FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 52: Solicitation Provisions and Contract Clauses › Subpart 52.2
FAR 52.224-2 Privacy Act.
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 clause requires contractors working on a system of records on individuals for an agency function to follow the Privacy Act and related agency rules. It also requires the contractor to pass the Privacy Act notification and this clause down to subcontracts that involve such work. Under the clause, when the contract is for operating a system of records, the contractor and its employees are treated as agency employees for purposes of the Act.
Applies to: Contractors and subcontractors performing design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function
What it requires
- Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 and agency rules issued under it for the identified system of records and work
- Include the Privacy Act notification in every solicitation and resulting subcontract, and in every subcontract awarded without a solicitation, when the subcontract work requires design, development, or operation of a covered system of records
- Include this clause, including subparagraph (3), in all subcontracts awarded under this contract that require design, development, or operation of such a system of records
Key terms: Privacy Act of 1974 · system of records on individuals · operation of a system of records · record · subcontract
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
As prescribed in 24.104, insert the following clause in solicitations and contracts, when the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals is required to accomplish an agency function:
Privacy Act (APR 1984)
(a) The Contractor agrees to—
(1) Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act) and the agency rules and regulations issued under the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies—
(i) The systems of records; and
(ii) The design, development, or operation work that the contractor is to perform;
(2) Include the Privacy Act notification contained in this contract in every solicitation and resulting subcontract and in every subcontract awarded without a solicitation, when the work statement in the proposed subcontract requires the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals that is subject to the Act; and
(3) Include this clause, including this subparagraph (3), in all subcontracts awarded under this contract which requires the design, development, or operation of such a system of records.
(b) In the event of violations of the Act, a civil action may be brought against the agency involved when the violation concerns the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, and criminal penalties may be imposed upon the officers or employees of the agency when the violation concerns the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function. For purposes of the Act, when the contract is for the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, the Contractor and any employee of the Contractor is considered to be an employee of the agency.
(c)(1) Operation of a system of records, as used in this clause, means performance of any of the activities associated with maintaining the system of records, including the collection, use, and dissemination of records.
(2) Record, as used in this clause, means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains the person's name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a fingerprint or voiceprint or a photograph.
(3) System of records on individuals, as used in this clause means a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual.
(End of clause)
← 52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification. · 52.224-3 Privacy Training. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 52
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Parts 8, 12, 13, 15, 38, 44, and 51 ↗ · proposed 2026-09-18 · comments due 2026-10-19
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 16, 17, and 35 ↗ · proposed 2026-09-18 · comments due 2026-10-19
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 9, 27, and 47 ↗ · proposed 2026-09-18 · comments due 2026-10-19
- 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: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 3 and 49 ↗ · proposed 2026-06-23 · comments due 2026-07-23
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 5, 24, and 29 ↗ · proposed 2026-06-23 · comments due 2026-07-23
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 6, 7, 10, 18, 26, 37, and 41 ↗ · proposed 2026-06-23 · comments due 2026-07-23
- 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
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.