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Major Overhaul: FAR Council Unveils Key Revisions to Acquisition, Privacy, and Subcontracting Rules
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council is systematically reshaping the FARs, and on August 15, 2025, they released significant revisions to FAR Part 7, Acquisition Planning, FAR Part 24, Protection of Privacy and Freedom of Information, and FAR Part 44, Subcontracting Policies and Procedures. These updates, published on September 9, 2025, signal a move towards greater flexibility, efficiency, and a renewed focus on small business participation in federal contracting.
FAR Part 7: Dynamic Acquisition Planning with Small Businesses in Mind
The most extensive changes have been made to FAR Part 7, Acquisition Planning. The Council’s stated intent is to “emphasize flexibility and move away from prescriptive checklists in favor of a dynamic planning process.”
A key highlight is the strengthened consideration of small business concerns, incorporating requirements previously found in FAR Part 10. The revised Part 7 unifies requirements for bundling, substantial bundling, and consolidation to ensure any potential negative impact on small businesses is carefully assessed.
Key changes for Acquisition Planning include:
- Diverse Planning Teams: Acquisition planning teams should now include a wide range of personnel, such as contracting, small business, fiscal, legal, technical experts, and combatant commanders or chiefs of mission.
- Small Business Coordination: Agencies must coordinate their acquisition plans with appropriate small business specialists whenever consolidation or bundling strategies are involved.
- New Requirements for Bundling/Consolidation: For consolidated or bundled contracts, agencies are now required to conduct market research, identify alternative contracting approaches that involve less consolidation, coordinate with small business offices, identify any negative impacts on small businesses, and take proactive steps to include small businesses in the acquisition strategy.
- Written Justifications: Written justifications for consolidation or bundling are mandatory for specific thresholds: over $2 million for consolidation, any bundling requirements, and substantial bundling above $8 million for DoD, $6 million for NASA, GSA, and DOE, and $2.5 million for all other agencies. These justifications must detail barriers to small business participation and actions to maximize their involvement, including promoting teaming.
- Small Business Notification: Agencies must notify small businesses performing a contract of their intent to consolidate or bundle at least 30 days before issuing the solicitation and publish a public notice.
- Streamlined Processes: The revisions emphasize the use of oral acquisition plans for urgent requests, which can be summarized in a memo to the file, drastically cutting down planning time. Agencies are encouraged to establish procedures for determining when a written or oral plan is appropriate. High-level outcomes such as acquiring commercial products/services, promoting full and open competition, selecting appropriate contract types, and using existing contracts are to be prioritized in planning.
For FAR Part 24, Protection of Privacy and Freedom of Information, the Council opted for minimal changes. The existing policies and procedures, which apply the Privacy Act of 1974 and cite the Freedom of Information Act, remain largely intact. There were no changes to provisions or clauses, with only minor updates for plain language. The Council also noted that best practices for processing FOIA requests for awarded contracts will be included in the forthcoming FAR Companion.
FAR Part 44, Subcontracting Policies and Procedures, saw significant structural revisions. It is now organized by the different parts of the acquisition lifecycle: Subpart 44.1 (Reserved), Subpart 44.2 (Evaluation and Award), Subpart 44.3 (Postaward), and Subpart 44.4 (Subcontracts for Commercial Products and Commercial Services).
Key updates for Subcontracting include:
- Consolidated Evaluation and Award Policies: Subpart 44.2 now consolidates policies related to subcontract consent, advance notification, and the contracting officer’s evaluation process.
- Simplified Review Process: The previous 13-point checklist for reviewing subcontract requests has been replaced with a shorter, higher-level list of four situations that necessitate “careful and thorough review and consideration.”
- Streamlined CPSRs: Sections addressing Contractor Purchasing System Reviews (CPSRs) – FAR 44.303, 44.306, and 44.307 – have been significantly streamlined, with best practices moved to the FAR Companion.
These revisions across Parts 7, 24, and 44 aim to modernize federal acquisition processes, enhance efficiency, and ensure small businesses remain a vital part of government contracting. Contractors should review these updates to understand their implications for future engagements.
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