FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 12: Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services › Subpart 12.2
FAR 12.201 General.
The codified text (eCFR, as of 2026-10-02). Under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul ↗, agencies follow class deviations with new text for many parts while the formal rules go through the Federal Register: check the solicitation and your contract's clauses, which rule.
In plain English
This section introduces the special requirements that apply when the government buys commercial products and commercial services, aiming to keep those purchases similar to normal commercial marketplace transactions. It also flags that there are additional planning, solicitation, evaluation, and award considerations for these contracts. It matters to contractors because it signals that commercial-item acquisitions follow a distinct set of rules.
Applies to: Acquisitions of commercial products and commercial services
Key terms: commercial products · commercial services · solicitation · evaluation · award
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
This subpart identifies special requirements for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services intended to more closely resemble those customarily used in the commercial marketplace, as well as other considerations necessary for proper planning, solicitation, evaluation, and award of contracts for commercial products and commercial services.
← 12.103 Commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items. · 12.202 Market research and description of agency need. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 12
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Parts 8, 12, 13, 15, 38, 44, and 51 ↗ · proposed 2026-09-18 · comments due 2026-10-19
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Prohibition on Certain Semiconductor Products and Services ↗ · proposed 2026-02-17 · comments due 2026-04-20
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · final rule 2025-08-27 · effective 2025-10-01
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Ending Procurement and Forced Use of Paper Straws ↗ · proposed 2025-07-21 · comments due 2025-09-19
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Small Business Participation on Certain Multiple-Award Contracts ↗ · proposed 2025-06-12
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Small Business Participation on Certain Multiple-Award Contracts ↗ · proposed 2025-01-15 · comments due 2025-03-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition ↗ · proposed 2025-01-15 · comments due 2025-03-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Controlled Unclassified Information ↗ · proposed 2025-01-15 · comments due 2025-03-17
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.