FAR 1.603-1—General.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 1.603-1 explains who has authority to select, appoint, and terminate contracting officers and ties that authority to the government’s broader procurement workforce management requirements. It implements 41 U.S.C. 1702(b)(3)(G), which requires each agency head to maintain a procurement career management program and a system for selecting, appointing, and terminating contracting officers. The section also points to OFPP Policy Letter No. 05-01, which requires that these personnel actions be consistent with skill-based training standards for contracting and purchasing duties. In practice, this section matters because a contracting officer’s authority is not automatic; it must be formally granted by the agency, and the agency must manage that authority through a structured workforce program. For contractors, this section is important because it helps explain why only properly appointed contracting officers can bind the Government. For agencies, it is a governance and workforce-control requirement that supports accountability, competence, and valid contracting actions.
Key Rules
Agency appointment authority
Agency heads, or officials they designate, are responsible for selecting and appointing contracting officers. The authority to appoint is therefore an agency-controlled function, not a personal or automatic status.
Termination authority included
The same agency leadership or designee authority also covers terminating a contracting officer’s appointment. Agencies must be able to remove or limit contracting authority when appropriate.
Procurement career program required
Each agency head must establish and maintain a procurement career management program. This program is intended to manage the acquisition workforce and support qualified contracting personnel.
Appointments must follow OFPP standards
Selections and appointments must be consistent with OFPP skill-based training standards for contracting and purchasing duties. Agencies should ensure training and competency requirements are met before granting authority.
Authority must be properly delegated
Because agency heads may act through designees, the appointment and termination process must be carried out by officials who have been properly delegated that responsibility. Improper delegation can call the validity of the appointment into question.
Responsibilities
Agency Head
Establish and maintain a procurement career management program and ensure the agency has a system for selecting, appointing, and terminating contracting officers. The agency head may also personally make these decisions or delegate them to authorized officials.
Designee
Carry out the selection, appointment, and termination of contracting officers only within the scope of delegated authority and in a manner consistent with agency procedures and OFPP training standards.
Contracting Officer
Serve only under a valid appointment and maintain the qualifications, training, and competency expected by the agency’s procurement career management program and OFPP standards.
Agency Acquisition/HR Management
Support the career management program by tracking training, qualifications, and appointment actions, and by helping ensure that contracting authority is granted and withdrawn in a controlled, documented way.
Practical Implications
A contracting officer’s authority depends on a formal appointment; without it, the person may not have authority to bind the Government.
Agencies should document appointment and termination actions carefully, including who made the decision and under what delegated authority.
Training and competency matter: agencies should not treat appointment as a purely administrative step, because OFPP standards require skill-based preparation for contracting duties.
A common pitfall is assuming that a person with a contracting title automatically has warrant authority; the appointment must be explicit and current.
Another risk is failing to terminate or limit authority promptly when an employee changes roles, leaves the organization, or no longer meets qualification requirements.
Official Regulatory Text
41 U.S.C. 1702(b)(3)(G) requires agency heads to establish and maintain a procurement career management program and a system for the selection, appointment, and termination of appointment of contracting officers. Agency heads or their designees may select and appoint contracting officers and terminate their appointments. These selections and appointments shall be consistent with Office of Federal Procurement Policy’s (OFPP) standards for skill-based training in performing contracting and purchasing duties as published in OFPP Policy Letter No. 05-01, Developing and Managing the Acquisition Workforce, April 15, 2005.