Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 2 / Friday, January 3, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 517 

debarment’’ and adding ‘‘proposed for 

debarment, or voluntarily excluded’’ in 

its place; and 

■ d. Removing from paragraph (d)(4) 

‘‘suspension, or proposed debarment’’ 

and adding ‘‘suspension, proposed 

debarment, or voluntary exclusion’’ in 

its place. 

The revisions read as follows: 

52.209–6 Protecting the Government’s 

Interest When Subcontracting With 

Contractors Debarred, Suspended, 

Proposed for Debarment, or Voluntarily 

Excluded. 

* * * * * 

Protecting the Government’s Interest 

When Subcontracting With Contractors 

Debarred, Suspended, Proposed for 

Debarment, or Voluntarily Excluded 

(JAN 2025) 

* * * * * 

■ 31. Amend section 52.212–5 by— 

■ a. Revising paragraphs (b)(12), (32), 

and (40) and (e)(1)(xix); and 

■ b. In Alternate II, revising the date of 

the alternate and paragraph (e)(1)(ii)(R). 

The revisions read as follows: 

52.212–5 Contract Terms and Conditions 

Required To Implement Statutes or 

Executive Orders—Commercial Products 

and Commercial Services. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

l (12) 52.209–6, Protecting the 

Government’s Interest When 

Subcontracting With Contractors 

Debarred, Suspended, Proposed for 

Debarment, or Voluntarily Excluded. 

(JAN 2025) (31 U.S.C. 6101 note). 

* * * * * 

l (32) 52.222–19, Child Labor— 

Cooperation with Authorities and 

Remedies (JAN 2025) (E.O. 13126). 

* * * * * 

l (40) 52.222–54, Employment 

Eligibility Verification (JAN 2025) 

(Executive Order 12989). (Not 

applicable to the acquisition of 

commercially available off-the-shelf 

items or certain other types of 

commercial products or commercial 

services as prescribed in FAR 22.1803.) 

* * * * * 

(e)(1) * * * 

(xix) 52.222–54, Employment 

Eligibility Verification (JAN 2025) (E.O. 

12989). 

* * * * * 

Alternate II (JAN 2025) * * * 

(e)(1) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(R) 52.222–54, Employment Eligibility 

Verification (JAN 2025) (Executive 

Order 12989). 

* * * * * 

■ 32. Amend section 52.213–4 by 

revising paragraphs (b)(1)(iii) and 

(b)(2)(ii) to read as follows: 

52.213–4 Terms and Conditions— 

Simplified Acquisitions (Other Than 

Commercial Products and Commercial 

Services). 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iii) 52.222–19, Child Labor— 

Cooperation with Authorities and 

Remedies (JAN 2025) (E.O. 13126) 

(Applies to contracts for supplies 

exceeding the micro-purchase 

threshold, as defined in FAR 2.101 on 

the date of award of this contract). 

* * * * * 

(2) * * * 

(ii) 52.209–6, Protecting the 

Government’s Interest When 

Subcontracting with Contractors 

Debarred, Suspended, Proposed for 

Debarment, or Voluntarily Excluded 

(JAN 2025) (Applies to contracts over 

the threshold specified in FAR 9.405– 

2(b) on the date of award of this 

contract). 

* * * * * 

■ 33. Amend section 52.222–19 by— 

■ a. Revising the date of the clause; 

■ b. Removing from paragraph (d)(2) 

‘‘suspending official’’ and ‘‘Subpart’’ 

and adding ‘‘suspending and debarring 

official’’ and ‘‘subpart’’ in their places, 

respectively; and 

■ c. Removing from paragraph (d)(3) 

‘‘The debarring’’ and ‘‘Subpart’’ and 

adding ‘‘The suspending and debarring’’ 

and ‘‘subpart’’ in their places, 

respectively. 

The revision reads as follows: 

52.222–19 Child Labor—Cooperation With 

Authorities and Remedies. 

* * * * * 

Child Labor—Cooperation With 

Authorities and Remedies (JAN 2025) 

* * * * * 

■ 34. Amend section 52.222–54 by— 

■ a. Revising the date of the clause; 

■ b. Removing from paragraph (b)(5)(i) 

‘‘suspension or debarment’’ and adding 

‘‘suspending and debarring’’ in its place; 

and 

■ c. Revising paragraph (b)(5)(ii). 

The revisions read as follows: 

52.222–54 Employment Eligibility 

Verification. 

* * * * * 

Employment Eligibility Verification 

(JAN 2025) 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(5) * * * 

(ii) During the period between termination 

of the MOU and a decision by the suspending 

and debarring official whether to suspend or 

debar, the Contractor is excused from its 

obligations under paragraph (b) of this 

clause. If the Contractor is not suspended, 

debarred, or subject to a voluntary exclusion, 

then the Contractor must reenroll in E-Verify. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–31403 Filed 1–2–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Parts 4, 8, 16, 19, and 52 

[FAC 2025–03; FAR Case 2020–016, Item 

II; Docket No. FAR–2020–0016; Sequence 

No. 1] 

RIN 9000–AO18 

Federal Acquisition Regulation: 

Rerepresentation of Size and 

Socioeconomic Status 

AGENCY: 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 

implement regulatory changes made by 

the Small Business Administration to 

order-level size and socioeconomic 

status rerepresentation requirements. 

DATES: Effective January 17, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

clarification of content, contact Ms. 

Dana Bowman, Procurement Analyst, at 

202–803–3188 or by email at 

Dana.Bowman@gsa.gov. For information 

pertaining to status, publication 

schedules contact the Regulatory 

Secretariat Division at 202–501–4755 or 

GSARegSec@gsa.gov. Please cite FAC 

2025–03, FAR Case 2020–016. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

DoD, GSA, and NASA published a 

proposed rule at 88 FR 67189 on 

September 29, 2023, to implement 

regulatory changes made by the Small 

Business Administration (SBA) in its 

final rule published on October 16, 

2020, at 85 FR 66146. For further details 

please see the proposed rule. Eight 

respondents submitted comments on the 

proposed rule. 


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II. Discussion and Analysis 

The Civilian Agency Acquisition 

Council and the Defense Acquisition 

Regulations Council (the Councils) 

reviewed the public comments in the 

development of the final rule. A 

discussion of the comments and the 

changes made to the rule as a result of 

those comments are provided as 

follows: 

A. Summary of Significant Changes 

There are no significant changes from 

the proposed rule. 

B. Analysis of Public Comments 

1. Exceptions to the Rule 

Comment: A respondent expressed 

concerns that the rule requires too much 

work. 

Response: FAR subpart 4.11, System 

for Award Management (SAM), 

establishes policies and procedures for 

requiring registration in SAM. FAR 

subpart 4.12, Representations and 

Certifications, establishes policies and 

procedures for requiring submission and 

maintenance of representations and 

certifications in SAM. Offerors and 

contractors are required to be registered 

in SAM in accordance with FAR 

52.204–7, System for Award 

Management, and to complete electronic 

annual representations and 

certifications in SAM, as part of 

required registration in accordance with 

FAR 52.204–13, System for Award 

Management Maintenance. All 

registrants are required to review and 

update the representations and 

certifications in SAM as necessary, but 

at least annually, to ensure they are 

current, accurate, and complete. This 

rule modifies the clause at FAR 52.219– 

28, Post-award Small Business Program 

Rerepresentation, to require offerors to 

rerepresent their status for orders issued 

under multiple-award contracts under 

certain circumstances. Although this 

rule requires offerors to rerepresent, 

contractors are already required to 

ensure that their representations and 

certifications in SAM are current, 

accurate, and complete. Therefore, this 

rule only imposes an additional burden 

for orders requiring rerepresentation in 

accordance with paragraphs (c)(1) 

through (3) of the FAR clause at 52.219– 

28. 

Comment: A respondent 

recommended that SBA create a 

database for small business 

certifications, which would allow for a 

check and balance of a contractor’s selfcertification and protect contracting 

officers in the event they are unable to 

verify a concern’s status. 

Response: SBA already maintains a 

database of certified small business 

concerns. Specifically, the Dynamic 

Small Business Search (DSBS) database 

is SBA’s small business certification 

repository. Certifications in DSBS also 

appear in SAM, which is the 

Government’s repository for prospective 

and current Federal awardee 

information, including representations 

and certifications. The FAR requires 

contracting officers to review SAM to 

verify the contractor’s current size and 

socioeconomic status. If a concern’s 

certification status is not reflected in 

SAM, contracting officers can verify a 

concern’s status by checking DSBS at 

https://dsbs.sba.gov. 

Comment: A respondent 

recommended that recertification for 

size or socioeconomic status for orders 

should not be required. 

Response: This rule implements 

regulatory changes made by SBA in its 

final rule published on October 16, 

2020, which requires rerepresentation 

for orders placed against multiple-award 

contracts under certain circumstances. 

The FAR currently requires contractors 

to rerepresent their status under certain 

circumstances. This rule expands the 

requirement for rerepresentation to 

verify orders that are set aside for small 

businesses under certain multipleaward contracts are awarded to 

qualified small businesses. 

Comment: Some respondents 

indicated that the proposed rule does 

not consider the time it takes to award 

a task order. The respondents stated that 

the period of time from proposal 

submission to order award often takes 

12 to 36 months. Due to the time it takes 

to award an order, some respondents 

expressed concerns that this may impact 

the Government’s ability to award the 

order as the awardee’s small business 

status could change during this period 

of time. A respondent stated that small 

businesses compete for and are awarded 

contracts for which they qualify at that 

time, and they should be afforded the 

opportunity to be awarded task orders 

under those contracts. The respondent 

indicated that a company’s size can 

change periodically and that a business 

that was small at the time of proposal 

submission may be large at order award. 

The respondents also questioned if the 

selected awardee would be eligible for 

award if its size or socioeconomic status 

changed between proposal submission 

and order award. 

Response: In accordance with SBA’s 

final rule, size and socioeconomic status 

are determined at the time of initial 

offer (or other formal response to a 

solicitation), which includes price, for 

an order issued against a multipleaward contract if the contracting officer 

requests rerepresentation for the order. 

Therefore, the offeror will remain 

qualified for the order if its status 

changes between offer submittal and 

award of the order. 

Comment: A respondent asked how 

an offeror’s eligibility would be affected 

if rerepresentation is required for an 

order that is set aside under a multipleaward contract and the offeror is no 

longer small for the North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) 

code associated with the contract or no 

longer qualifies under the 

socioeconomic category for which it 

initially qualified. The respondent also 

asked if a woman-owned small business 

would lose its small business status that 

it had at initial award if it rerepresented 

as large at a later date. Lastly, the 

respondent asked if the goal of this 

proposed rule is to require small 

businesses to certify their size and 

socioeconomic status for the life of the 

contract. 

Response: A small business concern 

awarded a multiple-award contract that 

was set aside for small businesses may 

continue to perform under such a 

contract as a small business concern 

throughout for the life of those contracts 

(e.g., for the base period and up to four 

additional option years). However, if a 

contracting officer requires 

rerepresentation of size and/or 

socioeconomic status for a particular 

order, size and socioeconomic status is 

determined at the time of offer 

submission for the order. To clarify for 

the respondent, a woman-owned small 

business that represents as large for a 

particular order, under a multiple-award 

contract affected by this rule, would be 

considered large for that order. 

Comment: One respondent 

recommended that implementation of 

this policy be applicable to new 

multiple-award contracts or, 

alternatively, apply the policy to orders 

issued under multiple-award contracts 

after January 1, 2025. 

Response: In accordance with FAR 

1.108(d), this policy applies to 

solicitations for contracts issued on or 

after the effective date of the final rule. 

The contracting officer also has the 

discretion to include the changes made 

in this final rule in solicitations for 

contracts issued before the effective 

date, provided award of the resulting 

contract(s) occurs on or after the 

effective date of the final rule. In 

addition, contracting officers may, at 

their discretion, include the changes 

made in this final rule in any existing 

contract with appropriate consideration. 

The final rule does not require that 

existing contracts be modified to add 


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the updated version of FAR clause 

52.219–28. 

Comment: A respondent 

recommended the rule be amended to 

clearly define the criteria and timelines 

for contracting officers requesting 

rerepresentation of size under existing 

multiple-award contracts. 

Response: The final rule text at FAR 

19.301–2(b)(2) specifies the new 

requirements for a contractor to 

rerepresent its status for orders placed 

against multiple-award contracts under 

certain circumstances in accordance 

with FAR clause 52.219–28. Contracting 

officers include FAR clause 52.219–28 

in solicitations and contracts in 

accordance with the prescription at FAR 

19.309(c)(1). The clause at FAR 52.219– 

28 provides instructions to offerors and 

contractors regarding when 

rerepresentation is required; therefore, it 

is not necessary to provide additional 

instructions to contracting officers. 

2. Clarifications 

Comment: A few respondents 

recommended removing ‘‘and whose 

socioeconomic status is not certified by 

the SBA’’, from the proposed rule at 

FAR 19.301–2(b), and in FAR clause 

52.219–28. A respondent stated that the 

proposed FAR text does not exist in the 

SBA rule and that including the text 

would make the FAR inconsistent with 

SBA regulations. The respondent stated 

that SBA regulations require 

representation even if the SBA certifies 

the concern’s socioeconomic status. The 

respondent stated the rule, as written, 

exempts small businesses whose 

socioeconomic status is certified by the 

SBA. A respondent stated that the 

proposed FAR text makes the 

requirement appear to only apply to 

small businesses that are not small 

disadvantaged businesses while 

exempting small disadvantaged 

businesses. 

Response: The final rule FAR text at 

19.301–2(b) and paragraph (c) of the 

clause at FAR 52.219–28 has been 

revised to adopt the recommendation. 

Comment: A respondent 

recommended clarifying when 

recertification is required for orders 

issued under a Federal Supply Schedule 

(FSS) contract. The respondent 

recommended adding the following new 

paragraph (b)(2)(iv) at FAR 19.301–2: A 

contractor generally does not need to 

recertify its size eligibility for orders 

issued under a FSS contract unless the 

ordering contracting officer specifically 

requests such recertification for that 

order, under paragraph (b)(3) of this 

section. 

Response: The final rule FAR text at 

19.301–2(b)(3) and paragraph (c)(4) of 

the clause at FAR 52.219–28 specifies 

that for the NAICS code assigned to an 

order under a multiple-award contract, 

rerepresentation is required if the 

contracting officer requires it for that 

order. This also applies to orders issued 

under an FSS contract. The final rule 

FAR text at 19.301–2(b)(2) and 

paragraph (c) of the clause at FAR 

52.219–28 describes when a contractor 

must rerepresent for an order and also 

specifies ‘‘except for an order issued 

under a Federal Supply Schedule 

contract’’; therefore, it is not necessary 

to add the recommended paragraph. 

Comment: A respondent 

recommended revising the proposed 

rule FAR text at 19.301–2(b)(2)(i) to 

replace: ‘‘unless the order is issued 

under an unrestricted multiple-award 

contract with reserves’’ with ‘‘except for 

orders issued under a reserved portion 

of a multiple-award contract with 

reserves, in which case recertification is 

not required . . .’’ to clarify that 

recertification is not required for orders 

issued under the reserved portion of a 

multiple-award contract. The 

respondent recommended text they 

believed offered additional clarity that 

would assist industry in understanding 

recertification requirements. 

Response: The final rule text at FAR 

19.301–2(b)(2)(i) is revised to partially 

adopt the respondent’s 

recommendation. 

Comment: A respondent stated that 

the scenario illustrated at FAR 19.301– 

2(b)(2)(ii) and (iii) incorrectly suggests 

that it is permitted by SBA regulations. 

The respondent recommends revising 

the proposed FAR text at 19.301– 

2(b)(2)(ii) and (iii) to make clear that 

they apply to socioeconomic category 

orders issued under multiple-award 

contracts that are set aside for small 

businesses. The respondent 

recommended editing the proposed rule 

FAR text at 19.301–2(b)(2)(ii) and (iii) to 

clarify that each paragraph is referring 

to a multiple-award contract that is set 

aside for small businesses. 

Response: The examples included in 

the final rule FAR text at 19.301– 

2(b)(2)(ii) and (iii) and in paragraphs 

(c)(2) and (3) of the clause at FAR 

52.219–28 are revised to adopt the 

recommendation to edit the examples 

for accuracy. 

Comment: A respondent stated that, 

while the proposed rule helps to explain 

the different circumstances under which 

size and socioeconomic recertification is 

required, it does not address unique 

recertification issues that arise under 

sole-source orders placed under the 8(a) 

Business Development Program. The 

respondent recommended that the final 

rule be amended to add a new 

paragraph at FAR 19.301–2(b) to explain 

SBA’s responsibility to determine 

eligibility for 8(a) sole-source orders. 

The respondent indicated that, absent 

additional clarity, some contracting 

officers might incorrectly believe that 

recertification is not required for 8(a) 

sole-source orders. 

Response: This rule does not exempt 

contracting officers from complying 

with FAR subpart 19.8, Contracting with 

the Small Business Administration (The 

8(a) Program). Contracting officers are 

required to follow 8(a) offer and 

acceptance procedures at FAR 19.804–2 

and 19.804–3 for competitive and solesource 8(a) contracts and orders, 

respectively. SBA will determine an 8(a) 

participant’s eligibility during this 

process; therefore, it is not necessary to 

restate 8(a) Program requirements at 

FAR 19.301–2(b). 

Comment: A respondent 

recommended correcting a 

typographical error that references 

paragraph ‘‘a’’ in the proposed revision 

to paragraph (c) of the clause at FAR 

52.219–28. 

Response: The final rule FAR text in 

paragraph (c) of the clause at FAR 

52.219–28 has been revised to replace 

‘‘a’’ with ‘‘c’’. 

3. Negative Impacts of the Rule 

Comment: A few respondents 

indicated that the proposed rule will 

creates an environment of reduced 

competition, lower quality bidders, and 

will force small businesses to compete 

on an uneven playing field. 

Response: SBA’s final rule requires 

contractors to rerepresent their status for 

orders set aside for small businesses 

under an unrestricted multiple-award 

contract for which size and 

socioeconomic status were not relevant 

to the award of the underlying multipleaward contract. This distinction is 

important because the award of an order 

under such a multiple-award contract is 

the first time that size and 

socioeconomic status is relevant. 

Therefore, requiring a concern to 

represent its size and socioeconomic 

status encourages fair competition 

among small businesses. 

Comment: A respondent stated that 

the proposed rule will impose an 

onerous burden of new recordkeeping, 

reporting, and other compliance 

requirements on small businesses. The 

respondent stated that this would 

require a significant increase in staff 

time and result in additional cost to 

those businesses and the Government. 

Response: This rule revises an 

information collection currently 

approved under OMB Control Number 

9000–0163. Accordingly, the Regulatory 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES4
520 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 2 / Friday, January 3, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 

Secretariat Division submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) a request for approval of a 

revised information collection 

requirement concerning 9000–0163, 

Rerepresentation of Size and 

Socioeconomic Status, that includes 

burden estimates for order-level 

rerepresentation requirements. In 

addition, FAR subpart 4.12, 

Representations and Certifications, 

establishes policies and procedures for 

requiring submission and maintenance 

of representations and certification via 

SAM. Offerors and quoters are required 

to complete electronic annual 

representations and certification in 

SAM, as part of required registration in 

accordance with FAR 4.1201. All 

registrants are required to review and 

update the representations and 

certifications submitted in SAM as 

necessary, but at least annually, to 

ensure they are current, accurate, and 

complete. Therefore, since contractors 

and offerors are already required to 

maintain and update their 

representations and certifications in 

SAM, this rule only imposes an 

additional burden for the orders 

requiring rerepresentation in accordance 

with paragraphs (c)(1) through (3) of the 

clause at FAR 52.219–28. The additional 

estimated total burden hours for all 

small businesses to rerepresent at the 

order level is approximately 534 hours 

annually. 

Comment: A respondent asked if the 

Government has a process in place for 

managing inaccurate data and data 

reporting and, if not, recommended the 

issue be addressed prior to the 

implementation of this rule to ensure 

accurate data is available to all 

taxpayers. 

Response: Section IV, Expected 

Impact of the Rule, in the preamble of 

the proposed rule indicated that the 

Federal Procurement Data System 

(FPDS) does not currently capture size 

and socioeconomic status at the order 

level; therefore, contracting officers will 

not be able to indicate the size or 

socioeconomic status of a small 

business concern at the order level. This 

may result in inaccurate data and data 

reporting. However, FPDS is anticipated 

to be updated to capture this data. 

4. Outside the Scope of the Rule 

Comment: A few respondents 

submitted comments that were 

unrelated to the scope of the rule. 

A respondent asked for guidance on 

the certification for contractors under 

teaming arrangements and joint 

ventures. Another respondent 

recommended that the small business 

size standard be set at 500 employees 

for both product and service contracts to 

prevent current small businesses with 

250 to 300 personnel from graduating 

from small business status and ensuring 

their continued growth and 

development into large businesses. A 

respondent recommended creating a 

middle-market set-aside category for 

businesses exceeding 500 employees 

with an annual revenue less than $250 

million per year or five times the 

current size standard. Another 

respondent objected to bailouts. 

Response: These comments are 

outside the scope of this rule. The FAR 

defers to SBA to establish small 

business size standards. 

C. Other Changes 

Conforming changes are made at FAR 

4.604, 8.405–5(b), 16.505(b), 19.202– 

5(c), and 19.301–2. Paragraph headings 

are added at 19.301–2(b), (c), (d), and (e) 

to describe the contents of such 

paragraphs and to conform with FAR 

drafting convention. The text at FAR 

19.301–2(d)(2)(i) and (ii) is amended for 

clarity. 

III. Applicability to Contracts at or 

Below the Simplified Acquisition 

Threshold (SAT) and for Commercial 

Products, (Including Commercially 

Available Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Items) 

and for Commercial Services 

This final rule amends the clauses at 

FAR 52.219–28, Postaward Small 

Business Program Rerepresentation, and 

52.212–5, Contract Terms and 

Conditions Required to Implement 

Statutes or Executive OrdersCommercial Products and Commercial 

Services. The clauses continue to apply 

to acquisitions at or below the SAT, 

acquisitions for commercial products 

(including COTS items), and 

acquisitions for commercial services. 

IV. Expected Impact of the Rule 

As a result of this final rule, a 

contractor that represented its status 

before contract award will be required 

to rerepresent its size and/or 

socioeconomic status for an order 

placed under a multiple-award contract, 

under certain circumstances and where 

rerepresentation was not previously 

required. The final rule validates that 

orders set aside for small businesses 

under certain multiple-award contracts 

are awarded to small businesses that 

qualify for the size and/or 

socioeconomic status associated with 

the orders. Therefore, an entity that no 

longer qualifies as small under the 

applicable NAICS code associated with 

an order, or that no longer qualifies for 

a particular socioeconomic category, 

will not be eligible for orders placed 

under certain multiple-award contracts. 

As a result of this final rule, 

contracting officers will be required to 

verify the size and/or socioeconomic 

status of a small business concern prior 

to issuing an order under multipleaward contracts subject to this rule. 

Orders placed under an FSS contract 

are exempt from the mandatory 

rerepresentation requirement; however, 

contracting officers continue to have the 

discretion to require a rerepresentation 

for an order under an FSS contract. 

This final rule is also expected to 

prevent agencies from receiving credit 

toward their small business goals for 

awards made to firms that no longer 

qualify as small under the applicable 

NAICS code or that no longer qualify as 

a small business concern identified at 

FAR 19.000(a)(3). 

Existing e-business systems are 

impacted by this final rule as FPDS does 

not currently capture size and 

socioeconomic status at the order level; 

therefore, contracting officers will not 

be able to indicate the size or 

socioeconomic status of a small 

business concern at the order level. This 

may result in inaccurate data and data 

reporting. However, the Government 

anticipates that FPDS will be updated to 

capture this data. 

V. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 (as 

amended by E.O. 14094) and 13563 

direct agencies to assess the costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the 

importance of quantifying both costs 

and benefits, of reducing costs, of 

harmonizing rules, and of promoting 

flexibility. This is not a significant 

regulatory action and, therefore, was not 

subject to review under section 6(b) of 

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. 

VI. Congressional Review Act 

Pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act, DoD, GSA, and NASA will send 

this rule to each House of the Congress 

and to the Comptroller General of the 

United States. The Office of Information 

and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the 

Office of Management and Budget has 

determined that this rule does not meet 

the definition in 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 


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VII. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

DoD, GSA, and NASA have prepared 

a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(FRFA) consistent with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601–612. 

1. Statement of the need for, and the 

objectives of, the rule. 

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final 

rule to amend the FAR to update the 

rerepresentation of size and socioeconomic 

status requirements for set-aside orders 

issued under unrestricted multiple-award 

contracts to align with the regulatory changes 

made by the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) in its final rule dated October 16, 2020, 

at 85 FR 66146. This final rule requires a 

business concern to rerepresent its size and/ 

or socioeconomic status for all set-aside 

orders under unrestricted multiple-award 

contracts, unless the contract authorized 

reserves of specific types of small business 

concerns for which size and/or 

socioeconomic status was required, and the 

order is issued against the reserved portion. 

Additionally, this rule requires a business 

concern to rerepresent its socioeconomic 

status for all set-aside orders for which the 

required socioeconomic status for the order 

differs from that of the underlying set-aside 

multiple-award contract. The updated 

requirements are made to clarify SBA’s 

regulatory provisions and eliminate 

confusion among small businesses and 

contracting activities. 

2. Statement of the significant issues raised 

by the public comments in response to the 

initial regulatory flexibility analysis, a 

statement of the assessment of the agency of 

such issues, and a statement of any changes 

made to the rules as a result of such 

comments. 

There were no significant issues raised by 

the public comments in response to the 

initial regulatory flexibility analysis. 

Currently, contractors are required to 

rerepresent their size and socioeconomic 

status for orders under multiple-award 

contracts if the contracting officer requires 

rerepresentation for that order or as required 

by the clause at FAR 52.219–28. This rule 

requires contractors to rerepresent their size 

and/or socioeconomic status for all orders 

issued under unrestricted multiple-award 

contracts (except for orders issued under 

Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts), 

and for set-aside orders for which the 

required socioeconomic status for the order 

differs from that of the underlying set-aside 

multiple-award contract. 

3. Description of and an estimate of the 

number of small entities to which the rule 

will apply. 

According to data from the Federal 

Procurement Data System (FPDS) for fiscal 

year (FY) 2021, FY 2022, and FY 2023, small 

businesses were required to rerepresent their 

socioeconomic status for modifications as 

follows: 2,006, 3,379, in and 2,842, 

respectively. This averages out to 

approximately 2,742 rerepresentation 

modifications per year. Additional data from 

FPDS indicates that agencies set aside orders 

under unrestricted multiple-award contracts, 

excluding reserve orders and orders under 

FSS contracts, as follows: 7,341 in FY 2021, 

7,463 in FY 2022, and 8,336 in FY 2023, 

which averages out to 7,713 per year. Data 

from FPDS also indicates that agencies set 

aside orders under set-aside multiple-award 

contracts (other than FSS contracts) in the 

categories covered by this rule as follows: 

2,060 in FY 2021, 1,977 in FY 2022, and 

2,213 in FY 2023, which averages out to 

2,083 per year. Therefore, the estimated 

number of small entities to which the rule 

will apply is 4,179. 

4. Description of projected reporting, 

recordkeeping, and other compliance 

requirements of the rule. 

This rule includes new reporting, 

recordkeeping, or other compliance 

requirements for small entities. The 

Regulatory Secretariat Division has submitted 

to OMB a request to review and approve 

revisions to previously approved information 

collection requirements in the clause at FAR 

52.219–28, Post-Award Small Business 

Program Rerepresentation. 

5. Description of the steps the agency has 

taken to minimize the significant economic 

impact on small entities consistent with the 

stated objectives of applicable statutes. 

There are no known significant alternative 

approaches that would accomplish the stated 

objectives. 

Interested parties may obtain a copy 

of the FRFA from the Regulatory 

Secretariat Division. The Regulatory 

Secretariat Division has submitted a 

copy of the FRFA to the Chief Counsel 

for Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration. 

VIII. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501–3521) applies. The rule 

contains information collection 

requirements. The Regulatory 

Secretariat Division has submitted to 

OMB a request to review and approve 

revisions to previously approved 

information collection requirements in 

the FAR clause at 52.219–28. 

A. OMB Control Number, Title, and Any 

Associated Form(s) 

OMB control number and title: 9000– 

0163, Rerepresentation of Size and 

Socioeconomic Status. 

B. Need and Uses 

This rule amends FAR clause 52.219– 

28 to require concerns to also 

rerepresent their size and/or 

socioeconomic status for orders placed 

under multiple-award contracts under 

certain circumstances as described in 

paragraph (c) of the clause and this 

preamble. 

The collected information is used by 

SBA, Congress, Federal agencies, and 

the public for various reasons such as 

market research, set-aside 

determinations, and determining if 

agencies are meeting statutory goals. 

C. Annual Burden 

Public reporting burden for this 

collection of information is estimated to 

average 0.5 hours per response, 

including the time for reviewing 

instructions, searching existing data 

sources, gathering the data needed, and 

completing and reviewing the collection 

of information. 

The increase in the annual reporting 

burden, because of the final rule, is 

estimated as follows: 

Respondents: 835. 

Total annual responses: 1,069. 

Total response burden hours: 534. 

D. Public Comment to OMB on 

Information Collection 

A 60-day notice was published in the 

Federal Register at 88 FR 67189, on 

September 29, 2023. A comment was 

received and addressed in section II. of 

this preamble; however, it did not 

change the estimate of the burden. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for this information 

collection revision should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

rule to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this information 

collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function. 

E. Obtaining Copies 

Requesters may obtain a copy of the 

information collection documents from 

the GSA Regulatory Secretariat Division, 

by calling 202–501–4755 or emailing 

GSARegSec@gsa.gov. Please cite OMB 

Control Number 9000–0163, Small 

Business Rerepresentation. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 4, 8, 16, 

19, and 52 

Government procurement. 

William F. Clark, 

Director, Office of Government-wide 

Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition 

Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy. 

Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA are 

amending 48 CFR parts 4, 8, 16, 19, and 

52 as set forth below: 

■ 1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

parts 4, 8, 16, 19, and 52 continues to 

read as follows: 

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

chapter 4 and 10 U.S.C. chapter 137 legacy 

provisions (see 10 U.S.C. 3016); and 51 

U.S.C. 20113. 

PART 4—ADMINISTRATIVE AND 

INFORMATION MATTERS 

4.604 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend section 4.604 in paragraph 

(b)(4) by removing the text ‘‘contracting 

office’’ and ‘‘Post-Award’’ and adding 


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‘‘contracting officer’’ and ‘‘Postaward’’ 

in their places, respectively. 

PART 8—REQUIRED SOURCES OF 

SUPPLIES AND SERVICES 

8.405–5 [Amended] 

■ 3. Amend section 8.405–5 in 

paragraph (b) by removing the text 

‘‘section 19.301–2(b)(2)’’ and adding 

‘‘19.301–2(b)(3)’’ in its place. 

PART 16—TYPES OF CONTRACTS 

16.505 [Amended] 

■ 4. Amend section 16.505 in paragraph 

(b)(9) by removing the text ‘‘section 

19.301–2(b)(2)’’ and adding ‘‘19.301– 

2(b)(3)’’ in its place. 

PART 19—SMALL BUSINESS 

PROGRAMS 

19.202–5 [Amended] 

■ 5. Amend section 19.202–5 in 

paragraph (c) introductory text by 

removing ‘‘Post Award’’ and adding 

‘‘Postaward’’ in its place. 

■ 6. Amend section 19.301–2 by— 

■ a. Revising the section heading and 

paragraph (b) introductory text; 

■ b. Removing from paragraphs (b)(1)(i) 

and (ii) ‘‘Post-Award’’ and adding 

‘‘Postaward’’ in its place; 

■ c. Redesignating paragraph (b)(2) as 

paragraph (b)(3); 

■ d. Adding a new paragraph (b)(2); 

■ e. Adding headings to paragraphs (c) 

and (d); 

■ f. Revising paragraphs (d)(2)(i) and 

(ii); and 

■ g. Adding a heading to paragraph (e). 

The revisions and additions read as 

follows: 

19.301–2 Rerepresentation by a contractor 

that represented its status as a small 

business concern. 

* * * * * 

(b) Requirements. A contractor that 

represented its status as any of the small 

business concerns identified at 

19.000(a)(3) before contract award is 

required to rerepresent its size and 

socioeconomic status in accordance 

with the clause at 52.219–28, Postaward 

Small Business Program 

Rerepresentation— 

* * * * * 

(2) For the NAICS code assigned to an 

order (except for an order issued under 

a Federal Supply Schedule contract)— 

(i) Set aside exclusively for a small 

business concern identified at 

19.000(a)(3) that is issued under an 

unrestricted multiple-award contract, 

unless the order is issued under the 

reserved portion of an unrestricted 

multiple-award contract (e.g., an order 

set aside for a woman-owned small 

business concern under a multipleaward contract that was not set-aside, 

unless the order is issued under the 

reserved portion of the multiple-award 

contract); 

(ii) Issued under a multiple-award 

contract set aside for small businesses 

that is further set aside for a specific 

socioeconomic category that differs from 

the underlying multiple-award contract 

(e.g., an order set aside for a HUBZone 

small business concern under a 

multiple-award contract that is set-aside 

for small businesses); or 

(iii) Issued under the part of the 

multiple-award contract that is set aside 

for small businesses that is further set 

aside for a specific socioeconomic 

category that differs from the underlying 

set-aside part of the multiple-award 

contract (e.g., an order set aside for a 

part of the multiple-award contract that 

is partially set-aside for small 

businesses); or 

* * * * * 

(c) NAICS code size standard. * * * 

(d) Procedures— * * * 

(2) * * * 

(i) When an order is issued under an 

unrestricted multiple-award contract 

and the contractor’s rerepresentations 

no longer qualifies it as a small business 

concern identified at 19.000(a)(3), the 

agency can no longer include the value 

of the order in its small business prime 

contracting goal achievements. When a 

contractor’s rerepresentation for an 

order qualifies it as a different small 

business concern identified at 

19.000(a)(3) than what it represented for 

contract award, the agency can include 

the value of the order in its small 

business prime contracting goal 

achievement, consistent with the 

rerepresentation. 

(ii) A rerepresentation for an order 

issued under an unrestricted multipleaward contract does not change the size 

or socioeconomic status representation 

for the contract. 

(e) Size status change. * * * 

19.302 [Amended] 

■ 7. Amend section 19.302 in paragraph 

(j) by removing ‘‘Post-Award’’ and 

adding ‘‘Postaward’’ in its place. 

19.309 [Amended] 

■ 8. Amend section 19.309 in paragraph 

(c)(1) by removing ‘‘Post-Award’’ and 

adding ‘‘Postaward’’ in its place. 

PART 52—SOLICITATION PROVISIONS 

AND CONTRACT CLAUSES 

52.212–5 [Amended] 

■ 9. Amend section 52.212–5 in 

paragraph (b)(26)(i) by removing ‘‘PostAward’’ and ‘‘(FEB 2024)’’ and adding 

‘‘Postaward’’ and ‘‘(JAN 2025)’’ in their 

places, respectively. 

■ 10. Amend section 52.219–28 by— 

■ a. Revising the section heading, clause 

heading and date, and paragraph (c); 

and 

■ b. Removing from paragraph (f) 

‘‘paragraph (b) and (c)’’ and ‘‘office in’’ 

and adding ‘‘paragraphs (b) and (c)’’ and 

‘‘officer in’’ in their places, respectively. 

The revisions read as follows: 

52.219–28 Postaward Small Business 

Program Rerepresentation. 

* * * * * 

Postaward Small Business Program 

Rerepresentation (JAN 2025) 

* * * * * 

(c) If the Contractor represented its status 

as any of the small business concerns 

identified at 19.000(a)(3) prior to award of 

this contract, the Contractor shall rerepresent 

its size and socioeconomic status according 

to paragraph (f) of this clause or, if 

applicable, paragraph (h) of this clause, for 

the NAICS code assigned to an order (except 

that paragraphs (c)(1) through (3) of this 

clause do not apply to an order issued under 

a Federal Supply Schedule contract at 

subpart 8.4)— 

(1) Set aside exclusively for a small 

business concern identified at 19.000(a)(3) 

that is issued under an unrestricted multipleaward contract, unless the order is issued 

under the reserved portion of an unrestricted 

multiple-award contract (e.g., an order set 

aside for a woman-owned small business 

under a multiple-award contract that is not 

set-aside, unless the order is issued under the 

reserved portion of the multiple-award 

contract); 

(2) Issued under a multiple-award contract 

set aside for small businesses that is further 

set aside for a specific socioeconomic 

category that differs from the underlying 

multiple-award contract (e.g., an order set 

aside for a HUBZone small business concern 

under a multiple-award contract that is set 

aside for small businesses); 

(3) Issued under the part of the multipleaward contract that is set aside for small 

businesses that is further set aside for a 

specific socioeconomic category that differs 

from the underlying set-aside part of the 

multiple-award contract (e.g., an order set 

aside for a WOSB concern under the part of 

the multiple-award contract that is partially 

set aside for small businesses); and 

(4) When the Contracting Officer explicitly 

requires it for an order issued under a 

multiple-award contract, including for an 

order issued under a Federal Supply 

Schedule contract (see 8.405–5(b) and 

19.301–2(b)(2)). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–31404 Filed 1–2–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P 


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