Overview
FAR Part 18 serves as a specialized "roadmap" for Federal Contracting Officers, consolidating various acquisition flexibilities available during emergency situations. It distinguishes between "generally available" flexibilities that can be used whenever specific conditions are met and "emergency" flexibilities that are only triggered by specific events, such as contingency operations, presidential disaster declarations, or defense against attacks (cyber, nuclear, biological, etc.).
Key Rules
- Threshold Increases: Significant increases to the Micro-purchase Threshold (MPT) and Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) occur when supporting contingency operations or facilitating defense/recovery from attacks.
- Registration Waivers: Contractors are not required to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at the time of proposal submission for urgent requirements or for contracts awarded by deployed contracting officers, though they must eventually register for the Disaster Response Registry.
- Competition and Public Notice: Agencies may limit competition under "unusual and compelling urgency" and are exempt from the standard requirement to publicize (synopsize) the action if the government would be seriously injured by the delay.
- Commercial Treatment: Contracting Officers may treat any acquisition as a "commercial product or service" if it is for defense against or recovery from cyber, nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attacks, allowing for streamlined commercial procedures.
- Streamlined Selection: Authorizes the use of oral requests for proposals (RFPs), letter contracts (allowing work to start before all terms are finalized), and waivers for bid guarantees.
- Stafford Act Preference: For major disasters or emergencies declared under the Stafford Act, preference (set-asides or evaluation credits) must be given to local organizations and firms in the affected area.
Responsibilities
- Head of Executive Agency: Responsible for determining if an acquisition supports a contingency operation or disaster recovery, which officially triggers the increased statutory thresholds.
- Contracting Officer (CO):
- Determines if "unusual and compelling urgency" exists to bypass standard competition.
- Consults the Disaster Response Registry via SAM.gov to find contractors for relief activities.
- Justifies the use of oral RFPs and letter contracts.
- Determines if qualification requirements or bid guarantees should be waived.
- Chief of the Contracting Office: Authorized to waive the requirement for bid guarantees in emergency acquisitions.
- Head of the Contracting Activity: Responsible for determining if a contract process should continue despite a GAO protest (protest override) due to urgent and compelling circumstances.
Practical Implications
In real-world scenarios, FAR Part 18 functions as a "break glass in case of emergency" toolkit that shifts the focus from administrative process to speed of delivery. For example, during a hurricane response or a sudden cyber-attack, a Contracting Officer can bypass the weeks-long posting requirements on SAM.gov and issue a Letter Contract to a local firm within hours to begin debris removal or systems restoration.
However, the "AI Insight" for contractors and agencies is that while Part 18 relaxes procedures, it specifically does not exempt agencies from FAR Part 3 (Improper Business Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest). Even in an emergency, the legal requirements for ethical conduct, price reasonableness (to the extent possible), and subsequent documentation remain. Contractors should expect "Alpha Contracting" (joint development of requirements) and must be prepared to provide rapid-response capabilities while maintaining the administrative capacity to formalize "informal commitments" once the immediate crisis stabilizes.