FAR 17.108—Congressional notification.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 17.108 sets out the congressional notification requirement for certain multi-year contracts that include a cancellation ceiling above specified dollar thresholds. It distinguishes between civilian agencies and the Department of Defense, NASA, and the Coast Guard, because the notification committees and dollar thresholds differ for those groups. The section requires written notice from the head of the agency to the relevant congressional committees before award, and it imposes a waiting period so Congress has time to review the proposed contract and cancellation ceiling. It also notes a practical administration issue: contracting officers may not know the correct committees, so agencies should identify them in internal regulations. In practice, this rule is a pre-award control that can delay award if the notice has not been properly sent or if the 31-day waiting period has not run. It is intended to ensure congressional oversight of large multi-year commitments that could create significant cancellation liability for the government.
Key Rules
Civilian agency threshold
For agencies other than DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, congressional notification is required when a multi-year contract includes a cancellation ceiling greater than $20 million. The contract may not be awarded until the required written notice has been provided and the waiting period has expired.
DoD threshold
For the Department of Defense, the notification trigger is a cancellation ceiling greater than $200 million. The higher threshold reflects the separate statutory treatment of these agencies, but the pre-award notice and waiting-period requirements still apply.
Required congressional recipients
Civilian agencies must notify the House and Senate appropriations committees and the appropriate oversight committees for the agency. DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard must notify the House and Senate armed services committees and appropriations committees.
Written notice by agency head
The notice must be written and must come from the head of the agency. This is not merely an internal contracting action; it is an agency-level congressional notification requirement.
31-day waiting period
The contract may not be awarded until the 31st day after the date of notification. The waiting period is mandatory, so award before the period expires would violate the rule.
Internal committee guidance
Because the relevant committees may not be readily known to contracting officers, agencies are expected to identify them in internal regulations or other internal guidance so the notice goes to the correct recipients.
Responsibilities
Head of the Agency
Provide the required written notification to the correct congressional committees before award of a covered multi-year contract and ensure the notice includes the proposed contract and proposed cancellation ceiling.
Contracting Officer
Identify whether the proposed multi-year contract triggers the notification requirement, coordinate with agency channels to ensure notice is sent, and delay award until the 31-day waiting period has run.
Agency
Maintain internal regulations or guidance identifying the proper congressional committees and establish procedures to route and document the required notification.
Congressional Committees
Receive the notice and have the opportunity to review the proposed multi-year contract and cancellation ceiling during the waiting period; no affirmative approval is required by this section, but the notice must be provided.
Practical Implications
This is a pre-award gate, not a post-award reporting item: if the notice is missed or sent late, award must wait until the 31-day period ends.
The key risk is using the wrong threshold or the wrong committee list, especially because the committees differ for civilian agencies versus DoD/NASA/Coast Guard.
Contracting officers should not assume the committee recipients are obvious; agencies need internal procedures so the notice goes to the right places every time.
The rule applies only to multi-year contracts with a cancellation ceiling above the stated dollar amount, so teams must confirm both the contract type and the ceiling calculation before triggering notification.
Documentation matters: agencies should retain proof of the notice date because the 31-day clock runs from the date of notification, and award timing depends on that record.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) Except for DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, a multi-year contract which includes a cancellation ceiling in excess of $20 million may not be awarded until the head of the agency gives written notification of the proposed contract and of the proposed cancellation ceiling for that contract to the committees on appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate and the appropriate oversight committees of the House and Senate for the agency in question. Information on such committees may not be readily available to contracting officers. Accordingly, agencies should provide such information through its internal regulations. The contract may not be awarded until the thirty-firstday after the date of notification. (b) For DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, a multi-year contract which includes a cancellation ceiling in excess of $200 million may not be awarded until the head of the agency gives written notification of the proposed contract and of the proposed cancellation ceiling for that contract to the committees on armed services and appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate. The contract may not be awarded until the thirty-firstday after the date of notification.