The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) recently released the rewrite of FAR Part 19, a notoriously complex set of regulations that covers the policies, procedures and programs designed to maximize small business participation in federal contracting. This rewrite is intended to enhance the intuitiveness and ease of applying regulations to small businesses in the federal procurement process. The FAR Council also issued a Practitioner Album, which summarizes proposed changes to the regulations and provides helpful guidance and resources for navigating small business opportunities within the procurement process. The deviation text is open for informal public comment until Nov. 3.
The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul
The FAR Part 19 rewrite is part of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO), which aims to promote “faster acquisitions, greater competition, and better results” by streamlining and simplifying the FAR. This initiative is led by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the FAR Council, and was spurred by Executive Order 14275, “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement,” which was issued in April 2025.
Implementation of the RFO includes the following components:
- Creating an online presence dedicated to informing contractors and the interested public of RFO developments;
- Removing provisions and policies deemed unnecessary from the current language of the FAR through the formal rulemaking process, after releasing deviation guidance and opening for informal public comment;
- Encouraging agencies to streamline their regulations to ensure they are in accordance with deviation guidance issued by the FAR Council;
- Issuing federal buying guides informed by agency practitioners that promote best practices for streamlining the procurement process and encouraging agencies to test deviations and strategies for implementing these guides; and
- Modernizing buying guide training to cater to technical expertise and workforce efficiency.
FAR Part 19 is designed to facilitate small businesses’ participation in the federal procurement process. The rewrite emphasizes that it is intended to reinforce “the Government’s policy to provide maximum practicable opportunities in its acquisitions to small business, 8(a) participants, and other small business socioeconomic categories (i.e., veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business [SDVOB], HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business [WOSB] concerns).”
Noteworthy Proposed Changes to FAR Part 19
In addition to updating some of the language of FAR Part 19 to accommodate practicability and common sense, the rewrite introduced noteworthy, proposed changes to these regulations that may affect how participants engage in the federal procurement process.
- FAR Part 19 now follows a clearer structure based on the acquisition lifecycle. It is composed of Subpart 19.1 – Pre-Solicitation, 19.2 – Evaluation and Award, and 19.3 – Post-Award. Also, all pre-solicitation requirements for socioeconomic programs are now located under Subpart 19.1.
- Contracting officers have greater discretion in exercising the so-called “Rule of Two,” which generally requires contracting officers to set aside acquisitions for small businesses if there is a reasonable expectation that at least two responsible small business concerns will submit competitive offers. While the Rule still applies to contracts, the rewrite clarifies that contracting officers have discretion not to apply it to orders placed under IDIQ contracts or GSA Schedule contracts, even if there are two or more small businesses that can provide the supplies or services above the micro-purchase threshold. Importantly, the updated language makes clear that a contracting officer’s decision to apply — or not apply — the Rule of Two under such circumstances is not a valid ground for protest.
- Previously, the Rule of Two was mandatory for all contracts that were between the micro-purchase threshold and simplified acquisition threshold but discretionary for contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold. The Rule of Two is now mandatory for contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold as well. Notably, this rewrite eliminates the former preference for considering socioeconomic set-asides first. Rather than requiring agencies to “first consider” socioeconomic programs when an acquisition is above the simplified acquisition threshold, the suggested FAR Part 19 text requires consideration to small business set-asides as a whole.
- The rerepresentation requirements for orders in multiple-award contracts have been eliminated, so size determinations now take place solely at the contract level at the time of award. Contractors who receive an order under multiple-award contracts no longer have to inform agencies of their size status, except upon certain contract events (i.e., novation and option exercise).
- A new provision, FAR 19.108-7, implements a policy of promoting competitive 8(a) acquisitions and limiting sole source 8(a) awards. As is currently the case, if the anticipated total value of the acquisition exceeds the “competitive threshold,” which is $7.5 million for acquisitions assigned a manufacturing NAICS code and $4.5 million for acquisitions assigned a services NAICS code, the acquisition must be competed if the Government expects that at least two eligible and responsible 8(a) participants will submit offers at fair market price. Sole source 8(a) acquisitions that exceed the competitive threshold are only permitted if one of the exceptions to the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) apply. But now, for acquisitions below the competitive threshold, “contracting officers must first try conducting the acquisition as a competitive 8(a) order using these government-wide contracts before proceeding with a sole source 8(a) award.”
- Requirements under the 8(a) program are now automatically released without a formal request to the Small Business Administration (SBA) if the follow-on is for a HUBzone, SDVOSB or WOSB program set-aside.
SBA Regulations Still Apply
Despite the removal of certain provisions from FAR Part 19, SBA’s regulations in Title 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations continue to apply.
13 CFR § 125.12 – Recertification of Size and Small Business Program Status
Under the rewrite, contractors are no longer required to represent their size for task orders solicited under a multiple-award contract. Now, with limited exceptions, a size determination occurs solely at the contract level. Despite the removal of this requirement from the FAR, contracting officers still retain discretion under SBA regulations to require rerepresentation at the order level. 13 CFR § 125.12(c) confers on contracting officers discretion to require contractors to recertify their size and small business status for a task order solicitation. If such a rerepresentation is required, a contractor that makes a disqualifying rerepresentation loses eligibility to compete for that order. That said, the contractor generally remains eligible to compete for orders under the set-aside contract where no order-level recertification is required.
13 CFR § 124.504 – Releasing Requirements from the 8(a) Business Development Program
The new FAR language permits automatic release from the 8(a) Program without a formal request to SBA as long as the follow-on is for a HUBZone, SDVOSB or WOSB program set-aside. While this proposed change could potentially benefit small businesses interested in participating in both 8(a) and non-8(a) programs under FAR Part 19, it is in tension with language in 13 CFR § 124.504(d)(1). Under this SBA regulation, the contracting officer is required to formally request SBA to release an acquisition from the 8(a) Program to non-8(a) competition, even if the acquisition remains restricted to HUBZone, SDVOSB or WOSB concerns.
Inconsistencies like this serve as a reminder of how important it is for contractors participating in the federal procurement process to remain informed about the multiple regulatory frameworks affecting small businesses. It also highlights an area for potential resolution during the informal comment period on the FAR rewrite or during the formal notice-and-comment period to follow.
Conclusion
The effects of the FAR Part 19 rewrite appear to be limited, at least for now. Despite the RFO’s laudable goal of simplifying and streamlining acquisition regulations, the regulatory environment for small businesses remains complex. Changes to the FAR and to SBA regulations are rarely coordinated. During these times of change, it is more important than ever for small businesses to be aware of the interplay between the FAR and SBA regulations as they tackle new legal problems.
Opinions and conclusions in this post are solely those of the author unless otherwise indicated. The information contained in this blog is general in nature and is not offered and cannot be considered as legal advice for any particular situation. The author has provided the links referenced above for information purposes only and by doing so, does not adopt or incorporate the contents. Any federal tax advice provided in this communication is not intended or written by the author to be used, and cannot be used by the recipient, for the purpose of avoiding penalties which may be imposed on the recipient by the IRS. Please contact the author if you would like to receive written advice in a format which complies with IRS rules and may be relied upon to avoid penalties.
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