First Round of FAR Rewrites Released

Source: CROWELL

On May 2, 2025, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (“OFPP”) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) issued the first round of promised FAR rewrites—to Parts 1, 34, and 52—alongside a guidance memorandum for agencies subject to the FAR, Deviation Guidance to Support the Overhaul of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR Council Deviation Guidance”). The Office of Management and Budget also released a guidance memo, Overhauling the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“OMB Guidance”), that addresses the proposed implementation roadmap for the FAR overhaul. These initial FAR revisions follow the April 15, 2025 Executive Order (“EO”), Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, which we previously reported on here.

The initial rewrites include FAR Part 1 (Federal Acquisition Regulations System), and FAR Part 34 (Major System Acquisition), with a few corresponding revisions to FAR Part 52 (Solicitation Provisions and Contract Clauses). Notable changes include the deletion of FAR Subpart 1.5’s public participation terms, and the addition of FAR 1.109, a new clause containing a four-year sunset provision for non-statutory FAR clauses (which was specifically recommended in the April EO). A high-level summary of the initial revisions is included below.

The FAR Council Deviation Guidance instructs agencies to issue agency-specific class deviations within 30 days after the FAR Council publishes class deviation text on the “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul” (“RFO”) website, and such deviations should remain effective until formally implemented in the FAR. Agencies must request approval from the FAR Council before issuing class deviations that differ from the FAR Council’s model deviation text.

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