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FAR and DFARS › DFARS Part 212: Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services › Subpart 212.5

DFARS 212.505 Applicability of certain laws to contracts for the acquisition of COTS items.

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 says that COTS items are a subset of commercial products, so the laws already excluded or modified for commercial products under FAR 12.503, FAR 12.504, DFARS 212.503, and DFARS 212.504 also apply that way to COTS contracts. It then lists additional laws that are not applicable to contracts for the acquisition of COTS items, with certain exceptions noted in the DFARS. This matters because it tells contractors which statutory requirements do not apply when they sell COTS items to DoD.

Applies to: Contracts for the acquisition of commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items

Key terms: commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items · commercial products · not applicable · modified in their applicability

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

The text

Commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items are a subset of commercial products. Therefore, any laws listed at FAR 12.503, FAR 12.504, 212.503, or 212.504 are also not applicable or are modified in their applicability to contracts for the acquisition of COTS items. In addition to the laws listed at FAR 12.505 as specifically not applicable to COTS items, the following laws are not applicable to contracts for the acquisition of COTS items:

(1) 10 U.S.C. 391, Reporting on Cyber Incidents with Respect to Networks and Information Systems of Operationally Critical Contractors and Certain Other Contractors, and 10 U.S.C. 393, Reporting on Penetrations of Networks and Information Systems of Certain Contractors.

(2) Paragraph (a)(1) of 10 U.S.C. 4863, Requirement to buy strategic materials critical to national security from American sources, except as provided at 225.7003-3(b)(2)(i).

(3) Paragraph (a)(1) of 10 U.S.C. 4872, Prohibition on acquisition of sensitive materials from non-allied foreign nations, except as provided at 225.7018-3(c)(1).

Sections it refers to

  • 12.503 Applicability of certain laws to Executive agency contracts for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services.
  • 12.504 Applicability of certain laws to subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services.
  • 212.503 Applicability of certain laws to Executive agency contracts for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services.
  • 212.504 Applicability of certain laws to subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services.
  • 12.505 Applicability of certain laws to contracts for the acquisition of COTS items.
  • 225.7003-3 Exceptions.
  • 225.7018-3 Exceptions.

← 212.504 Applicability of certain laws to subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services. · 212.602 Streamlined evaluation of offers. →

Rule changes for DFARS Part 212

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

DFARS 212.505 Applicability of certain laws to contracts for the acquisition of COTS items · SpendQuery