services, have been removed. The number of provisions and clauses in FAR Part 12 overall has been reduced from 154 to 108. Required solicitation and contract clauses are listed in new tables at section 12.205.
• Revisions to subpart 12.2 state that if commercial products or commercial services that meet agency needs are available from any priority source identified in Part 8, including existing government-wide contracts, agencies must procure commercial products or commercial services from that source.
• A new provision in Section 12.201, Solicitation procedures, encourages agencies to use innovative approaches to the maximum extent practicable when soliciting quotations and issuing purchase orders to reduce costs and lead time, improve opportunities for small business concerns, promote efficiency, and avoid unnecessary burdens for agencies and contractors.
• New provisions in Section 12.203, Evaluation, (i) instruct contracting officers to exercise good business judgment in deciding whether to accept a quotation or offer received after the due date and (ii) provide that contracting officers have broad discretion in establishing evaluation procedures for quotations.

GSA’s class deviation implementing the FAR Council’s Part 12 model deviation text will become effective November 3, 2025.

Crowell will continue to monitor the RFO developments and FAR deviations.