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Federal Procurement

What this guide covers

The dollar thresholds and procurement methods that govern federal buys under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), plus the systems you’ll use — SAM.gov, GSA Schedules, and the Government Purchase Card. It’s a map, not a contracting course.

Who it’s for

Engineering leads and program staff who need to understand why a purchase has to go a certain way, and what the contracting officer (CO) is working with.

Disclaimer. Not legal or contracting advice. FAR thresholds are adjusted periodically for inflation (FAR 1.109) and by statute. Verify every figure against acquisition.gov (the FAR) before relying on it. Only a warranted Contracting Officer can obligate the government.

Figures below verified 2026-05-29 against the acquisition.gov threshold-changes page and reflect the increases effective October 1, 2025.

⚠️ FAR Overhaul in progress. The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) is rewriting and re-organizing the FAR throughout 2025–2026 (interim class deviations began April 15, 2025; rulemaking began October 1, 2025). The dollar thresholds below are current, but FAR part numbers and procedures cited here may move or change as the overhaul proceeds — confirm the part reference against the current FAR or your agency’s deviation guidance.

TL;DR (thresholds effective Oct 1, 2025)

  • Micro-purchase (≤ $15,000): buy it directly, usually on the Government Purchase Card. No competition required, but distribute fairly.
  • Simplified acquisition (15,000–15,000–350,000): simplified procedures (FAR Part 13); this range is reserved for small business.
  • Above the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (> $350,000): full competition (FAR Parts 14/15) unless an exception applies.
  • Buy commercial first (FAR Part 12) and buy off existing vehicles (GSA Schedules) before standing up a new competition.
  • You can’t be paid by the government until you’re registered in SAM.gov with a Unique Entity ID (UEI).

Who’s who

  • Contracting Officer (CO/KO): the only person with authority to obligate federal funds by signing a contract. Engineers and program managers cannot commit money — only request it.
  • Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR): technical eyes on the contract; cannot change scope or money.
  • Program / requiring office: writes the requirement and the funding; that’s usually you.

The single most expensive mistake a technical team makes is an unauthorized commitment — telling a vendor “go ahead, we’ll pay you” without a CO. Don’t.

The key dollar thresholds (FAR)

These are the figures that determine how you buy. They were increased effective October 1, 2025 (acquisition.gov/threshold-changes); the previous amounts are shown for reference because older contracts and guidance still cite them.

ThresholdCurrent amount (eff. 2025-10-01)Prior amountAuthorityWhat it means
Micro-Purchase Threshold (MPT)$15,000 (general)$10,000FAR 2.101Buy directly with minimal process; typically on a purchase card. No competition required. (Higher MPTs exist for certain R&D, contingency, and overseas buys.)
Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)$350,000$250,000FAR 2.101Below this, use Simplified Acquisition Procedures (FAR Part 13) — faster, less paperwork.
Small-business reserve15,000–15,000 – 350,00010,000–10,000 – 250,000FAR 13.003Acquisitions in the MPT-to-SAT band are reserved for small business when the CO expects competitive offers.
Commercial products/servicesn/an/aFAR Part 12Buy commercial off-the-shelf with commercial terms before custom development.
Truth in Negotiations (TINA) / certified cost or pricing data$2,500,000$2,000,000FAR 15.403-4Above this, certified cost or pricing data is generally required for sole-source negotiated buys.
Cost Accounting Standards (CAS)$2,500,000$2,000,000FAR Part 30Large contracts trigger CAS coverage.

Anti-splitting rule: you may not break a single requirement into multiple smaller buys to stay under a threshold (e.g., two 9,000cardpurchasestododgethe9,000 card purchases to dodge the 15,000 MPT). FAR 13.003(c). Auditors look for exactly this pattern.

How the value picks the method

≤ $15,000            → Micro-purchase (purchase card), buy directly
$15,000 – $350,000   → Simplified Acquisition Procedures, set aside for small business
> $350,000           → Full and open competition (sealed bid FAR 14, or negotiated FAR 15)
                       unless: GSA Schedule order, sole-source justification (FAR 6.302),
                       or another exception applies

(Thresholds effective 2025-10-01.)

Before standing up any new competition, check whether the buy can ride an existing contract vehicle — that’s almost always faster and is often required.

Systems you’ll actually use

SAM.gov — System for Award Management

The federal registration and search system. A vendor cannot be paid by the government without an active SAM.gov registration and a Unique Entity ID (UEI) (which replaced the DUNS number on April 4, 2022). SAM.gov is also where federal opportunities above the micro-purchase level are publicly posted (it absorbed FedBizOpps/FBO). Registration is free at sam.gov.

GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS)

The GSA Schedule (a.k.a. Federal Supply Schedule) is a pre-competed catalog of commercial products and services with negotiated ceiling prices. Ordering off a Schedule (FAR 8.4) is far faster than an open competition because GSA already did the competition. For software and IT, this is usually the path of least resistance. State and local governments can sometimes buy off federal schedules under Cooperative Purchasing (IT, Schedule 70 / the IT category).

Government Purchase Card (GPC)

A government-issued charge card for **micro-purchases (≤ 15,000asof2025−10−01)∗∗.Thecardholdermuststillgetafairpriceanddocumentthebuy,andmaynotsplitpurchasestostayunderthelimit.Single−purchaseandmonthlylimitsaresetbytheagency.(Seethe[GSASmartPaybulletinonthe15,000 as of 2025-10-01)**. The cardholder must still get a fair price and document the buy, and may not split purchases to stay under the limit. Single-purchase and monthly limits are set by the agency. (See the [GSA SmartPay bulletin on the 15,000 MPT increase](https://smartpay.gsa.gov/guidance-and-audits/smart-bulletins/002/).)

Small-business set-asides

Federal policy steers work to small businesses. Above the micro-purchase threshold and below the SAT, acquisitions are reserved for small business when competition is expected. Specific socioeconomic set-aside categories:

  • 8(a) — Small Disadvantaged Business program
  • HUBZone — Historically Underutilized Business Zones
  • SDVOSB — Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
  • WOSB / EDWOSB — Women-Owned / Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business

If your preferred vendor qualifies under one of these, the set-aside path can be both faster and policy-preferred.

Software-specific notes

  • Buy commercial first (FAR Part 12). Off-the-shelf and open-source-based commercial offerings are preferred over custom builds.
  • FedRAMP. Cloud services handling federal data generally must be FedRAMP authorized at the appropriate impact level. This is a functionality gate, not a price line — an un-authorized SaaS may be unbuyable regardless of cost. See the SSO and data-residency gates in Tools and Software.
  • Section 508 accessibility. Federal ICT procurements must meet Section 508 (WCAG 2.0 AA baseline, moving toward 2.1/2.2). Require a VPAT/ACR from the vendor as part of evaluation.
  • Open source is allowed. Federal policy (and the DoD/CIO memos on OSS) treat open-source software as commercial software. The cost discussion in Tools and Software applies; the acquisition of support/hosting around it still follows the thresholds above.

Sources (verified 2026-05-29)

ClaimSource
MPT 15,000/SAT15,000 / SAT 350,000 / cost-or-pricing-data $2.5M, effective 2025-10-01Acquisition.gov — Threshold Changes, October 1, 2025
MPT increased to $15,000 (purchase-card guidance)GSA SmartPay Smart Bulletin 002
Definitions of MPT and SATFAR 2.101
Simplified acquisition procedures; small-business reserve; anti-splittingFAR Part 13 / FAR 13.003
FAR rewrite / part renumbering in progressRevolutionary FAR Overhaul
Threshold-increase analysisSmallGovCon — Finalized Increases to Micro-Purchase, Simplified Acquisition, and Other Thresholds

Thresholds adjust for inflation roughly every five years (FAR 1.109) and FAR part numbers may shift during the overhaul. Re-verify against acquisition.gov before relying on any figure.