FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 12: Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services › Subpart 12.5
FAR 12.505 Applicability of certain laws to contracts for the acquisition of COTS items.
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 says that COTS items are a subset of commercial products, so the laws listed in FAR 12.503 and 12.504 also do not apply or apply differently to COTS contracts. It then lists additional laws that are not applicable to contracts for COTS items, including certain Buy American domestic content provisions, a recovered material certification, and a trafficking compliance plan requirement.
Applies to: Contracts and subcontracts for the acquisition of COTS items
Key terms: COTS items · commercial products · Buy American—Supplies · Buy American—Construction Materials · Ending trafficking in Government Contracting
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
COTS items are a subset of commercial products. Therefore, any laws listed in sections 12.503 and 12.504 are also inapplicable or modified in their applicability to contracts or subcontracts for the acquisition of COTS items. In addition, the following laws are not applicable to contracts for the acquisition of COTS items:
(a)(1) The portion of 41 U.S.C. 8302, American Materials Required for Public Use, paragraph (a)(1) that reads “substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States,” Buy American—Supplies, domestic content test, except as provided in 25.101(a)(2)(ii) (see 52.225-1 and 52.225-3).
(2) The portion of 41 U.S.C. 8303, Contracts for Public Works, paragraph (a)(2) that reads “substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States,” Buy American—Construction Materials, domestic content test, except as provided in 25.201(b)(2)(ii)(see 52.225-9 and 52.225-11).
(b) 42 U.S.C. 6962(c)(3)(A), Certification and Estimate of Percentage of Recovered Material.
(c) Compliance Plan and Certification Requirement, section 1703 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (Pub. L. 112-239), Title XVII, Ending trafficking in Government Contracting (see 52.222-50(h) and 52.222-56).
Sections it refers to
- 12.503 Applicability of certain laws to Executive agency contracts for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services.
- 12.504 Applicability of certain laws to subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services.
- 25.101 General.
- 52.225-1 Buy American—Supplies.
- 52.225-3 Buy American—Free Trade Agreements—Israeli Trade Act.
- 25.201 Policy.
- 52.225-9 Buy American—Construction Materials.
- 52.225-11 Buy American—Construction Materials Under Trade Agreements.
- 52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons.
- 52.222-56 Certification Regarding Trafficking in Persons Compliance Plan.
Sections that refer to it
- 12.103 Commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items.
- 12.502 Procedures.
- 25.101 General.
- 25.201 Policy.
- 52.225-1 Buy American—Supplies.
- 52.225-3 Buy American—Free Trade Agreements—Israeli Trade Act.
- 52.225-9 Buy American—Construction Materials.
- 52.225-11 Buy American—Construction Materials Under Trade Agreements.
- 212.505 Applicability of certain laws to contracts for the acquisition of COTS items.
- 252.225-7001 Buy American and Balance of Payments Program.
← 12.504 Applicability of certain laws to subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services. · 12.601 General. →
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.