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FAR and DFARS › DFARS Part 203: Improper Business Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest › Subpart 203.9

DFARS 203.904 Procedures for filing complaints.

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 a contractor or subcontractor employee can file a complaint with the Department of Defense Inspector General if they believe they were retaliated against for making a disclosure, contrary to the policy in 203.903. It sets a three-year deadline and lists what the signed complaint must include. It matters because it tells contractors and their employees the process and required contents for such complaints.

Applies to: Employees of a contractor or subcontractor who believe they were retaliated against for a disclosure

What it requires

  • File the complaint with the Inspector General of the Department of Defense
  • File no more than three years after the alleged reprisal
  • Sign the complaint
  • Include the required information: contractor name; contract number or description; violated law, rule, or regulation; nature of disclosure and recipient; and specific nature and date of reprisal

Key terms: Inspector General of the Department of Defense · complaint · reprisal · disclosure · contractor

Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.

The text

(1) Any employee of a contractor or subcontractor who believes that he or she has been discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against contrary to the policy in 203.903 may file a complaint with the Inspector General of the Department of Defense.

(2) A complaint may not be brought under this section more than three years after the date on which the alleged reprisal took place.

(3) The complaint shall be signed and shall contain—

(i) The name of the contractor;

(ii) The contract number, if known; if not, a description reasonably sufficient to identify the contract(s) involved;

(iii) The violation of law, rule, or regulation giving rise to the disclosure;

(iv) The nature of the disclosure giving rise to the discriminatory act, including the party to whom the information was disclosed; and

(v) The specific nature and date of the reprisal.

Sections it refers to

← 203.903 Policy. · 203.905 Procedures for investigating complaints. →

Rule changes for DFARS Part 203

Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.