FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 19: Small Business Programs › Subpart 19.8
FAR 19.811-1 Sole source.
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 explains how to prepare contracts when a federal agency awards a sole-source contract to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for an 8(a) participant. It details the forms and procedures for both the prime contract between the agency and SBA, and the subcontract between SBA and the 8(a) contractor, including an option to use a single contract document for both. It matters because it ensures proper documentation and authority when using the 8(a) sole-source process.
Applies to: Contracting officers and SBA when awarding sole-source 8(a) contracts
What it requires
- Prepare the contract to SBA in the same detail as a contract with a business concern, using SF 26 or SF 1442 for construction.
- Prepare the contract that SBA will award to the 8(a) participant as if awarding directly, except cite the correct authority for other than full and open competition, include appropriate clauses, and insert SBA-specific items.
- SBA must obtain the 8(a) contractor's signature before signing and returning the prime contract to the contracting officer, aiming to do so within 10 working days.
- If using a single contract document, include the required information and append a tripartite agreement with specified details.
Key terms: SBA · 8(a) participant · sole source · Standard Form 26 · Standard Form 1442
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
(a) The contract to be awarded by the agency to the SBA shall be prepared in accordance with agency procedures and in the same detail as would be required in a contract with a business concern. The contracting officer shall use the Standard Form 26 as the award form, except for construction contracts, in which case the Standard Form 1442 shall be used as required in 36.701(a).
(b) The contracting officer shall prepare the contract that the SBA will award to the 8(a) participant in accordance with agency procedures, as if awarding the contract directly to the 8(a) participant, except for the following:
(1) The award form shall cite 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(5) or 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(5) (as appropriate) as the authority for use of other than full and open competition.
(2) Appropriate clauses shall be included, as necessary, to reflect that the contract is between the SBA and the 8(a) contractor.
(3) The following items shall be inserted by the SBA—
(i) The SBA contract number.
(ii) The effective date.
(iii) The typed name of the SBA's contracting officer.
(iv) The signature of the SBA's contracting officer.
(v) The date signed.
(4) The SBA will obtain the signature of the 8(a) contractor prior to signing and returning the prime contract to the contracting officer for signature. The SBA will make every effort to obtain signatures and return the contract, and any subsequent bilateral modification, to the contracting officer within a maximum of 10 working days.
(c) Except in procurements where the SBA will make advance payments to its 8(a) contractor, the agency contracting officer may, as an alternative to the procedures in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection, use a single contract document for both the prime contract between the agency and the SBA and its 8(a) contractor. The single contract document shall contain the information in paragraphs (b) (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection. Appropriate blocks on the Standard Form (SF) 26 or 1442 will be asterisked and a continuation sheet appended as a tripartite agreement which includes the following:
(1) Agency acquisition office, prime contract number, name of agency contracting officer and lines for signature, date signed, and effective date.
(2) The SBA office, the SBA contract number, name of the SBA contracting officer, and lines for signature and date signed.
(3) Name and lines for the 8(a) contractor's signature and date signed.
(d) For acquisitions not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the contracting officer may use the alternative procedures in paragraph (c) of this subsection with the appropriate simplified acquisition forms.
Sections it refers to
- 36.701 Standard and optional forms for use in contracting for construction or dismantling, demolition, or removal of improvements.
← 19.811 Preparing the contracts. · 19.811-2 Competitive. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 19
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · final rule 2025-08-27 · effective 2025-10-01
- 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: Subcontracting to Puerto Rican and Covered Territory Small Businesses ↗ · final rule 2025-01-03 · effective 2025-01-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Rerepresentation of Size and Socioeconomic Status ↗ · final rule 2025-01-03 · effective 2025-01-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Certification of Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses ↗ · final rule 2024-12-16 · effective 2024-12-16
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · proposed 2024-11-29 · comments due 2025-01-28
- Federal Acquisition Regulation; Technical Amendments ↗ · final rule 2024-08-29 · effective 2024-09-30
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.