18322 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

[FR Doc. 2011–7368 Filed 3–31–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–C 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Part 53 

[FAC 2005–51; FAR Case 2009–029; Item 

II; Docket 2010–0096, Sequence 1] 

RIN 9000–AL72 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; 

Clarification of Standard Form 26— 

Award/Contract 

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: DoD, GSA, and NASA are 

issuing a final rule amending the 

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to 

include clarifications to Standard Form 

(SF) 26, Award/Contract. This revised 

form includes changes above blocks 17 

and 18 and in block 18 to clarify that 

block 18 should not be used when 

awarding a negotiated procurement and 

should only be checked when awarding 

a sealed bid contract. 

DATES: Effective Date: May 2, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Michael O. Jackson, Procurement 

Analyst, at (202) 208–4949 for 

clarification of content. For information 

pertaining to status or publication 

schedules, contact the Regulatory 

Secretariat at (202) 501–4755. Please 

cite FAC 2005–51, FAR Case 2009–029. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

DoD, GSA, and NASA published a 

proposed rule in the Federal Register at 

75 FR 54560 on September 8, 2010, to 

clarify the use of blocks 17 and 18 of the 

Standard Form (SF) 26, Award/Contract. 

FAR 53.214(a) prescribes the SF 26 for 

use in contracting for supplies and 

services by sealed bidding (except for 

construction and architect-engineer 

services). The SF 26 is used to award 

sealed bid contracts after obtaining bids 

using a SF 33, Solicitation, Offer, and 

Award. FAR 14.408–1(d)(1) specifies 

that, if an offer made using a SF 33 leads 

to further changes, the resulting contract 

must be prepared as a bilateral 

document using the SF 26. Agencies 

identified instances in which 

contracting officers mistakenly checked 

block 18 when awarding negotiated, not 

sealed bid contracts, which created the 

potential for disputes between the 

agency and contractors. The 

clarifications provided on the form for 

when to use blocks 17 and 18 should 

eliminate this issue. 

The changes will not prevent 

contracting officers from using block 17 

of the SF 26 to award negotiated 

procurements; it will clarify to 

contracting officers the proper use of 

block 17 and block 18 and prohibit the 

use of block 18 of the SF 26 when 

awarding negotiated procurements. This 

final rule clarifies the use of block 18 on 

the SF 26, Award/Contract, and 

references the new form at FAR 

53.214(a) and 53.215–1(a). 

No respondents submitted comments 

on the proposed rule. 

II. Executive Order 12866 and 13563 

This is not a significant regulatory 

action and, therefore, was not subject to 

review under Section 6(b) of Executive 

Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. This 

rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 

804. 

In accordance with Executive Order 

13563, Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review, dated January 18, 

2011, DoD, GSA, and NASA determined 

that this rule is not excessively 

burdensome to the public, and is 

consistent with FAR drafting 

conventions. 

III. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Department of Defense, the 

General Services Administration, and 

the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration certify that this final 

rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities within the 

meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., because it is 

solely a clarification for the benefit of 

Government contracting officers and 

does not make any substantive changes 

to current policy. 

IV. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The final rule does not contain any 

information collection requirements that 

require the approval of the Office of 

Management and Budget under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 53 

Government procurement. 

Dated: March 24, 2011. 

Millisa Gary, 

Acting Director, Office of Governmentwide 

Acquisition Policy. 

Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA 

amend 48 CFR part 53 as set forth 

below: 

PART 53—FORMS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

part 53 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. 

chapter 137; and 42 U.S.C. 2473(c). 

53.214 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend section 53.214 by removing 

from paragraph (a) ‘‘SF 26 (APR 2008)’’ 

and adding ‘‘SF 26 (Rev. 5/2011)’’ in its 

place. 

53.215–1 [Amended] 

■ 3. Amend section 53.215–1 by 

removing from paragraph (a) ‘‘SF 26 

(APR 2008)’’ and adding ‘‘SF 26 (Rev. 5/ 

2011)’’ in its place. 

■ 4. Revise section 53.301–26 to read as 

follows: 

53.301–26 Award/Contract. 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P 


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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 18323 


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18324 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

[FR Doc. 2011–7369 Filed 3–31–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–C 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Chapter 1 

[Docket FAR 2011–0077, Sequence 3] 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; 

Federal Acquisition Circular 2005–51; 

Small Entity Compliance Guide 

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DOD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Small Entity Compliance Guide. 

SUMMARY: This document is issued 

under the joint authority of DOD, GSA, 

and NASA. This Small Entity 

Compliance Guide has been prepared in 

accordance with section 212 of the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a 

summary of rules appearing in Federal 

Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005–51, 

which amend the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR). An asterisk (*) next to 

a rule indicates that a regulatory 

flexibility analysis has been prepared. 

Interested parties may obtain further 

information regarding these rules by 

referring to FAC 2005–51, which 

precedes this document. These 

documents are also available via the 

Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. 

DATES: For effective dates see separate 

documents, which follow. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

analyst whose name appears in the table 

below. Please cite FAC 2005–51 and the 

specific FAR case number. For 

information pertaining to status or 

publication schedules, contact the 

Regulatory Secretariat at (202) 501– 

4755. 

LIST OF RULES IN FAC 2005–51 

Item Subject FAR case Analyst 

*I ....................................... Women-Owned Small Business Program (Interim) (WOSB) ................................ 2010–015 Morgan. 

II ........................................ Clarification of Standard Form 26—Award/Contract ............................................. 2009–029 Jackson. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Summaries for each FAR rule follow. 

For the actual revisions and/or 

amendments made by these FAR cases, 

refer to the specific item numbers and 

subject set forth in the documents 

following these item summaries. FAC 

2005–51 amends the FAR as specified 

below: 

Item I—Women-Owned Small Business 

(WOSB) Program (FAR Case 2010–015) 

(Interim) 

This interim rule amends the FAR to 

add subpart 19.15, Women-Owned 

Small Business Program, which will 

assist Federal agencies in achieving the 

5 percent statutory goal for contracting 

with women-owned small business 

(WOSB) concerns. 

Agencies may restrict competition to 

economically disadvantaged womenowned small business (EDWOSB) 

concerns for contracts assigned a North 

American Industry Classification 

Systems (NAICS) code in an industry in 

which the Small Business 

Administration has determined that 

WOSB concerns are underrepresented 

in Federal procurement. For NAICS 

code industries where WOSB concerns 

are not just underrepresented, but 

substantially underrepresented, 

agencies may restrict competition to 

WOSB concerns eligible under the 

WOSB Program. 

EDWOSB concerns and WOSB 

concerns eligible under the WOSB 

Program must be owned and controlled 

by one or more women who are citizens 

of the United States. An EDWOSB 

concern is automatically a WOSB 

concern eligible under the WOSB 

Program. 

Item II—Clarification of Standard Form 

26—Award/Contract (FAR Case 2009– 

029) 

This final rule amends the FAR to 

revise FAR part 53 to amend the 

Standard Form (SF) 26, Award/Contract, 

above blocks 17 and 18 and in block 18 

to clarify that block 18 should not be 

used when awarding a negotiated 

procurement and should only be 

checked when awarding a sealed bid 

contract. The changes will not prevent 

contracting officers from using block 17 

of the SF 26 when awarding negotiated 

procurements in which the signature of 

both parties, on a single document, is 

required; it will only prohibit them from 

using block 18 of the SF 26 when 

awarding negotiated procurements. 

Dated: March 24, 2011. 

Millisa Gary, 

Acting Director, Office of Governmentwide 

Acquisition Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2011–7370 Filed 3–31–11; 8:45 am] 

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