FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 42: Contract Administration and Audit Services › Subpart 42.12
FAR 42.1205 Agreement to recognize contractor's change of name.
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 a contractor and the Government formally recognize a contractor's change of name when only the name changes and rights and obligations are unaffected. The contractor must send the contracting officer three signed copies of a Change-of-Name Agreement plus documents proving the name change, a legal opinion, and a list of affected contracts. This matters because it provides a clear procedure to update contracts when a contractor changes its name.
Applies to: Contractors that have changed their name and have contracts with the Government.
What it requires
- Execute an agreement to reflect the name change.
- Forward to the responsible contracting officer three signed copies of the Change-of-Name Agreement.
- Provide one copy of the document effecting the name change, authenticated by a proper State official.
- Provide one copy of the opinion of the contractor's legal counsel stating the change was properly effected and showing the effective date.
Key terms: Change-of-Name Agreement · contracting officer · authenticated · unsettled · corporate name
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
(a) If only a change of the contractor's name is involved and the Government's and contractor's rights and obligations remain unaffected, the parties shall execute an agreement to reflect the name change. The contractor shall forward to the responsible contracting officer three signed copies of the Change-of-Name Agreement, and one copy each of the following:
(1) The document effecting the name change, authenticated by a proper official of the State having jurisdiction.
(2) The opinion of the contractor's legal counsel stating that the change of name was properly effected under applicable law and showing the effective date.
(3) A list of all affected contracts and purchase orders remaining unsettled between the contractor and the Government, showing for each the contract number and type, and name and address of the contracting office. The contracting officer may request the total dollar value as amended and the remaining unpaid balance for each contract.
(b) The following suggested format for an agreement may be adapted for specific cases:
CHANGE-OF-NAME AGREEMENT
The ABC CORPORATION (Contractor), a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of ______ [insert State], and the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (Government), enter into this Agreement as of ________ [insert date when the change of name became effective under applicable State law].
(a) THE PARTIES AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING FACTS:
(1) The Government, represented by various Contracting Officers of the ________ [insert name(s) of agency(ies)], has entered into certain contracts and purchase orders with the XYZ CORPORATION, namely: ________ [insert contract or purchase order identifications]; [or delete “namely” and insert “as shown in the attached list marked ‘Exhibit A’ and incorporated in this Agreement by reference.”]. The term the contracts, as used in this Agreement, means the above contracts and purchase orders and all other contracts and purchase orders, including all modifications, made by the Government and the Contractor before the effective date of this Agreement (whether or not performance and payment have been completed and releases executed if the Government or the Contractor has any remaining rights, duties, or obligations under these contracts and purchase orders).
(2) The XYZ CORPORATION, by an amendment to its certificate of incorporation, dated ________, 20__, has changed its corporate name to ABC CORPORATION.
(3) This amendment accomplishes a change of corporate name only and all rights and obligations of the Government and of the Contractor under the contracts are unaffected by this change.
(4) Documentary evidence of this change of corporate name has been filed with the Government.
(b) IN CONSIDERATION OF THESE FACTS, THE PARTIES AGREE THAT—
(1) The contracts covered by this Agreement are amended by substituting the name “ABC CORPORATION” for the name “XYZ CORPORATION” wherever it appears in the contracts; and
(2) Each party has executed this Agreement as of the day and year first above written.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
ABC CORPORATION,
[CORPORATE SEAL]
CERTIFICATE
I, __________, certify that I am the Secretary of ABC CORPORATION; that __________, who signed this Agreement for this corporation, was then ________ of this corporation; and that this Agreement was duly signed for and on behalf of this corporation by authority of its governing body and within the scope of its corporate powers.
Witness my hand and the seal of this corporation this ____ day of ________ 20__.
[CORPORATE SEAL]
Sections that refer to it
- 42.1203 Processing agreements.
← 42.1204 Applicability of novation agreements. · 42.1301 General. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 42
- 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: Subcontracting to Puerto Rican and Covered Territory Small Businesses ↗ · 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: Subcontracting to Puerto Rican and Covered Territory Small Businesses ↗ · proposed 2024-06-07 · comments due 2024-08-06
- 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.