FAR and DFARS › DFARS Part 203: Improper Business Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest › Subpart 203.7
DFARS 203.703 Authority.
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 limits who can act for the agency head under this subpart to an official appointed with Senate advice and consent, and that authority cannot be redelegated. For defense agencies, the designated agency head is the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment). It matters because it tells contractors which high-level official holds this authority and that it cannot be passed down.
Applies to: The agency head authority under this subpart, including defense agencies
Key terms: agency head · without power of redelegation · defense agencies · Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment)
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
The authority to act for the agency head under this subpart is limited to a level no lower than an official who is appointed by and with the advice of the Senate, without power of redelegation. For the defense agencies, for purposes of this subpart, the agency head designee is the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment).
← 203.570-3 Contract clause. · 203.806 Processing suspected violations. →
Rule changes for DFARS Part 203
- Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds (DFARS Case 2024-D002) ↗ · final rule 2025-08-25 · effective 2025-10-01
- Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds (DFARS Case 2024-D002) ↗ · proposed 2025-01-17 · comments due 2025-03-18
- Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Inapplicability of Additional Defense-Unique Laws and Certain Non-Statutory DFARS Clauses to Commercial Item Contracts (DFARS Case 2018-D074) ↗ · final rule 2024-11-15 · effective 2024-11-25
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.