FAR & DFARS Rulemaking

GSAR Case 2026-G501, published 22 September 2026, would relocate Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures from FAR subpart 8.4 to a new GSAR subpart 538.71, reorganize them by dollar threshold, and move order-level materials rules out of the contract clause. Comments close 22 October 2026.

The memo behind the August announcement is now public. It directs component procurement executives to repeal service-level supplements to the DFARS within 45 days or reclama specific sections under four narrow grounds, and lets components move useful process into non-regulatory guides.

DCMA and DCAA are directed to overhaul how forward pricing rate agreements are built. Estimating system and MMAS reviews are to be folded into commercial-aligned accounting system criteria within 90 days. Earned value management is confined to major development programs. And a DFARS profit policy rulemaking starts within 90 days.

FAR Case 2026-011 would remove contractor team arrangements from the FAR entirely and, implementing section 812(a)(6) of the FY2026 NDAA, excuse the Department of War from paying for a small business to undergo qualification testing where fewer than two manufacturers could compete. Civilian agencies keep that obligation.

FAR Case 2026-011, published 18 September 2026, would replace the FAR's SBIR data rights coverage with DFARS-based coverage, set a single non-extendable 20-year protection period, grant the Government purpose rights rather than unlimited rights after it expires, and add STTR coverage the FAR has never had.

FAR Case 2026-003 would redefine deficiency around material terms, eliminate pre-competitive-range exchanges, loosen the competitive range, and formally recognize award to the highest technically rated proposal at a fair and reasonable price. Subpart 15.4 contract pricing is largely left alone.

FAR Case 2026-006 would remove the IRS Form 941 payroll reconciliation, the detailed time-and-materials cost element data, and contract fee computations from the Allowable Cost and Payment clause, and narrow subcontract reporting to subcontracts above the certified cost or pricing data threshold.

FAR Case 2026-006, published 18 September 2026, would shift contract type selection to a permissive framework, implement Executive Order 14402 through a new justification and approval section at FAR 16.104, and sweep firm-fixed-price level-of-effort term contracts into that requirement. Comments close 19 October 2026.

Class Deviation 2026-O0046, Revision 1, posted 9 September 2026, revises DFARS Part 245 so that nontraditional defense contractors are exempt from DFARS 252.245-7003, Contractor Property Management System Administration, unless a contracting activity head waives the exemption.

DFARS Parts 244 and 231 were revised on 29 July and 4 August 2026 to implement FY2026 NDAA section 1826. Cost principles and purchasing system approval no longer apply to nontraditional defense contractors on Department of War contracts.

Class Deviation 2026-O0006, Revision 1, issued 30 July 2026, implements FY2026 NDAA section 1806 and doubles both the full-versus-modified CAS coverage line and the disclosure statement trigger. The CAS Board has since made the change government-wide effective 1 October 2026, but the FAR Part 30 overhaul text still carries the old figures.

Class Deviation 2026-O0037, Revision 1, issued 24 July 2026, absorbs the standalone SDVOSB class deviation, points eligibility verification at SBA's certification search, and corrects the sole-source 8(a) threshold to $100 million.

Class Deviation 2026-O0052, issued 4 August 2026, revises DFARS subpart 270.1 so that awards under the employee-owned business pilot no longer require a separate justification and approval.

The FAR Council has moved from planning to rulemaking. What has published, what closed for comment, and what is still coming — updated 21 September 2026 for the second batch of proposed rules, which covers Parts 8, 12, 13, 15, 16 and others this post had listed as still to come.

The FAR Council issued implementing guidance on 1 July 2026 and the Department of War followed on 15 July. Other-than-fixed-price selections now carry a justification burden, and the reach extends to some contracts already awarded.

A 24 July 2026 Department of War class deviation implements FY2026 NDAA sections 812(c), 1826, and 811(a)(5), converts the TINA Lite pilot into a permanent program, and changes should-cost review requirements.