Overview
The designation "[Reserved]" in FAR 52.203 and its subsections indicates that these specific locations in the regulation do not currently contain active clauses or provisions. These placeholders are used to maintain the integrity of the FAR’s numerical structure when a provision is deleted, relocated, or held for future use.
Key Rules
- Structural Integrity: Reserved sections ensure that the decimal numbering system remains consistent, preventing the need to renumber subsequent active clauses like 52.203-2 or 52.203-7 when an earlier clause is removed.
- Absence of Requirements: A section marked "[Reserved]" contains no legal definitions, compliance requirements, or "shall" statements; it imposes zero obligations on either the government or the contractor.
- Citation Stability: By using placeholders, the FAR ensures that specific clause numbers (e.g., 52.203-3 for "Gratuities") always refer to the same subject matter over time, even if neighboring sections become obsolete.
- Solicitation Context: If a Contracting Officer includes a "[Reserved]" number in a solicitation, it carries no weight and is essentially a blank entry in the contract’s terms and conditions.
Practical Implications
- Contractors and legal teams can bypass these sections during compliance audits and proposal reviews as they contain no actionable instructions or risk factors.
- The use of placeholders allows the FAR Council to introduce new "Improper Business Practices" regulations in the future using these empty slots without disrupting existing contract templates or cross-references.