FAR 19.202-5—Data collection and reporting requirements.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 19.202-5 tells agencies how to collect and report small business participation data and how to handle postaward rerepresentations of size and socioeconomic status. It covers three main subjects: contractor representations at the time of offer under the Small Business Program Representations provision at 52.219-1; annual measurement and reporting of small business participation to SBA under FAR subpart 4.6; and rerepresentation after award when the contract includes the clause at 52.219-28 and its triggering conditions are met. In practice, this section is about making sure the Government has reliable, current data on which firms are small or qualify for socioeconomic programs, so agencies can measure performance against small business goals and SBA can receive accurate annual reporting. It also ensures that a contractor’s status can be updated when required after award, which matters for contract administration, subcontracting, and small business goal tracking. For contracting officers and contractors, the practical effect is that size and socioeconomic status are not one-time labels; they must be represented accurately, reported correctly, and rerepresented when the contract and clause conditions require it.
Key Rules
Require initial representations
Agencies must require each prospective contractor to state whether it is a small business or one of the listed socioeconomic categories: veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, women-owned small business, EDWOSB concern, or WOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program. This is done through the representation provision at 52.219-1.
Measure participation annually
Agencies must measure small business participation in acquisition programs by tracking the total value of contracts awarded during each fiscal year to the listed small business categories. The data must be reported to SBA at the end of each fiscal year in accordance with FAR subpart 4.6.
Use total contract value
The measurement requirement is based on the total value of contracts placed during the fiscal year, not just a subset of awards. Agencies must therefore maintain accurate award data so the reported participation figures reflect actual procurement activity.
Rerepresent when clause applies
If the contract includes 52.219-28 and the clause’s rerepresentation conditions are met, a contractor that originally represented itself as a small business concern in one of the listed categories must rerepresent both size and socioeconomic status. This includes 8(a), small disadvantaged business, HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, EDWOSB, and WOSB status.
Allow upward rerepresentation
If a contractor originally represented itself as other than a small business concern, and the clause conditions are met, the contractor must be permitted to rerepresent its size status. This allows the Government to capture a more current status if the contractor has since become small.
Responsibilities
Agency
Collect and maintain accurate small business participation data, require the appropriate representations from prospective contractors, and report annual fiscal-year data to SBA. The agency must also apply the rerepresentation rules when the contract includes 52.219-28 and the clause conditions are triggered.
Contracting Officer
Ensure the solicitation includes the required representation provision, verify that the contract contains 52.219-28 when applicable, and require or permit rerepresentation when the clause and its conditions call for it. The contracting officer must also support accurate contract data for annual reporting.
Prospective Contractor
Represent its status accurately at the time of offer under 52.219-1, identifying whether it qualifies as small business or under any listed socioeconomic category. The contractor must also rerepresent size and socioeconomic status when required by 52.219-28 and may rerepresent size if it originally stated it was other than small and the clause conditions are met.
SBA
Receive the annual agency reports on small business participation and use the data to assess Governmentwide and agency-level small business performance.
Practical Implications
This section is a data-integrity rule as much as a small business policy rule: inaccurate representations or award data can distort agency goal achievement and SBA reporting.
Contracting officers should confirm that the right clauses and provisions are in the solicitation and contract, because the rerepresentation obligation only applies when 52.219-28 is included and its conditions are met.
Contractors should monitor changes in ownership, revenue, employee counts, or program eligibility after award, since status may need to be updated through rerepresentation.
A common pitfall is treating small business status as fixed for the life of the contract; this section requires status updates in certain circumstances and accurate annual reporting.
Another risk is incomplete category tracking: agencies must distinguish among the various socioeconomic categories named in the rule, not just “small business” generally.
Official Regulatory Text
Agencies shall measure the extent of small business participation in their acquisition programs by taking the following actions: (a) Require each prospective contractor to represent whether it is a small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, women-owned small business, EDWOSB concern, or WOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program (see the provision at 52.219-1 , Small Business Program Representations). (b) Accurately measure the extent of participation by small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns in Government acquisitions in terms of the total value of contracts placed during each fiscal year, and report data to the SBA at the end of each fiscal year (see subpart 4.6 ). (c) When the contract includes the clause at 52.219-28 , Postaward Small Business Program Rerepresentation, and the conditions in the clause for rerepresenting are met— (1) Require a contractor that represented itself as any of the small business concerns identified in 19.000 (a)(3) prior to award of the contract to rerepresent its size and socioeconomic status ( i.e. , 8(a), small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, EDWOSB, or WOSB status); and (2) Permit a contractor that represented itself as other than a small business concern prior to award to rerepresent its size status.