FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 3: Improper Business Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest › Subpart 3.11
FAR 3.1103 Procedures.
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 tells contracting officers to include the clause at 52.203-16 in contracts where employees perform acquisition functions closely associated with inherently Governmental functions. It requires those contractors to screen covered employees for personal conflicts of interest, prevent them, protect non-public information, and report violations to the contracting officer.
Applies to: Contractors whose employees perform acquisition functions closely associated with inherently Governmental functions
What it requires
- Have procedures to screen covered employees for potential personal conflicts of interest
- Obtain and maintain initial and updated disclosures of certain interests from covered employees
- Prevent personal conflicts of interest and prohibit use of non-public information for personal gain
- Obtain signed non-disclosure agreements from covered employees
Key terms: covered employee · personal conflict of interest · non-public information · inherently Governmental functions · contracting officer
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
(a) By use of the contract clause at 52.203-16, as prescribed at 3.1106, the contracting officer shall require each contractor whose employees perform acquisition functions closely associated with inherently Government functions to—
(1) Have procedures in place to screen covered employees for potential personal conflicts of interest by—
(i) Obtaining and maintaining from each covered employee, when the employee is initially assigned to the task under the contract, a disclosure of interests that might be affected by the task to which the employee has been assigned, as follows:
(A) Financial interests of the covered employee, of close family members, or of other members of the covered employee's household.
(B) Other employment or financial relationships of the covered employee (including seeking or negotiating for prospective employment or business).
(C) Gifts, including travel; and
(ii) Requiring each covered employee to update the disclosure statement whenever the employee's personal or financial circumstances change in such a way that a new personal conflict of interest might occur because of the task the covered employee is performing.
(2) For each covered employee—
(i) Prevent personal conflicts of interest, including not assigning or allowing a covered employee to perform any task under the contract for which the Contractor has identified a personal conflict of interest for the employee that the Contractor or employee cannot satisfactorily prevent or mitigate in consultation with the contracting agency;
(ii) Prohibit use of non-public information accessed through performance of a Government contract for personal gain; and
(iii) Obtain a signed non-disclosure agreement to prohibit disclosure of non-public information accessed through performance of a Government contract.
(3) Inform covered employees of their obligation—
(i) To disclose and prevent personal conflicts of interest;
(ii) Not to use non-public information accessed through performance of a Government contract for personal gain; and
(iii) To avoid even the appearance of personal conflicts of interest;
(4) Maintain effective oversight to verify compliance with personal conflict-of-interest safeguards;
(5) Take appropriate disciplinary action in the case of covered employees who fail to comply with policies established pursuant to this section; and
(6) Report to the contracting officer any personal conflict-of-interest violation by a covered employee as soon as identified. This report shall include a description of the violation and the proposed actions to be taken by the contractor in response to the violation, with follow-up reports of corrective actions taken, as necessary.
(b) If a contractor reports a personal conflict-of-interest violation by a covered employee to the contracting officer in accordance with paragraph (b)(6) of the clause at 52.203-16, Preventing Personal Conflicts of Interest, the contracting officer shall—
(1) Review the actions taken by the contractor;
(2) Determine whether any action taken by the contractor has resolved the violation satisfactorily; and
(3) If the contracting officer determines that the contractor has not resolved the violation satisfactorily, take any appropriate action in consultation with agency legal counsel.
← 3.1102 Policy. · 3.1104 Mitigation or waiver. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 3
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 3 and 49 ↗ · proposed 2026-06-23 · comments due 2026-07-23
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · final rule 2025-08-27 · effective 2025-10-01
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition ↗ · proposed 2025-01-15 · comments due 2025-03-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Controlled Unclassified Information ↗ · proposed 2025-01-15 · comments due 2025-03-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Improving Consistency Between Procurement and Nonprocurement Procedures on Suspension and Debarment ↗ · final rule 2025-01-03 · effective 2025-01-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · proposed 2024-11-29 · comments due 2025-01-28
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Reverse Auction Guidance ↗ · final rule 2024-07-30 · effective 2024-08-29
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Improving Consistency Between Procurement and Nonprocurement Procedures on Suspension and Debarment ↗ · proposed 2024-01-09 · comments due 2024-03-11
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.