FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 17: Special Contracting Methods › Subpart 17.1
FAR 17.103 Definitions.
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 defines key terms used in multiyear contracting, such as cancellation, cancellation ceiling, cancellation charge, multiyear contract, nonrecurring costs, and recurring costs. It matters to contractors because it clarifies what happens if funds are not appropriated for later years of a multiyear contract, including potential cancellation charges.
Applies to: Contractors involved in multiyear contracts
Key terms: Cancellation · Cancellation ceiling · Cancellation charge · Multiyear contract · Nonrecurring costs
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
As used in this subpart—
Cancellation means the cancellation (within a contractually specified time) of the total requirements of all remaining program years. Cancellation results when the contracting officer
(1) Notifies the contractor of nonavailability of funds for contract performance for any subsequent program year, or
(2) Fails to notify the contractor that funds are available for performance of the succeeding program year requirement.
Cancellation ceiling means the maximum cancellation charge that the contractor can receive in the event of cancellation.
Cancellation charge means the amount of unrecovered costs which would have been recouped through amortization over the full term of the contract, including the term canceled.
Multiyear contract means a contract for the purchase of supplies or services for more than 1, but not more than 5, program years. A multiyear contract may provide that performance under the contract during the second and subsequent years of the contract is contingent upon the appropriation of funds, and (if it does so provide) may provide for a cancellation payment to be made to the contractor if appropriations are not made. The key distinguishing difference between multiyear contracts and multiple year contracts is that multiyear contracts, defined in the statutes cited at 17.101, buy more than 1 year's requirement (of a product or service) without establishing and having to exercise an option for each program year after the first.
Nonrecurring costs means those costs which are generally incurred on a one-time basis and include such costs as plant or equipment relocation, plant rearrangement, special tooling and special test equipment, preproduction engineering, initial spoilage and rework, and specialized work force training.
Recurring costs means costs that vary with the quantity being produced, such as labor and materials.
← 17.102 Applicability. · 17.104 General. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 16, 17, and 35 ↗ · proposed 2026-09-18 · comments due 2026-10-19
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · final rule 2025-08-27 · effective 2025-10-01
- Federal Acquisition Regulation; Technical Amendments ↗ · final rule 2025-05-12 · effective 2025-06-11
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition ↗ · proposed 2025-01-15 · comments due 2025-03-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · proposed 2024-11-29 · comments due 2025-01-28
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Prohibition on the Use of Reverse Auctions for Complex, Specialized, or Substantial Design and Construction Services ↗ · proposed 2024-08-29 · comments due 2024-10-28
- Federal Acquisition Regulation; Technical Amendments ↗ · final rule 2024-07-30 · effective 2024-08-29
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Reverse Auction Guidance ↗ · final rule 2024-07-30 · effective 2024-08-29
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.