In recent months, the revamping of the FAR has been a big topic of discussion for federal contractors and those who work with them. This project is referred to as FAR 2.0 or the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul or simply RFO. An executive order got the ball rolling, setting forth the mandate to create FAR 2.0 within 180 days from April 15, 2025, which puts the deadline as October 12, 2025.
The GSA has described its goals with the FAR overhaul by using some interesting metaphors. It says the FAR overhaul will be like a renovation of an old apartment building, taking things down to the studs while preserving the structural integrity of the original design. GSA acknowledged the inevitable growing pains for this adaption process using another metaphor—the “wobbly” phase of learning to ride a bike. As noted in the GSA post: “Let’s be honest—there will be an adjustment period, and it might be uncomfortable. This discomfort is normal. In fact, it’s a necessary part of growth. Remember learning to ride a bicycle? The wobbly phase was frustrating but essential to eventually riding with confidence.”
In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the proposed new parts (and missing old parts) that will be present in the proposed FAR revision. The idea behind this overhaul is to get the FAR back to its statutory roots, simplify the procurement process, and make things easier for all participants in the federal acquisition system. Those awaiting this update are, however, understandably anxious about what this means for a process that, while complicated, is familiar to them. We’ll dig into the motivating concepts and functions of the overhaul process itself, and then give some examples of proposed updated language to give readers a sense of what’s to come.
Overview of FAR Overhaul
As discussed in this post, FAR 2.0 is a result of Executive Order 14275, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement. The goal with these changes is a clearer, more navigable FAR that streamlines the disparate FAR regulations that evolved piecemeal as individual situations were addressed in isolation. Language that isn’t based in statutory rules (or Executive Orders) will be removed and instead synthesized into non-regulatory buying guides that are designed to provide guidance to Contracting Officers and contractors while providing both more freedom to structure their requisitions and proposals as they see fit.
According to FAR Council Deviation Guidance, the FAR Council will issue model deviation guidance to kickstart the FAR streamlining on a rolling basis. Agencies will be required to adopt this language using their own individual processes until all of the proposed language can be formalized at once through the formal rulemaking process. Agencies will be expected to adopt and apply model deviation text within 30 days of when the FAR Council issues it and then to send the deviations to their contracting workforce. “Agencies must request approval from the Council before issuing RFO class deviations that use FAR text that differs from the Council’s class deviation text.”
However, it doesn’t appear that this 30-day window is being strictly enforced—SBA, for instance, is not listed as having adapted any of the model deviations yet, despite some of them having been issued in early May. However, many agencies, ranging from State to DOJ to Peace Corps, are listed as having adopted at least some of the deviations. It remains to be seen how this rollout timeline will actually go.
The OMB memo regarding FAR 2.0 states that “Most nonstatutory regulations will be replaced with OFPP-endorsed buying guides that highlight proven innovative buying techniques for different phases of the acquisition lifecycle as well solutions and manageable procurement pathways for different types of common goods and services recognized by category management.” It notes that there will be a formal rulemaking after all model language has been released on the website. “Agencies are encouraged to conduct tests where deviations or strategies in buying guides present ways of doing business that are new to the agency and share the results to SAGTesting@gsa.gov.”
Parallel Tracks
The RFO is being implemented through two parallel tracks. Track 1 involves the rewrite into “plain language,” removing non-statutory and unnecessary content, and generally simplifying the FAR to make it more accessible. There is an emphasis on principle over procedure, as the folks behind this update seem to believe that the latter inhibits the former. Thus, this track will rely on the expertise of acquisition professionals to generally do what they think is best, with an eye towards fairness and efficiency, and a baked in distrust of step-by-step instructions. Track 2 will involve the development of the non-mandatory guidelines mentioned earlier. These will include things like Practitioner Albums designed to “help contracting workforce apply the streamlined FAR in real-world buying scenarios.”
While it’s easy enough for these drafters to speak about how removing detailed instructions and rules will make things easier for the professionals to simply do what they know is best, those professionals currently awaiting the new language may be concerned that getting rid of step-by-step instructions could confuse things instead of clarifying them. With that said, the proposed language to this point is not quite as “revolutionary” as it purports to be so far.
Here are some examples of how the FAR is proposed to be changed to this point.
Part 43 – Contract Modifications
FAR Part 43’s update seems to be complete based on this Practitioner Album. As that helpful guidance notes, the content remains virtually unchanged, with the biggest change being a renumbering of the subparts. By comparing the updated language to the previous language, it’s clear to see that the FAR Council thought starting the subsection numbering at “0” wasn’t plain enough, bumping each subsection up a number so that it starts at one (e.g., what was FAR 43.000 has become 43.100, 43.1 has become 43.2, and so on). The statutory requirements for FAR part 43 have been preserved, including but not limited to requirements for valid obligations of appropriated funds (31 U.S.C. § 1501), prohibition against obligations in excess of available funds (31 U.S.C. § 1341), and procedures for resolving contract disputes (41 U.S.C. §§ 7101-7109).
More substantively, several individual clauses have been removed from various subsections. The individual sections removed can be seen here. Referring to their numbering, these removed sections are as follows:
- 43.000(a). Referring to “Orders for supplies or services.”
- 43.104(b). Referring to FAR 52.243-7, Notification of Changes.
- 43.106. This clause was reserved and empty.
- 43.203(a). Referring to contractors’ “possible need to revise their accounting procedures.”
- 43.204(b)(2),(3), and (5) (as well as the last sentence of (b)(4)). Mainly dealing with “contract administration office” and coordination with contracting officers, as well as “field pricing review of requests for equitable adjustment.”
Everything else in Part 43 has survived into the proposed model language.
These deletions mostly accomplish a slight narrowing of the scope of the part and the elimination of some notification requirements. The load has been lightened to some extent for contracting officers, who have fewer hoops to jump through if they want to negotiated equitable adjustments or adjust contracts. The removed content comes down mostly to specific procedures expected of contracting officers for the change order process, which is consistent with the stated goal of lending more discretion to acquisition professionals. The full model deviation text can be found here.
Part 52 – Solicitation Provisions and Contract Clauses
This part’s updates seem to be a bit more extensive (understandable given that it’s a larger part than 43). As more parts are updated, the corresponding clauses are updated as well. As such, it’s still a work in progress—there is some proposed model deviation text, but the full part has yet to be officially issued by the FAR Council. Looking at just section 52.243-1 as an example, we can see similar changes to those made in Part 43.
In the previous iteration of the FAR, section 52.243-1 referred to a prescription by 43.205(a)(1). As that section received the renumbering described above, 52.243 has been updated to now refer to 43.305(a)(1). The focus on making the regulatory language plainer and more accessible is also observed here. “The 30-day period may be varied according to agency procedures” has become “Agency procedures may vary the 30-day period.” The subsequent six subsections of 52.243 feature similar revisions, updating the referenced subsection in Part 43 and slightly streamlining the phrasing—the substance of the provisions remains basically unchanged, however.
Takeaways
In summary, the RFO is spearheaded by the FAR Council with the aim of eliminating clunky or unnecessary restrictions and rewriting language to make it plainer and clearer. This is being done in phases, with proposed language issued and adopted by agencies until the whole update can be executed through a formal rulemaking process. As of yet, however, the changes don’t seem to be quite as revolutionary as anticipated. There has been some substantive elimination of content, granting contracting officers greater discretion to act as they see fit in carrying out the acquisition principles of fairness and efficiency. But for the most part the updates we’ve seen have been renumberings and minor changes to regulatory language.
Nonetheless, contractors and other acquisition professionals will want to keep an eye out as more model deviation text is issued. It will also be important to track which agencies have made the required implementation of that language, as some have been quicker to do so than others. This page is a handy reference for what’s been issued and which agencies have adopted it. Additionally, as we get further into the process and more language is issued, it’s likely that questions may arise. This helpful FAQ page is a great place to look first. As always though, specific or consequential questions are best reserved for counsel. And last but not least, keep an eye out here—as new updates are issued, we’ll be reading through them to discuss any major changes. If we see something big, we’ll let you know about it.
Editor’s Note: Special thanks to our wonderful legal clerk Will Orlowski for putting together this blog post.
Questions about this post? Email us. Need legal assistance? Call us at 785-200-8919.
Looking for the latest government contracting legal news? Sign up for our free monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.