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FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 4: Administrative and Information Matters › Subpart 4.7

FAR 4.704 Calculation of retention periods.

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 to calculate how long contractors must keep records under FAR 4.705. Retention periods generally start at the end of the contractor's fiscal year in which the last cost entry is made, but special rules apply when records support a later contract or when different record types are mixed together. It matters because it tells contractors when their recordkeeping obligations begin and end.

Applies to: Government contractors and subcontractors that create or keep records related to Government contracts

What it requires

  • Cut off records in annual blocks and retain them for block disposal under the prescribed retention periods.
  • If records from a prior contract are relied upon for certified cost or pricing data in a succeeding contract, run the prescribed periods from the date of the succeeding contract.
  • If two or more record categories are interfiled and screening for disposal is not practical, retain the entire record series for the longest period prescribed for any category.

Key terms: retention periods · fiscal year · entry · certified cost or pricing data · record series

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

The text

(a) The retention periods in 4.705 are calculated from the end of the contractor's fiscal year in which an entry is made charging or allocating a cost to a Government contract or subcontract. If a specific record contains a series of entries, the retention period is calculated from the end of the contractor's fiscal year in which the final entry is made. The contractor should cut off the records in annual blocks and retain them for block disposal under the prescribed retention periods.

(b) When records generated during a prior contract are relied upon by a contractor for certified cost or pricing data in negotiating a succeeding contract, the prescribed periods shall run from the date of the succeeding contract.

(c) If two or more of the record categories described in 4.705 are interfiled and screening for disposal is not practical, the contractor shall retain the entire record series for the longest period prescribed for any category of records.

Sections it refers to

  • 4.705 Specific retention periods.

← 4.703 Policy. · 4.705 Specific retention periods. →

Rule changes for FAR Part 4

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

FAR 4.704 Calculation of retention periods · SpendQuery