FAR 11.4—Subpart 11.4

General.

FAR 11.401 explains how the Government must handle time of delivery or performance in solicitations and awards. It covers three main topics: making delivery/performance time an essential contract element and stating it clearly in the solicitation, ensuring the schedule is realistic and not unnecessarily restrictive, telling bidders or offerors how delivery/performance time will be evaluated unless that is clearly unnecessary, and using liquidated damages when timely performance is unusually important to the Government. In practice, this section is meant to prevent unrealistic schedules that limit competition, disadvantage small businesses, and drive up prices. It also helps contractors understand how schedule will affect evaluation so they can price and plan accordingly. For contracting officers, it is a reminder that schedule is not just an administrative detail; it is a material acquisition term that must be planned, disclosed, and evaluated carefully.

Factors to consider in establishing schedules.

FAR 11.402 explains what contracting officers must think about when setting delivery, performance, or completion schedules in federal contracts. It covers schedules for supplies and services, as well as construction contracts, and identifies the specific factors that should be weighed in each context. For supplies and services, the section addresses urgency of need, industry practices, market conditions, transportation time, production time, small business capabilities, administrative time to obtain and evaluate offers and award the contract, time for contractors to satisfy conditions precedent to performance, and time for the Government to meet its own obligations such as furnishing Government property. For construction, it addresses the nature and complexity of the project, construction seasons, required completion date, availability of materials and equipment, contractor capacity, and the use of multiple completion dates. In practice, this section is meant to help the Government set realistic, supportable schedules that reflect actual performance conditions rather than arbitrary dates, reducing schedule risk, disputes, and avoidable delays.

Supplies or services.

FAR 11.403 explains how contracting officers may state delivery or performance schedules for supplies or services and how those schedules are measured in practice. It covers four acceptable ways to express time: by specific calendar dates, by a period from the date of contract award or contract effectiveness, by a period from the contractor’s receipt of the notice of award or contract document, or by a period from receipt of each individual order under an indefinite-delivery contract or GSA schedule. The section also protects contractors from having their performance time unfairly shortened because the Government delays sending the award notice. In addition, it sets mailing and proof-of-receipt requirements when the schedule depends on receipt of the award notice, and it gives special bid-evaluation rules for invitations for bids when delivery is tied to receipt rather than the contract date. In practice, this section matters because the way the schedule is written affects when performance starts, how bids are evaluated, whether a bid is responsive, and whether the Government can enforce the stated delivery date.

Contract clauses.

FAR 11.404 explains which contract clauses contracting officers may or must use to establish delivery and completion schedules, and how those clauses change depending on how the schedule is measured. It covers time-of-delivery clauses for supplies and services, including the basic clause at 52.211-8, Time of Delivery, and the related clause at 52.211-9, Desired and Required Time of Delivery, along with their alternates for schedules based on the contract date, an assumed award date, an assumed notice-of-award date, or the actual date the contractor receives written notice of award. It also covers the construction clause at 52.211-10, Commencement, Prosecution, and Completion of Work, which is required for fixed-price construction contracts and may be adjusted for indefinite-delivery ordering arrangements. In practice, this section tells the contracting officer how to align the clause language with the way the Government wants to measure performance time, so the solicitation and contract create a clear, enforceable schedule. The section matters because the wrong clause or wrong alternate can create ambiguity about when performance starts, when delivery is due, and whether a contractor is late. For contractors, it signals that delivery or completion obligations may be tied to award, notice of award, notice to proceed, or a specific calendar date, and that the exact clause text controls how those dates are calculated.