FAR Overhaul Proposed Rules, Round Two: What Changes for Contractors Before the October 19 Deadline

On September 18, 2026, the FAR Council published the second batch of FAR overhaul proposed rules: four documents, nearly 300 Federal Register pages, rewriting 16 parts of the Federal Acquisition Regulation plus the Part 52 clauses that go with them. This batch reaches the parts contractors touch every week: commercial buying (Part 12), negotiated procurements (Part 15), contract types and task orders (Part 16), and contractor responsibility (Part 9). The comment period is 30 days. Comments are due Monday, October 19, 2026.

TL;DR

• Four rules, 16 parts, one deadline. FAR Cases 2026-003, 2026-006, 2026-010, and 2026-011 cover Parts 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 27, 28, 35, 36, 38, 44, 47, and 51. All four close for comment on October 19, 2026.
• The commercial "omnibus" clauses would disappear. The rule proposes removing 52.212-3 and 52.212-5 and says the change "shifts the burden of determining which provisions and clauses are applicable ... from the offeror or contractor to the Government."
• "Discussions" become "negotiations." Contracting officers could negotiate more than once with one offeror "without having to do so with all other offerors," and a deficiency becomes a failure to conform to a material term.
• Fixed price becomes the default contract type. Cost-type, T&M, and labor-hour contracts above new thresholds ($10 million at most civilian agencies, $100 million at DoD) would need an agency-head justification, including task orders under multiple-award vehicles.
• Civilian data rights move to a DFARS-style model. FAR subpart 27.4 is replaced "in its entirety" with content derived from the DFARS, and SBIR/STTR data gets a single, non-extendable 20-year protection period.
• Some summaries missed or misread details. The Part 14 late-bid change adds a condition rather than relaxing the rule, and a new 5-day deadline for differing site conditions notices in construction is not mentioned in the preamble at all.
• Nothing is final yet. What governs a solicitation today is the buying agency's deviation and the clauses in the package itself. CLEATUS reads every page of that package when an opportunity matches, so you see the clauses that actually apply instead of the ones a summary says should.

What's in the Second Batch of FAR Overhaul Proposed Rules

The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul implements Executive Order 14275. Phase one replaced FAR parts with agency class deviations built from model text. Phase two, which started in June, converts that text into permanent regulation through notice-and-comment rulemaking. The FAR Council says it "is issuing twelve proposed rules that collectively will streamline the FAR in its entirety." The September batch is rules five through eight.

Where This Batch Sits in the Overhaul

The first four proposed rules, published June 23, 2026, covered 20 parts, including Part 5 (publicizing), Part 33 (protests), and Part 49 (terminations). We covered one quiet change from that batch in our breakdown of the FAR Part 5 award announcement rule. Those comments closed July 23.

Four rule cases remain unpublished. They include FAR Case 2026-004, which covers Part 19, the small business part. The FAR Council's stated goal is to finish rulemaking by the end of 2026, and the short comment periods suggest it means it. None of the four September rules gives a date for its final version.

Until final rules are published, your obligations come from the buying agency's class deviation and from the clauses written into each solicitation. Two agencies can run different versions of the same FAR part on the same day. Keep that in mind every time a newsletter says "the new FAR requires."

The Changes That Matter Most for Contractors

The four rules run to hundreds of pages, and most of the text is reorganization: "shall" becomes "must," how-to guidance moves into the nonregulatory FAR Companion, and sections are renumbered. The FAR Council is even asking for comment on renumbering every clause so that they "would begin with 52.4 instead of 52.2." Below are the substantive changes, part by part, with the language from the rules.

Commercial Buying: The Omnibus Clauses Go Away (Part 12)

If you sell commercial products or services, this is the change to understand first. FAR Case 2026-003 proposes removing 52.212-3 (Offeror Representations and Certifications) and 52.212-5 (Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders), the two "omnibus" items in nearly every commercial solicitation. The rule calls them "incomplete lists of provisions and clauses that could apply to commercial acquisitions."

Clause selection moves to the government. Each clause prescription across the FAR is being amended to state whether it applies to commercial products and commercial services. Contracting officers, or an agency clause logic system, would build the clause set from those prescriptions. An agency that wants a clause not on the list would need "an individual or class deviation." The rule says this "shifts the burden of determining which provisions and clauses are applicable ... from the offeror or contractor to the Government."

Simplified procedures move into Part 12 and go up to $9 million. The rule moves the simplified procedures for commercial buys into Part 12, covering commercial products and services "valued up to $9 million (or $15 million ... emergencies or major disasters)." The default instrument is an RFQ followed by a purchase order.

Response windows stay short. For a combined synopsis/solicitation, the proposed timeframe table lists "Contracting officer discretion (provide a reasonable opportunity to respond)." At or below the simplified acquisition threshold, a contracting officer can skip posting and solicit "from at least three sources." If you find commercial opportunities late, you will miss them.

Subcontract experience can count. The proposed Part 12 evaluation language explicitly lets contracting officers "consider an offeror's experience as a subcontractor." For small businesses that have mostly worked under primes, that is a real opening. Combined with the June batch's proposal to treat construction as a commercial service, Part 12 is becoming the default path for a much larger share of federal buying.

Negotiated Procurements: Discussions Become Negotiations (Part 15)

Part 15 is where most competitive best-value awards happen, and the rewrite changes how those exchanges work.

Negotiation replaces discussions. Contracting officers "may have more than one negotiation with a particular offeror in the competitive range, without having to do so with all other offerors." The equal-treatment rhythm of discussions is gone.

"Deficiency" gets narrower. A deficiency becomes "any part of a proposal that does not conform to a material term of a RFP," where a material term "affects price, quantity, quality, or delivery."

Clarifications get wider. Clarifications are allowed "at any time after receipt of proposals through contract award" and can address "perceived deficiencies, weaknesses," and adverse past performance. They remain optional and cannot "cure a material omission."

The competitive range gets smaller. It no longer has to include all of the most highly rated proposals, only "those proposals best suited for further negotiation."

New source selection options. The rule adds a "highest technically rated with a fair and reasonable price" approach and phased down-select evaluations. It also adds munitions response services to the list where agencies should avoid LPTA, implementing section 822 of the FY2025 NDAA.

The practical effect is that your first submission carries more weight than before. You can no longer count on a discussion round to fix a weak proposal, and a clarification is at the contracting officer's discretion.

Contract Types: Fixed Price Becomes the Default (Part 16)

FAR Case 2026-006 implements Executive Order 14402, under which "fixed-price contracts with performance-based considerations should serve as the default and preferred method."

New justification thresholds. Contracts and orders other than fixed price (and firm-fixed-price level-of-effort) would need a written justification approved by the head of the agency when valued at or above "$100 million, for DoD; $35 million, for NASA; $25 million, for Department of Homeland Security; or $10 million, for all other Federal agencies." Multiple-award contracts themselves are exempt, but "the justification requirement does apply to task orders, delivery orders, and BPAs under those contracts." If you deliver T&M or labor-hour work on an IDIQ, expect agencies to push those orders toward fixed price.

Offerors can propose a different contract type. The rule moves contract type selection "from a restrictive to a permissive framework." A new Alternate I to 52.216-1 lets offerors "propose an alternative contract type."

On-ramps and off-ramps. Multiple-award contracts with ordering periods longer than five years should include on-ramps unless the contracting officer documents otherwise. Off-ramps can remove a contractor "for underperforming, failure to actively participate in order competitions," or at the contractor's request. Holding a vehicle position and never bidding becomes a liability.

Order debriefings. For orders above the simplified acquisition threshold up to $7.5 million, an unsuccessful contractor can get "a brief explanation" on written request, implementing section 874 of the FY2020 NDAA. Above $7.5 million, the Part 15 debriefing procedures apply.

Consumption-based buying. Fixed-price units bought "on a consumption basis," such as "cloud computing capacity," would count as a firm-fixed-price contract.

Options and Contract Duration (Part 17)

The rule replaces the "non-statutory five-year limitation on contract duration" with a requirement to follow statutory or regulatory limits. Increased-quantity options (52.217-6 and -7) would cover services, and 52.217-8, renamed "Option to Extend," could extend supplies contracts "for up to six months at the current rate." A new provision lets the parties "mutually agree to toll or delay the option exercise time period" during a lapse in appropriations, 30 days by default. With the government on a continuing resolution through December 11, that last change is more than theoretical.

Existing Vehicles First (Parts 8, 38, and 51)

Agencies would first use an existing vehicle designated "required use" by OFPP, then "best in class" vehicles, then any other governmentwide vehicle, unless the Senior Procurement Executive grants an exception. GSA Schedule ordering procedures move out of the FAR to the GSAR at 48 CFR 538.71. Part 38 would be removed "in its entirety" because the GSAR duplicates it, and Part 51 folds into Part 8. If you are not on the vehicles agencies must check first, more of the market reaches you only as a subcontractor. Our guide to OASIS+ and GSA eBuy task orders covers one of the vehicles where this plays out.

Responsibility, Debarment, and Teaming (Part 9)

New responsibility factors. The proposed text lists factors for judging past performance: the number of contracts involved, the extent of deficient performance in each, the contractor's overall pattern, and documented corrective actions. A contractor is presumed nonresponsible only if it "is or has been seriously deficient in contract performance," and contracting officers may not decide responsibility "based solely on a lack of relevant performance history." That last line matters for new entrants.

A new debarment cause. Noncompliance with a new clause, 52.222-XX, Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors (implementing E.O. 14398), would be added as a cause for both debarment and suspension.

FAPIIS becomes "integrity records." The rule notes that "GSA retired FAPIIS, and integrity records are now accessed in SAM.gov and reported in CPARS.gov." Contracting officers must review those records before awards above the simplified acquisition threshold, and nonresponsibility determinations get posted within 3 business days.

The team arrangements subpart would go. FAR subpart 9.6, "Contractor Team Arrangements," is "proposed to be removed as unnecessary." The rule does not ban teaming. It removes the FAR's explicit recognition of prime-sub and joint venture arrangements. If your capture strategy depends on teaming, read this section and decide whether to comment. Our guide to finding teaming partners explains why teaming is the entry path for so many small firms.

Data Rights: A DFARS Model for Civilian Agencies (Part 27)

This is the most technical change in the batch, and possibly the most expensive to get wrong. The rule would "delete FAR subpart 27.4, Rights in Data and Copyrights, in its entirety ... and replace it with analogous content derived from the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement."

Two new clauses. Non-commercial technical data and software fall under proposed 52.227-26, and commercial technical data falls under proposed 52.227-27. They replace current clauses "52.227-14 through 52.227-21 and FAR 52.227-23."

Funding source decides the government's rights. The rule bases rights on "the source of funds and specific categories," and expands unlimited rights to "eleven different categories of data, while the FAR currently provides unlimited data for only four." Special licenses can still be negotiated.

SBIR/STTR protection becomes 20 years. Aligning with the SBA policy directive effective May 3, 2023, SBIR and STTR data gets a "single, non-extendable, 20-year period" of protection instead of "an extendable 4-year period." After it ends, the government gets a government purpose rights license rather than unlimited rights.

If you develop software or technical data at private expense and sell to civilian agencies, your marking practices and your records of funding source will now decide what you keep. Defense contractors will recognize the model. Civilian-only firms will need to learn it.

Construction and Sealed Bidding (Parts 14, 28, and 36)

The late-bid change is a new condition, not a relaxation. Some summaries describe the Part 14 late-bid rule as loosened. The proposed text says a late bid "will not be considered unless" it arrives before award and the contracting officer "determines that accepting the late bid is in the Government's best interest and would not unduly delay the acquisition," on top of the existing electronic-submission and government-control conditions. The "best interest" finding is an added hurdle. Do not plan around it.

A 5-day notice deadline for differing site conditions. This change got almost no coverage, and the preamble does not mention it. Current 52.236-2 says the contractor "shall promptly" give written notice. The proposed clause says "Within 5 calendar days of discovery, the Contractor must, and before the conditions are disturbed, provide written notice." The proposed text also drops the current language that lets the contracting officer extend the notice period. Requests for equitable adjustment would be allowed "only if prior written notice is received and submitted before final payment." If you build for the government, your field team needs to know about this deadline.

Six construction clauses removed. The rule removes 52.236-1 (Performance of Work by the Contractor), 52.236-4, 52.236-19, 52.236-26, 52.236-27, and 52.236-28. On 52.236-1, the FAR Council says it believes the clause restricts competition "because not all construction prime contractors perform certain scopes of work."

A-E debriefings become optional. "Debriefings of successful and unsuccessful firms may be held after final selection." The current rule says they "will be held." The rule also bars reverse auctions for certain design and construction services.

Bond thresholds unchanged. Part 28 changes are administrative. Performance and payment bonds are still required "for any construction contract exceeding $150,000," with alternative payment protections from $35,000 to $150,000.

Transportation (Part 47)

The preamble says the Part 47 revisions "do not substantively change policy or procedures in the part," though the clause text extends 52.247-48 to f.o.b. destination supply contracts "including those for commercial products or commercial services" and exempts commercial product subcontracts from the 52.247-63 air carrier flowdown. The rule removes 33 provisions and clauses in total. If you ship supplies to the government, check the clause tables.

Which FAR Overhaul Proposed Rules to Read First

You do not need to read 300 pages. Start with the rule that matches your business.

You can read any current FAR section in plain English, with cross-references linked, in our free FAR Navigator. Use it to compare today's text with the proposed text before you comment.

How to Comment on the FAR Overhaul Proposed Rules by October 19

Commenting is free and takes an afternoon. The FAR Council reviews the comments before it writes each final rule, and each rule invites comments from small businesses on the expected impact. If a change will affect your business, October 19 is your chance to say so.

1. Pick the right docket. Submit comments at regulations.gov to FAR-2026-0003 (Parts 8, 12, 13, 15, 38, 44, 51), FAR-2026-0006 (Parts 16, 17, 35), FAR-2026-0010 (Parts 14, 28, 36), or FAR-2026-0011 (Parts 9, 27, 47). Cite the FAR case number in your comment.
2. Point to the exact section. "Proposed 52.236-2(a)" gets read and answered. "The construction changes" does not.
3. Give numbers. Each rule's Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis estimates impact on the 401,196 small entities registered in SAM. If the change costs you hours, dollars, or bids, say how many. Data is what changes a final rule.
4. Propose replacement text. A comment that offers specific wording is easier to adopt than one that only objects.
5. Comment on the good parts too. If removing the omnibus clauses or counting subcontract experience helps you, say so. Support is part of the record.
6. Know your options. You can comment as an individual, as an organization, or anonymously. Comments are posted publicly, so leave out confidential business information. If your comment concerns the impact on small businesses, the rules also ask for separate comments citing "5 U.S.C. 610."

What to Do Before the Final Rules Land

1. Inventory your exposure. List your active contracts and vehicles by part: commercial or not, contract type, construction or not, data deliverables or not. The table above maps each category to its rule.
2. Review your teaming agreements. If FAR subpart 9.6 goes away, your agreements will rest on the contract terms alone. Make sure they hold up on their own.
3. Tighten your data-rights records. Under a funding-source model, you need proof of what you built at private expense. Start that documentation now, not after a dispute.
4. Update construction field procedures. Train superintendents to give written notice of differing site conditions within 5 calendar days and before disturbing the site. Starting now costs nothing.
5. Write first proposals that can win without discussions. Under the proposed Part 15, a clarification is optional and a negotiation round may never come. Treat every submission as your final offer.
6. Read each solicitation's clauses, not the summary. Agencies are still operating under deviations, and the omnibus removal means the clause set will be built per solicitation. The package in front of you is the only authoritative source.

Why Reading the FAR Alone Isn't Enough

There is a gap between the regulation and the solicitation, and the overhaul makes it bigger. The FAR tells you what a contracting officer may do. The solicitation package tells you what this contracting officer did: which clauses were included, which deviation applies, what the evaluation factors are, and which amendment changed them last week.

Removing the omnibus clauses is a good example. Today, 52.212-5 is a long checklist that tells you which clauses an agency selected. Without it, the clause set will be assembled solicitation by solicitation from the prescriptions, by a contracting officer or a clause logic system. Your compliance work moves from "check the boxes on the omnibus" to "read every clause in the package and its attachments." Multiply that across every opportunity you track, and the bottleneck is reading time.

General-purpose AI does not close that gap on its own. ChatGPT can explain what 52.236-2 says. It cannot tell you that the solicitation you are bidding on includes it, that amendment 2 moved the due date, or that Section L asks for something the base document never mentioned, unless you load every document in the package yourself and know which questions to ask.

How CLEATUS Helps You Work Under a Moving FAR

CLEATUS is built around the solicitation package, which is the one source that stays authoritative while the FAR is in flux.

Every package arrives already broken down. When an opportunity matches your profile, Contract Breakdown reads every page of the package automatically: base document, amendments, attachments, and exhibits, organized into one unified breakdown before you open it. Each finding links to the source paragraph through clickable citations, so when the breakdown flags a clause, you can verify it in one click.

Requirements become a checklist with source quotes. Contract requirements turns the solicitation documents into a reviewable list of every requirement, each with the quote it came from. When the clause set varies from one solicitation to the next, that list replaces the omnibus checklist you used to rely on.

Amendments show what changed. The solicitation history view shows each notice as a plain sentence, with deadline moves called out by size and direction and a word-by-word comparison of what changed.

Packages get checked before you submit. In the AI Proposal Suite, Package checks compare your assembled submission with the solicitation and flag missing forms and documents, each tied to the requirement that calls for it.

The FAR itself, in plain English. FAR Navigator is free for anyone. It gives you summaries, key takeaways, cross-reference links, and compliance checklists for any FAR section.

MST went from 3 to more than 10 proposals per month. D2 Government Solutions cut draft time by 80% and tripled proposal output with the same team. Both did it by spending less time reading packages and more time writing responses, which is the time a moving FAR takes away.

Frequently asked questions

When are comments due on the second batch of FAR overhaul proposed rules?

Which FAR parts are in the September 2026 batch?

Are the FAR overhaul rules in effect now?

Is 52.212-5 going away?

Does the FAR overhaul ban teaming arrangements?

Did the FAR overhaul relax the late bid rule?

How does CLEATUS help with FAR changes?

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Further Reading

• Federal Contract Award Announcements Are Going Optional. Here's What That Costs You.
• The New 'Loser Pays' Bid-Protest Rule: What June's DFARS Change Means
• CMMC Phase 2 Suspended: What the Department of War Pause Means for Contractors
• How to Find Teaming Partners in Government Contracting
• AI-Powered FAR Navigator, Far Faster Decisions

Customer Stories

• How D2 Government Solutions Tripled Growth Without Adding Staff
• How Operation Hired Achieved 6× Proposal Output with CLEATUS AI
• How MST Maritime Quadrupled Proposal Output with CLEATUS AI
• How a Veteran-Owned Shop Won Their First Contract with CLEATUS AI

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About CLEATUS

CLEATUS is an agentic AI platform that helps government contractors discover the right opportunities, manage capture pipelines, and write winning proposals. Automate your GovCon operations end-to-end: build custom AI-powered automations that handle multi-step processes on autopilot, a force multiplier for your capture and BD team that works in the background while you stay in the loop on every decision. We aggregate federal, state, local, and city opportunities; our GovCon Copilot analyzes solicitations and your internal documents to deliver actionable market intelligence that drives revenue growth.

Cover photo: Eisenhower Executive Office Building exterior from the southeast by Sdkb, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.