FAR and DFARS › DFARS Part 203: Improper Business Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest › Subpart 203.9
DFARS 203.900 Scope of subpart.
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 subpart sets out whistleblower protections for DoD contractor employees under 10 U.S.C. 4701, replacing the comparable FAR rules. It also bars awarding DoD contracts to contractors that make employees sign confidentiality agreements restricting lawful reports of waste, fraud, or abuse to authorized DoD investigative or law enforcement representatives.
Applies to: DoD contractors and subcontractors and their employees, except elements of the intelligence community
What it requires
- Do not require employees to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements that prohibit or restrict them from lawfully reporting waste, fraud, or abuse related to DoD contract performance to an authorized DoD investigative or law enforcement representative
Key terms: whistleblower protection · internal confidentiality agreements · intelligence community · waste, fraud, or abuse · designated investigative or law enforcement representative
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
This subpart implements 10 U.S.C. 4701 and section 883 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Pub. L. 116-283).
(a)(i) 10 U.S.C. 4701 provides DoD whistleblower protection policies and procedures for contractor employees. Use sections 203.901 through 203.906 of this subpart in lieu of FAR sections 3.901 through 3.906 to implement 10 U.S.C. 4701.
(ii) 10 U.S.C. 4701 does not apply to any element of the intelligence community, as defined in 50 U.S.C. 3003(4). Sections 203.901 through 203.906 do not apply to any disclosure made by an employee of a contractor or subcontractor of an element of the intelligence community if such disclosure—
(A) Relates to an activity or an element of the intelligence community; or
(B) Was discovered during contract or subcontract services provided to an element of the intelligence community.
(c) Section 883 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Pub. L. 116-283) prohibits the award of a DoD contract to contractors that require their employees to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements that would prohibit or otherwise restrict such employees from lawfully reporting waste, fraud, or abuse related to the performance of a DoD contract to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative within DoD authorized to receive such information.
← 203.806 Processing suspected violations. · 203.901 Definitions. →
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.