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48 CFR · Federal Acquisition Regulation and Defense supplement

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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.

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324 sections with “head of the agency”: the first 40

  • FAR 19.602-3 Resolving differences between the agency and the Small Business Administration.
    …ing officer shall request that the Area Office suspend action and refer the matter to SBA Headquarters for review. The SBA Area Office shall honor the request for a review if the contracting officer agrees to withhold award until the review…
  • DFARS 218.270 Head of contracting activity determinations.
    The term “head of the agency” is replaced with “head of the contracting activity,” as defined in FAR 2.101, in the following locations: (a) FAR 2.101: definition of “simplified acquisition threshold.” (b) FAR 12.102(f). (c) FAR 13.201(g)…
  • FAR 3.905-2 Enforcement of orders.
    …contractor or subcontractor fails to comply with an order issued under 3.905-1(a)(2), the head of the agency concerned shall file an action for enforcement of the order in the U.S. district court for a district in which the reprisal was fou…
  • FAR 12.301 Solicitation provisions and contract clauses for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services.
    …tract. This clause may not be tailored. (i) Use the clause with its Alternate I when the head of the agency has waived the examination of records by the Comptroller General in accordance with 25.1001. (ii)(A) If the acquisition will use f…
  • FAR 35.017-7 Limitation on the creation of new FFRDC's.
    …oses of operating an FFRDC that was not in existence before June 2, 1986, until— (a) The head of the agency submits to Congress a report with respect to such center that describes the purpose, mission, and general scope of effort of the ce…
  • FAR 37.204 Guidelines for determining availability of personnel.
    (a) The head of an agency shall determine, for each evaluation or analysis of proposals, if sufficient personnel with the requisite training and capabilities are available within the agency to perform the evaluation or analysis of proposals…
  • FAR 2.101 Definitions.
    …e determinations, see the definition of “small business concern” in this section. Agency head or head of the agency means the Secretary, Attorney General, Administrator, Governor, Chairperson, or other chief official of an executive agency…
  • FAR 3.905-1 Remedies.
    … General report. Not later than 30 days after receiving a report pursuant to 3.904-2, the head of the agency shall— (1) Determine whether sufficient basis exists to conclude that the contractor or subcontractor has subjected the employee w…
  • FAR 3.907-6 Remedies and enforcement authority.
    … disclosure was a contributing factor in the reprisal. (2) Opportunity for rebuttal. The head of an agency may not find the occurrence of a reprisal with respect to a reprisal that is affirmatively established under section 3.907-6(a)(1) i…
  • FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.
    …y company itself is the only source available to work on the system. (4) When the agency head has determined in accordance with the agency's standardization program that only specified makes and models of technical equipment and parts will…
  • FAR 6.304 Approval of the justification.
    …g $90 million, or, for DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, not exceeding $150 million, by the head of the procuring activity, or a designee who— (i) If a member of the armed forces, is a general or flag officer; or (ii) If a civilian, is serv…
  • FAR 7.103 Agency-head responsibilities.
    The agency head or a designee shall prescribe procedures for the following: (a) Promoting and providing for full and open competition (see part 6) or, when full and open competition is not required in accordance with part 6, for obtaining …
  • FAR 14.407-3 Other mistakes disclosed before award.
    …e establishes both the existence of the mistake and the bid actually intended, the agency head may make a determination permitting the bidder to correct the mistake; provided, that if this correction would result in displacing one or more l…
  • FAR 16.504 Indefinite-quantity contracts.
    … exceed $150 million (including all options) may be awarded to a single source unless the head of the agency determines in writing that— (i) The task or delivery orders expected under the contract are so integrally related that only a sing…
  • FAR 19.1305 HUBZone set-aside procedures.
    …tent to appeal, the contracting officer shall suspend action on the acquisition until the head of the contracting activity issues a written decision on the appeal, unless the head of the contracting activity makes a written determination th…
  • FAR 19.1505 Set-aside procedures.
    … The contracting officer shall suspend further action regarding the procurement until the head of the agency issues a written decision on the appeal, unless the head of the agency makes a written determination that urgent and compelling cir…
  • FAR 22.1503 Procedures for acquiring end products on the List of Products Requiring Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor.
    …ntract exceeding the applicable threshold. (f) Proper certification will not prevent the head of an agency from imposing remedies in accordance with section 22.1504(a)(4) if it is later discovered that the contractor has furnished an end p…
  • FAR 25.1102 Acquisition of construction.
    …truction material excepted from the requirements of the Buy American statute. (2) If the head of the agency determines that a higher percentage is appropriate, substitute the higher evaluation percentage in paragraph (b)(3)(i) of the claus…
  • FAR 31.205-6 Compensation for personal services.
    …that country before November 29, 1989. 10 U.S.C. 3744(b) and 41 U.S.C. 4304(b) permit the head of the agency to waive these cost allowability limitations under certain circumstances (see 37.113 and the solicitation provision at 52.237-8). …
  • FAR 37.503 Agency-head responsibilities.
    The agency head or designee should ensure that— (a) Requirements for services are clearly defined and appropriate performance standards are developed so that the agency's requirements can be understood by potential offerors and that perfor…
  • DFARS 202.101 Definitions.
    … Special Operations Command, the United States Transportation Command, and the Washington Headquarters Service. Electronic part means an integrated circuit, a discrete electronic component (including, but not limited to, a transistor, capa…
  • DFARS 203.906 Remedies.
    …an 30 days after receiving a DoD Inspector General report in accordance with 203.905, the head of the agency shall determine whether sufficient basis exists to conclude that the contractor has subjected the complainant to a reprisal as proh…
  • DFARS 206.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.
    …an unsolicited proposal without providing for full and open competition, unless— (1) The head of the contracting activity, or a designee no lower than chief of the contracting office, determines that— (i) Following thorough technical eval…
  • DFARS 206.304 Approval of the justification.
    … 823 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Pub. L. 116-92), the head of the procuring activity is the approval authority for a proposed sole-source 8(a) contract exceeding $100 million. This authority may only be d…
  • DFARS 217.172 Multiyear contracts for supplies.
    …nd other multiyear acquisitions specifically authorized by law (10 U.S.C. 3501). (b) The head of the agency may enter into a multiyear contract for supplies if, in addition to the conditions listed in FAR 17.105-1(b), the use of such a con…
  • DFARS 218.201 Contingency operation.
    … be required to provide DoD item unique identification if the items, as determined by the head of the contracting activity, are to be used to support a contingency operation. See 211.274-2(b). (3) Use of the Governmentwide commercial purch…
  • DFARS 237.503 Agency-head responsibilities.
    (c) The agency head or designee shall employ procedures to ensure that requirements for service contracts are vetted and approved as a safeguard to prevent contracts from being awarded or administered in a manner that constitutes an unautho…
  • DFARS 252.251-7001 Use of Interagency Fleet Management System (IFMS) vehicles and related services.
    …, Attention: Motor Equipment Activity. Submit requests for more than five vehicles to GSA headquarters: General Services Administration, FTM, Washington, DC 20406. Include the following in each request: (1) Two copies of the agency authori…
  • FAR 3.904-2 Procedures for investigating complaints.
    …l be in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 4712(b). (b) Upon completion of the investigation, the head of the agency shall ensure that the report of findings has been provided by the Inspector General to the head of the agency and to— (1) The comp…
  • FAR 9.202 Policy.
    (a)(1) The head of the agency or designee shall, before establishing a qualification requirement, prepare a written justification— (i) Stating the necessity for establishing the qualification requirement and specifying why the qualificatio…
  • FAR 9.405 Effect of listing.
    … award contracts to, or consent to subcontracts with these contractors, unless the agency head determines that there is a compelling reason for such action (see 9.405-1(a)(2), 9.405-2, 9.406-1(d), 9.407-1(d), and 26.505(e)). Contractors deb…
  • FAR 14.404-1 Cancellation of invitations after opening.
    …d before award but after opening when, consistent with paragraph (a)(1) above, the agency head determines in writing that— (1) Inadequate or ambiguous specifications were cited in the invitation; (2) Specifications have been revised; (3)…
  • FAR 16.505 Ordering.
    …Coast Guard, not exceeding $150 million), the justification must be approved by— (i) The head of the procuring activity placing the order; (ii) A designee who— (A) If a member of the armed forces, is a general or flag officer; (B) If a …
  • FAR 17.106-3 Special procedures applicable to DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard.
    …n exception to normal contract financing arrangements and requires approval by the agency head. (f) Annual and multiyear proposals. Obtaining both annual and multiyear offers provides reduced lead time for making an annual award in the eve…
  • FAR 18.202 Defense or recovery from certain events.
    (a) Micro-purchase threshold. The threshold increases when the head of the agency determines the supplies or services are to be used to facilitate defense against or recovery from cyber, nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack…
  • FAR 19.602-2 Issuing or denying a Certificate of Competency (COC).
    …ly for a COC should notify the SBA Area Office serving the geographical area in which the headquarters of the offeror is located.) (b) Upon timely receipt of a complete and acceptable application, elect to visit the applicant's facility to…
  • FAR 25.106 Determining reasonableness of cost.
    … (1) Must use the evaluation factors in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section unless the head of the agency makes a written determination that the use of higher factors is more appropriate. If the determination applies to all agency acquis…
  • FAR 25.204 Evaluating offers of foreign construction material.
    …rial that is not a critical item and does not contain critical components. (i) Unless the head of the agency specifies a higher percentage, the contracting officer shall add to the offered price 20 percent of the cost of any foreign constru…
  • FAR 25.603 Exceptions.
    …without regard to the restrictions of the Buy American statute: (i) Nonavailability. The head of the contracting activity may determine that a particular construction material is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in…
  • FAR 25.1001 Waiver of right to examination of records.
    …uch as alternate sources of supply, additional cost, and time of delivery; and (iii) The head of the agency has executed a determination and findings in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section, with the concurrence of the Comptroller…

FAR (chapter 1)

DFARS (chapter 2, Defense)

Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Rule changes in progress: FAR, DFARS. Terms: glossary.