FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 49: Termination of Contracts › Subpart 49.2

FAR 49.206-1 Submission of settlement proposals.

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 contractors should submit settlement proposals after a contract termination. It requires prompt submission, generally within one year, and specifies the content, forms, and accounting details needed. It also provides a short form for small proposals under $10,000.

Applies to: Contractors with terminated contracts seeking settlement

What it requires

  • Submit a settlement proposal promptly to the TCO.
  • Submit the final settlement proposal within one year from the effective date of termination, unless extended by the TCO.
  • Ensure the settlement proposal covers all cost elements, including subcontractor settlements and proposed profit.
  • Use the prescribed forms and provide reasonable detail supported by adequate accounting data.

Key terms: TCO · settlement proposal · termination clause · SF 1438 · SF 1439

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

The text

(a) Subject to the provisions of the termination clause, the contractor should promptly submit to the TCO a settlement proposal for the amount claimed because of the termination. The final settlement proposal must be submitted within one year from the effective date of the termination, unless the period is extended by the TCO. Termination charges under a single prime contract involving two or more divisions or units of the prime contractor may be consolidated and included in a single settlement proposal.

(b) The settlement proposal must cover all cost elements including settlements with subcontractors and any proposed profit. With the consent of the TCO, proposals may be filed in successive steps covering separate portions of the contractor's costs. Such interim proposals shall include all costs of a particular type, except as the TCO may authorize otherwise.

(c) Settlement proposals must be on the forms prescribed in 49.602 unless the forms are inadequate for a particular contract. Settlement proposals must be in reasonable detail supported by adequate accounting data. Actual, standard (appropriately adjusted), or average costs may be used in preparing settlement proposals if they are determined under generally recognized accounting principles consistently followed by the contractor. When actual, standard, or average costs are not reasonably available, estimated costs may be used if the method of arriving at the estimates is approved by the TCO. Contractors shall not be required to maintain unduly elaborate cost accounting systems merely because their contracts may subsequently be terminated.

(d) The contractor may use the Settlement Proposal (Short Form), SF 1438 (see 49.602-1(d) and 53.249), when the total proposal is less than $10,000, unless otherwise instructed by the TCO. Settlement proposals that would normally be included in a single settlement proposal; e.g., those based on a series of separate orders for the same item under one contract, should be consolidated whenever possible and not divided to bring them below $10,000.

(e) The Schedule of Accounting Information, SF 1439, must be submitted for each termination under a contract for which a settlement proposal is submitted, except when the Standard Form 1438 is used. Although several interim proposals may be submitted, SF 1439 need be submitted only once unless, subsequent to filing the original form, major changes occur in the information submitted.

Sections it refers to

  • 49.602 Forms for settlement of terminated contracts.
  • 49.602-1 Termination settlement proposal forms.
  • 53.249 Termination of contracts.

Sections that refer to it

  • 49.602-1 Termination settlement proposal forms.
  • 49.602-3 Schedule of accounting information.

← 49.206 Settlement proposals. · 49.206-2 Bases for settlement proposals. →

Rule changes for FAR Part 49

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

FAR 49.206-1 Submission of settlement proposals · SpendQuery