FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 36: Construction and Architect-engineer Contracts › Subpart 36.5
FAR 36.501 Performance of work by the contractor.
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 requires contractors on larger construction projects to perform a significant part of the work with their own forces, expressed as a minimum percentage in the contract. The contracting officer sets that percentage, ordinarily not less than 12 percent unless a higher percentage is required by law or agency regulation. It also tells the contracting officer when to include the Performance of Work by the Contractor clause (52.236-1) in solicitations and contracts.
Applies to: Contractors on larger fixed-price construction projects and the contracting officers who award them
What it requires
- Perform a significant part of the contract work with your own forces, as expressed by the percentage stated in the contract
Key terms: own forces · percentage · specialty subcontracting · 52.236-1, Performance of Work by the Contractor · fixed-price construction contract
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
(a) To assure adequate interest in and supervision of all work involved in larger projects, the contractor shall be required to perform a significant part of the contract work with its own forces. The contract shall express this requirement in terms of a percentage that reflects the minimum amount of work the contractor must perform with its own forces. This percentage is (1) as high as the contracting officer considers appropriate for the project, consistent with customary or necessary specialty subcontracting and the complexity and magnitude of the work, and (2) ordinarily not less than 12 percent unless a greater percentage is required by law or agency regulation. Specialties such as plumbing, heating, and electrical work are usually subcontracted, and should not normally be considered in establishing the amount of work required to be performed by the contractor.
(b) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.236-1, Performance of Work by the Contractor, in solicitations and contracts, except those awarded pursuant to subparts 19.5, 19.8, 19.13, 19.14, or 19.15 when a fixed-price construction contract is contemplated and the contract amount is expected to exceed $2 million. The contracting officer may insert the clause on solicitations and contracts when a fixed-price construction contract is contemplated and the contract amount is expected to be $2 million or less.
Sections it refers to
- 52.236-1 Performance of Work by the Contractor.
← 36.500 Scope of subpart. · 36.502 Differing site conditions. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 36
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 14, 28, 36, and 52 ↗ · proposed 2026-09-18 · comments due 2026-10-19
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · final rule 2025-08-27 · effective 2025-10-01
- Federal Acquisition Regulation; Technical Amendments ↗ · final rule 2024-12-16 · effective 2025-01-03
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · proposed 2024-11-29 · comments due 2025-01-28
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Prohibition on the Use of Reverse Auctions for Complex, Specialized, or Substantial Design and Construction Services ↗ · proposed 2024-08-29 · comments due 2024-10-28
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Sustainable Procurement ↗ · final rule 2024-04-22 · effective 2024-05-22
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.