FAR 12.102—Applicability.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 12.102 explains when Part 12, Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies and how it interacts with the rest of the FAR. It covers the basic rule that Part 12 is used only for acquisitions of items that meet the definitions of “commercial product” or “commercial service” in FAR 2.101, and it tells contracting officers to combine Part 12 policies with the solicitation, evaluation, and award procedures in Parts 13, 14, or 15 as appropriate. It also states the precedence rule: other FAR parts still apply to commercial acquisitions, but if another FAR policy conflicts with Part 12, Part 12 controls for commercial products and services. The section clarifies the meaning of “purposes other than governmental purposes,” explaining that the phrase refers to uses not unique to government. It then lists several acquisitions to which Part 12 does not apply, including micro-purchases, purchases using SF 44, imprest fund purchases, use of the Governmentwide commercial purchase card as a purchasing method, and direct acquisitions from another Federal agency. Finally, it creates a special cyber-related authority allowing agencies to treat certain supplies or services used to facilitate defense against or recovery from cyber, nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack as commercial, while preserving cost accounting standards and certified cost or pricing data requirements for certain sole-source awards over $25 million when the item does not actually meet the commercial definition.
Key Rules
Use Part 12 for commercial buys
Part 12 applies only when the acquisition is for supplies or services that meet the FAR 2.101 definitions of commercial product or commercial service. If the item does not fit those definitions, Part 12 is not the governing framework.
Combine with Parts 13, 14, or 15
Contracting officers must use Part 12 together with the solicitation, evaluation, and award procedures in Part 13, 14, or 15, depending on the acquisition method. Part 12 does not replace those procedures; it overlays commercial-item policies on top of them.
Part 12 controls over conflicts
Commercial acquisitions remain subject to other FAR parts, but when another FAR policy conflicts with Part 12, Part 12 takes precedence. This makes Part 12 the controlling policy set for commercial products and services when inconsistency exists.
Governmental purposes explained
The phrase “purposes other than governmental purposes” in the commercial product definition means uses that are not unique to government. This helps distinguish commercial items from items designed solely for government-specific needs.
Part 12 exclusions
Part 12 does not apply to acquisitions at or below the micro-purchase threshold, purchases using SF 44, imprest fund purchases, use of the Governmentwide commercial purchase card as a purchasing method, or direct purchases from another Federal agency. These transactions are handled under other streamlined or interagency authorities.
Special cyber-defense authority
A contracting officer may treat certain supplies or services used to facilitate defense against or recovery from cyber, nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack as commercial products or services if the agency head makes that determination. This is an exception intended to speed procurement for critical defensive capabilities.
High-dollar sole-source safeguard
If a contract over $25 million is sole-source and relies on the special cyber-defense treatment, but the item does not actually meet the commercial definition, the contract is not exempt from cost accounting standards or certified cost or pricing data requirements. This prevents the special authority from being used to avoid key pricing and accounting controls.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Determine whether the supplies or services meet the commercial product or commercial service definitions, apply Part 12 only when appropriate, and use Part 12 together with the correct solicitation and award procedures from Parts 13, 14, or 15. The contracting officer must also recognize when Part 12 does not apply, identify conflicts with other FAR parts, and ensure the correct pricing and accounting requirements are applied.
Head of the Agency
Make the determination required to allow certain cyber-, nuclear-, biological-, chemical-, or radiological-defense-related supplies or services to be treated as commercial under paragraph (f). This agency-level judgment is the trigger for use of the special authority.
Agency Acquisition Personnel
Use the correct acquisition method and payment mechanism, avoid misapplying Part 12 to excluded transactions, and ensure interagency or small-purchase procedures are followed when Part 12 is inapplicable. They must also support proper documentation of the commercial-item determination and any special treatment under paragraph (f).
Contractor
Provide accurate information about whether offered supplies or services meet the commercial definitions and, when applicable, support pricing, cost accounting, and commerciality representations. For large sole-source awards under the special cyber authority, contractors must be prepared to comply with cost accounting standards and certified cost or pricing data requirements if the item is not truly commercial.
Practical Implications
This section is a gateway rule: before using Part 12, the acquisition team must confirm commerciality and make sure the transaction is not one of the listed exclusions. Misclassifying the buy can lead to using the wrong procedures, wrong clauses, or wrong pricing rules.
Part 12 does not operate in isolation. In practice, contracting officers still need to choose the right competition and award framework from Parts 13, 14, or 15, then layer commercial-item policies on top.
The precedence rule matters when another FAR part seems to require something different. For commercial acquisitions, you must check whether Part 12 overrides the conflicting requirement rather than assuming the other part controls.
The exclusions are easy to overlook in fast buys. Micro-purchases, SF 44 purchases, imprest fund actions, purchase-card-as-purchase transactions, and direct interagency buys are outside Part 12 even if the item itself is commercial.
The special cyber-defense authority can speed urgent acquisitions, but it is not a blanket waiver. For large sole-source awards, agencies still need to watch for CAS and certified cost or pricing data exposure if the item does not truly meet the commercial definition.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) This part shall be used for the acquisition of supplies or services that meet the definitions of “commercial product” or “commercial service” at 2.101 . (b) Contracting officers shall use the policies in this part in conjunction with the policies and procedures for solicitation, evaluation and award prescribed in part 13 , Simplified Acquisition Procedures; part 14 , Sealed Bidding; or part 15 , Contracting by Negotiation, as appropriate for the particular acquisition. (c) Contracts for the acquisition of commercial products or commercial services are subject to the policies in other parts of the FAR. When a policy in another part of the FAR is inconsistent with a policy in this part, this part 12 shall take precedence for the acquisition of commercial products or commercial services. (d) The definition of commercial product uses the phrase “purposes other than governmental purposes”. These purposes are those that are not unique to a government. (e) This part shall not apply to the acquisition of commercial products or commercial services— (1) At or below the micro-purchase threshold; (2) Using the Standard Form 44 (see 13.306 ); (3) Using the imprest fund (see 13.305 ); (4) Using the Governmentwide commercial purchase card as a method of purchase rather than only as a method of payment; or (5) Directly from another Federal agency. (f) (1) Contracting officers may treat any acquisition of supplies or services that, as determined by the head of the agency, are to be used to facilitate defense against or recovery from cyber, nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack, as an acquisition of commercial products or commercial services. (2) A contract in an amount greater than $25 million that is awarded on a sole source basis for a product or service treated as a commercial product or commercial service under paragraph (f)(1) of this section but does not meet the definition of a commercial product or commercial service at 2.101 shall not be exempt from— (i) Cost accounting standards (see subpart 30.2 ); or (ii) Certified cost or pricing data requirements (see 15.403 ).