The Federal Government is the largest buyer of goods and services in the world, and executive branch agencies make most of these purchases. Many —although not all— acquisitions by executive branch agencies are subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The FAR was established to codify uniform policies for the acquisition of supplies and services, and it governs the billions of contract dollars expended by the federal government every year.
The Federal Acquisition Policy Division, working with the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), writes and maintains the FAR. The division coordinates with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and other agencies to implement laws, executive orders, other agency regulations, and governmentwide policies into the FAR. The Director of the Office of Governmentwide Acquisition Policy is the chairperson of the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC) which provides representation and engagement for civilian agencies in the FAR rulemaking process (see FAR 1.201-1). The CAAC coordinates FAR changes with the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (DARC).
The public is encouraged to participate in the FAR rulemaking process by submitting comments on proposed rules during their comment period. Public comments are submitted through Regulations.gov. Learn about the various ways the public can contribute to the regulatory process. If you are a member of the public who has a policy or regulation interpretation question, you should contact the contracting officer for the particular solicitation or contract. The contracting officer interprets the FAR for any specific solicitation or contract.
A list of FAR cases currently under development is available in the Open FAR Case Status Report. For inquiries regarding FAR cases, contact the Federal Acquisition Policy Division at FARPolicy@gsa.gov.
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U.S. General Services Administration