Overview
This section prescribes the mandatory uniform structure for Procurement Instrument Identifiers (PIIDs) and supplementary identifiers, ensuring consistent tracking and data transmission for federal solicitations, contracts, and modifications. It defines a character-mapped sequence that identifies the issuing office, fiscal year, instrument type, and specific serial number.
Key Rules
- PIID Structure: A PIID must consist of 13 to 17 alphanumeric characters. Special characters, such as hyphens, dashes, or spaces, are strictly prohibited.
- Activity Address Code (Positions 1-6): The first six characters identify the specific department and office issuing the instrument using their assigned Activity Address Code (AAC).
- Fiscal Year (Positions 7-8): These positions represent the last two digits of the fiscal year in which the instrument is signed (regardless of the effective date).
- Instrument Type (Position 9): A specific letter code must be used to identify the type of procurement vehicle. Critical codes include:
- A: Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs)
- C: Definitive contracts (excluding indefinite-delivery types)
- D: Indefinite-delivery contracts (IDIQ, GWACs, FSS)
- F: Task orders, delivery orders, or calls
- P: Purchase orders
- R: Requests for proposals (RFPs)
- Serial Number (Positions 10-17): Agencies assign a unique sequence of 4 to 8 characters. The length of this sequence must be consistent agency-wide.
- Supplementary Identifiers:
- Amendments: Solicitation amendments use a four-digit numeric sequence (e.g., 0001).
- Modifications: Contract modifications use a six-character alphanumeric sequence. The first character must be "P" for procuring office-issued modifications or "A" for administrative office-issued modifications.
Practical Implications
- System Interoperability: Because PIIDs avoid special characters and follow a rigid length, they can be seamlessly processed by government-wide databases like the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) and payment systems like Wide Area Workflow (WAWF).
- Contract Administration: Contractors can instantly identify the nature of a document (e.g., distinguishing a task order from a base contract) and the issuing authority (procuring vs. administrative office) simply by decoding the PIID and supplementary modification number.