FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 4: Administrative and Information Matters › Subpart 4.1
FAR 4.101 Contracting officer's signature.
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 states that only contracting officers may sign contracts on behalf of the United States. It also requires the contracting officer's name and official title to be typed, stamped, or printed on the contract, and requires the contracting officer to confirm that the contractor's signer has authority to bind the contractor.
Applies to: Contracting officers and contractors signing federal contracts
What it requires
- Only contracting officers shall sign contracts on behalf of the United States.
- The contracting officer's name and official title shall be typed, stamped, or printed on the contract.
- The contracting officer shall ensure that the signer(s) have authority to bind the contractor.
Key terms: contracting officer · sign contracts · official title · authority to bind the contractor
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
Only contracting officers shall sign contracts on behalf of the United States. The contracting officer's name and official title shall be typed, stamped, or printed on the contract. The contracting officer normally signs the contract after it has been signed by the contractor. The contracting officer shall ensure that the signer(s) have authority to bind the contractor (see specific requirements in 4.102 of this subpart).
← 4.001 Definitions. · 4.102 Contractor's signature. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 4
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 1, 2, 4, 33, 39, 40, and 53 ↗ · 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: Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer Programs ↗ · proposed 2025-06-12
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Controlled Unclassified Information ↗ · proposed 2025-01-15 · comments due 2025-03-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate-Related Financial Risk ↗ · proposed 2025-01-13
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Rerepresentation of Size and Socioeconomic Status ↗ · final rule 2025-01-03 · effective 2025-01-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Prohibition on Unmanned Aircraft Systems From Covered Foreign Entities ↗ · final rule 2024-12-30
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · proposed 2024-11-29 · comments due 2025-01-28
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.