FAR 19.301—Representations and rerepresentations.

Representation by the offeror.

FAR 19.301-1 explains how an offeror must represent its small business and socioeconomic status to be eligible for award, and when that representation is accepted, challenged, or overridden by SBA. It covers good-faith size representations tied to the solicitation’s NAICS code, special rules for multiple-award contracts with more than one NAICS code and distinct portions or categories, and the treatment of joint ventures under SBA size and affiliation rules. It also addresses when and how an offeror must state its size and socioeconomic status in writing at the time of initial offer, including for basic ordering agreements and BPAs, and when a business must be small at the time of award of an order versus at the time of initial offer. The section further explains HUBZone timing rules, the effect of a small business representation on future orders under multiple-award contracts, and the contracting officer’s duty to accept the representation unless there is a challenge or reason to question it. Finally, it describes SBA’s authority to make binding status determinations, the prohibition on “becoming small” after an adverse SBA decision, and the consequences of misrepresentation across small business, veteran-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, HUBZone, small disadvantaged, and women-owned business programs, including possible penalties under SBA regulations and agency action if SBA declines to act.

Rerepresentation by a contractor that represented its status as a small business concern.

FAR 19.301-2 explains when a contractor that originally represented itself as a small business must later rerepresent its size and socioeconomic status, and what the government does with that new information. It covers the definition of a long-term contract, rerepresentation triggers tied to novation, merger or acquisition, long-term contract timing, and certain task or delivery orders under multiple-award contracts. It also explains how the applicable NAICS code size standard is determined at the time of rerepresentation, including situations where more than one NAICS code applies. In addition, the section addresses how rerepresentation affects agency small business prime contracting goal credit for contracts, orders, options, modifications, and BPA purchases, and requires contract modification and FPDS reporting after a rerepresentation. Finally, it clarifies that a size-status change does not alter the contract’s terms and conditions, although it can affect subcontracting plan requirements. In practice, this section is important because a contractor’s post-award status can change the government’s socioeconomic crediting, reporting, and compliance obligations without changing the underlying contract rights and duties.

Rerepresentation by a contractor that represented itself as other than a small business concern.

FAR 19.301-3 addresses a narrow but important size-status issue: when a contractor that originally represented itself as other than a small business may later choose to rerepresent itself as small. The section ties that option to the rerepresentation triggers in FAR 19.301-2(b) and requires the contractor to meet the applicable small-business size standard in effect at the time of rerepresentation. In practice, this means a contractor that has grown or changed since award is not forced to rerepresent, but if it wants to claim small-business status later, it can do so only when the FAR’s rerepresentation conditions are met and only if it actually qualifies under the current size standard. This matters because size status can affect subcontracting plans, small-business reporting, set-aside eligibility in some contexts, and agency records of contractor status. The rule is designed to keep size representations current without making rerepresentation mandatory for contractors that were originally other than small.