to establish or maintain an alternative source of supply for that prop-
erty or service if the agency head determines that to do so would— 
(A) increase or maintain competition and likely result in re-
duced overall cost for the procurement, or for an anticipated pro-
curement, of the property or services; 
(B) be in the interest of national defense in having a facility 
(or a producer, manufacturer, or other supplier) available for fur-
nishing the property or service in case of a national emergency or 
industrial mobilization; 
(C) be in the interest of national defense in establishing or 
maintaining an essential engineering, research, or development ca-
pability to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit insti-
tution or a Federally funded research and development center; 
(D) ensure the continuous availability of a reliable source of 
supply of the property or service; 
(E) satisfy projected needs for the property or service deter-
mined on the basis of a history of high demand for the property 
or service; or 
(F) satisfy a critical need for medical, safety, or emergency sup-
plies. 
(2) DETERMINATION
FOR
CLASS
DISALLOWED.—A determination 
under paragraph (1) may not be made for a class of purchases or con-
tracts. 
(b) EXCLUSION OF OTHER THAN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.—An ex-
ecutive agency may provide for the procurement of property or services cov-
ered by section 3301 of this title using competitive procedures, but exclud-
ing other than small business concerns in furtherance of sections 9 and 15 
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638, 644). 
(c) NONAPPLICATION
OF JUSTIFICATION
AND APPROVAL REQUIRE-
MENTS.—A contract awarded pursuant to the competitive procedures re-
ferred to in subsections (a) and (b) is not subject to the justification and 
approval required by section 3304(e)(1) of this title. 
§ 3304. Use of noncompetitive procedures 
(a) WHEN NONCOMPETITIVE PROCEDURES MAY BE USED.—An execu-
tive agency may use procedures other than competitive procedures only 
when— 
(1) the property or services needed by the executive agency are avail-
able from only one responsible source and no other type of property 
or services will satisfy the needs of the executive agency; 
(2) the executive agency’s need for the property or services is of such 
an unusual and compelling urgency that the Federal Government would
be seriously injured unless the executive agency is permitted to limit 
the number of sources from which it solicits bids or proposals; 
(3) it is necessary to award the contract to a particular source— 
(A) to maintain a facility, producer, manufacturer, or other sup-
plier available for furnishing property or services in case of a na-
tional emergency or to achieve industrial mobilization; 
(B) to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, 
or development capability to be provided by an educational or 
other nonprofit institution or a Federally funded research and de-
velopment center; 
(C) to procure the services of an expert for use, in any litigation 
or dispute (including any reasonably foreseeable litigation or dis-
pute) involving the Federal Government, in any trial, hearing, or 
proceeding before a court, administrative tribunal, or agency, 
whether or not the expert is expected to testify; or 
(D) to procure the services of an expert or neutral for use in 
any part of an alternative dispute resolution or negotiated rule-
making process, whether or not the expert is expected to testify; 
(4) the terms of an international agreement or treaty between the 
Federal Government and a foreign government or an international or-
ganization, or the written directions of a foreign government reimburs-
ing the executive agency for the cost of the procurement of the prop-
erty or services for that government, have the effect of requiring the 
use of procedures other than competitive procedures; 
(5) subject to section 3105 of this title, a statute expressly author-
izes or requires that the procurement be made through another execu-
tive agency or from a specified source, or the agency’s need is for a 
brand-name commercial item for authorized resale; 
(6) the disclosure of the executive agency’s needs would compromise 
the national security unless the agency is permitted to limit the number 
of sources from which it solicits bids or proposals; or 
(7) the head of the executive agency (who may not delegate the au-
thority under this paragraph)— 
(A) determines that it is necessary in the public interest to use 
procedures other than competitive procedures in the particular 
procurement concerned; and 
(B) notifies Congress in writing of that determination not less 
than 30 days before the award of the contract. 
(b) PROPERTY
OR SERVICES DEEMED AVAILABLE FROM ONLY ONE 
SOURCE.—For the purposes of subsection (a)(1), in the case of—
(1) a contract for property or services to be awarded on the basis 
of acceptance of an unsolicited research proposal, the property or serv-
ices are deemed to be available from only one source if the source has 
submitted an unsolicited research proposal that demonstrates a unique 
and innovative concept, the substance of which is not otherwise avail-
able to the Federal Government and does not resemble the substance 
of a pending competitive procurement; or 
(2) a follow-on contract for the continued development or production 
of a major system or highly specialized equipment, the property may 
be deemed to be available only from the original source and may be 
procured through procedures other than competitive procedures when 
it is likely that award to a source other than the original source would 
result in— 
(A) substantial duplication of cost to the Federal Government 
that is not expected to be recovered through competition; or 
(B) unacceptable delay in fulfilling the executive agency’s needs. 
(c) PROPERTY OR SERVICES NEEDED WITH UNUSUAL AND COMPELLING 
URGENCY.— 
(1) ALLOWABLE CONTRACT PERIOD.—The contract period of a con-
tract described in paragraph (2) that is entered into by an executive 
agency pursuant to the authority provided under subsection (a)(2)— 
(A) may not exceed the time necessary— 
(i) to meet the unusual and compelling requirements of the 
work to be performed under the contract; and 
(ii) for the executive agency to enter into another contract 
for the required goods or services through the use of competi-
tive procedures; and 
(B) may not exceed one year unless the head of the executive 
agency entering into the contract determines that exceptional cir-
cumstances apply. 
(2) APPLICABILITY OF ALLOWABLE CONTRACT PERIOD.—This sub-
section applies to any contract in an amount greater than the sim-
plified acquisition threshold. 
(d) OFFER REQUESTS TO POTENTIAL SOURCES.—An executive agency 
using procedures other than competitive procedures to procure property or 
services by reason of the application of paragraph (2) or (6) of subsection 
(a) shall request offers from as many potential sources as is practicable 
under the circumstances. 
(e) JUSTIFICATION FOR USE OF NONCOMPETITIVE PROCEDURES.—
(1) PREREQUISITES FOR AWARDING CONTRACT.—Except as provided 
in paragraphs (3) and (4), an executive agency may not award a con-
tract using procedures other than competitive procedures unless— 
(A) the contracting officer for the contract justifies the use of 
those procedures in writing and certifies the accuracy and com-
pleteness of the justification; 
(B) the justification is approved, in the case of a contract for 
an amount— 
(i) exceeding $500,000 but equal to or less than 
$10,000,000, by the advocate for competition for the pro-
curing activity (without further delegation) or by an official 
referred to in clause (ii) or (iii); 
(ii) exceeding $10,000,000 but equal to or less than 
$50,000,000, by the head of the procuring activity or by a 
delegate who, if a member of the armed forces, is a general 
or flag officer or, if a civilian, is serving in a position in which 
the individual is entitled to receive the daily equivalent of the 
maximum annual rate of basic pay payable under section 
5376 of title 5 (or in a comparable or higher position under 
another schedule); or 
(iii) exceeding $50,000,000, by the senior procurement ex-
ecutive of the agency designated pursuant to section 1702(c) 
of this title (without further delegation); and 
(C) any required notice has been published with respect to the 
contract pursuant to section 1708 of this title and the executive 
agency has considered all bids or proposals received in response 
to that notice. 
(2) ELEMENTS OF JUSTIFICATION.—The justification required by 
paragraph (1)(A) shall include— 
(A) a description of the agency’s needs; 
(B) an identification of the statutory exception from the re-
quirement to use competitive procedures and a demonstration, 
based on the proposed contractor’s qualifications or the nature of 
the procurement, of the reasons for using that exception; 
(C) a determination that the anticipated cost will be fair and 
reasonable; 
(D) a description of the market survey conducted or a state-
ment of the reasons a market survey was not conducted; 
(E) a listing of any sources that expressed in writing an interest 
in the procurement; and