FAR 15.406-2—Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 15.406-2 explains when and how the Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data must be used, what the certificate actually means, and what it does not mean. It covers the required certificate format, the contracting officer’s duty to obtain and file the executed certificate when certified cost or pricing data are required, the contractor’s certification that submitted data are accurate, complete, and current as of the date price agreement is reached, and the inclusion of data supporting advance agreements and forward pricing rate agreements. It also clarifies the important distinction between factual data and the contractor’s judgment or estimates, and it warns that the contractor’s responsibility is not reduced just because its negotiators personally lacked knowledge of information that was reasonably available. The section encourages the parties to agree in advance on closing or cutoff dates to reduce proposal-update delays and explains how cutoff dates and periodic accounting data may be used. Finally, it states that merely having the certificate does not replace the contracting officer’s obligation to analyze the proposal, and that if an exception to certified cost or pricing data later applies, the data are not treated as certified and should not be certified under this subsection. In practice, this section is central to defective pricing risk, negotiation timing, and the integrity of the pricing record in negotiated procurements requiring certified cost or pricing data.
Key Rules
Certificate is required
When certified cost or pricing data are required, the contracting officer must require the contractor to sign the Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data and must place the executed certificate in the contract file. The certificate must use the FAR-prescribed format.
Certification date matters
The certificate states that the data are accurate, complete, and current as of the date price negotiations concluded and price agreement was reached, or an earlier agreed cutoff date as close as practicable to that point. The signing date should also be as close as practicable to the date of price agreement.
Covers supporting agreements
The certification includes cost or pricing data supporting any advance agreements and forward pricing rate agreements that are part of the proposal. Contractors cannot treat those supporting data as outside the certification if they are part of the pricing package.
Facts versus judgment
The certificate covers the underlying factual data, not the contractor’s judgment, estimates, or projections about future costs. However, if reasonably available information showed the negotiated price was based on inaccurate, incomplete, or stale data, the contractor remains responsible even if its negotiators did not personally know the information.
Cutoff dates should be planned
The contracting officer and contractor are encouraged to agree in advance on closing or cutoff dates to reduce delays caused by proposal updates. Data should be updated to the latest available cutoff date before price agreement, and periodic report dates may be used when certain data are not reasonably available sooner.
Reasonably available data must be included
Data within the contractor’s or subcontractor’s organization on matters significant to contractor management and to the Government are treated as reasonably available. Whether information is significant depends on the circumstances of the acquisition.
Certificate does not replace analysis
Possessing the certificate does not relieve the contracting officer of the duty to examine and analyze the proposal. The certificate is a compliance and accountability tool, not a substitute for price analysis or cost analysis.
No certification if exception applies
If the Government requested certified cost or pricing data but an exception is later found to apply, the data are not treated as certified cost or pricing data and should not be certified under this subsection.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Require the contractor to execute the certificate whenever certified cost or pricing data are required, ensure the correct FAR format is used, include the signed certificate in the contract file, and still independently examine and analyze the proposal. The contracting officer should also work with the contractor to establish practical cutoff dates when appropriate.
Contractor
Certify that the submitted cost or pricing data are accurate, complete, and current as of the agreed date; include data supporting advance agreements and forward pricing rate agreements that are part of the proposal; update data through the latest available cutoff date before agreement; and ensure reasonably available significant internal or subcontractor data are disclosed.
Offeror
Submit the required cost or pricing data, identify the proposal or price adjustment request covered by the certificate, and provide the signed certification when required. If an exception later applies, the offeror should not treat the submission as certified cost or pricing data.
Government Representative / Contracting Officer’s Representative
Receive supporting data as part of the pricing package when the contracting officer directs or the process requires it, but not rely on the certificate alone in place of substantive review.
Agency
Maintain the executed certificate in the contract file and support acquisition practices that encourage timely cutoff-date agreements and proper documentation of pricing negotiations.
Practical Implications
This section is a major defective-pricing control point: if the contractor omits material facts or fails to update reasonably available data, the Government may later challenge the price even though a certificate was signed.
Contractors should not assume that estimates are insulated from scrutiny; the underlying facts used to build the estimate must be current and complete, and internal data cannot be withheld simply because the negotiator did not personally know about them.
Contracting officers should not treat the certificate as a substitute for price analysis. A signed certificate helps document compliance, but it does not cure weak negotiation support or inadequate review.
Cutoff-date planning can save time and reduce repeated proposal revisions, especially when indirect rates or other periodic data are involved. Without an agreed cutoff, negotiations can stall while the proposal is repeatedly updated.
A common pitfall is failing to include supporting data for advance agreements or forward pricing rate agreements in the certification package, even though those data are covered by the certificate when they are part of the proposal.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) When certified cost or pricing data are required, the contracting officer shall require the contractor to execute a Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data, using the format in this paragraph, and must include the executed certificate in the contract file. Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data This is to certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the cost or pricing data (as defined in section 2.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and required under FAR subsection 15.403-4 ) submitted, either actually or by specific identification in writing, to the Contracting Officer or to the Contracting Officer's representative in support of * are accurate, complete, and current as of . This certification includes the cost or pricing data supporting any advance agreements and forward pricing rate agreements between the offeror and the Government that are part of the proposal. Firm _____________________________________________ Signature _________________________________________ Name ____________________________________________ Title _____________________________________________ Date of execution*________________ * Identify the proposal, request for price adjustment, or other submission involved, giving the appropriate identifying number ( e.g., RFP No.). ** Insert the day, month, and year when price negotiations were concluded and price agreement was reached or, if applicable, an earlier date agreed upon between the parties that is as close as practicable to the date of agreement on price. ***Insert the day, month, and year of signing, which should be as close as practicable to the date when the price negotiations were concluded and the contract price was agreed to. (End of certificate) (b) The certificate does not constitute a representation as to the accuracy of the contractor’s judgment on the estimate of future costs or projections. It applies to the data upon which the judgment or estimate was based. This distinction between fact and judgment should be clearly understood. If the contractor had information reasonably available at the time of agreement showing that the negotiated price was not based on accurate, complete, and current data, the contractor’s responsibility is not limited by any lack of personal knowledge of the information on the part of its negotiators. (c) The contracting officer and contractor are encouraged to reach a prior agreement on criteria for establishing closing or cutoff dates when appropriate in order to minimize delays associated with proposal updates. Closing or cutoff dates should be included as part of the data submitted with the proposal and, before agreement on price, data should be updated by the contractor to the latest closing or cutoff dates for which the data are available. Use of cutoff dates coinciding with reports is acceptable, as certain data may not be reasonably available before normal periodic closing dates ( e.g., actual indirect costs). Data within the contractor’s or a subcontractor’s organization on matters significant to contractor management and to the Government will be treated as reasonably available. What is significant depends upon the circumstances of each acquisition. (d) Possession of a Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data is not a substitute for examining and analyzing the contractor’s proposal. (e) If certified cost or pricing data are requested by the Government and submitted by an offeror, but an exception is later found to apply, the data shall not be considered certified cost or pricing data and shall not be certified in accordance with this subsection.