FAR 19.507—Solicitation provisions and contract clauses.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 19.507 tells contracting officers which small-business-related solicitation provisions and contract clauses must be included when a procurement is set aside, reserved, or otherwise structured to support small business participation. This section covers total small business set-asides, partial small business set-asides, the Limitations on Subcontracting clause, notice of set-aside of orders under multiple-award contracts, small business reserves, direct orders under reserves, and the Nonmanufacturer Rule clause. It also addresses special treatment for multiple-award contracts, including when orders may later be set aside for small business concerns, and it cross-references situations involving the HUBZone price evaluation preference and the inclusion of fair participation incentives (FPI) under the cited rules. In practice, this section is a clause-mapping rule: it tells the contracting officer exactly what to put in the solicitation and resulting contract so the small business program requirements are enforceable from the start. It matters because missing or misapplying these provisions can undermine set-aside eligibility, subcontracting compliance, order-level competition, and post-award enforcement.
Key Rules
Total set-aside clause required
For total small business set-asides, the contracting officer must insert FAR 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside, in both the solicitation and contract. If fair participation incentives are included in the competition under the cited rule, Alternate I must be used.
Partial set-aside clause required
For partial small business set-asides, the contracting officer must insert FAR 52.219-7, Notice of Partial Small Business Set-Aside, in the solicitation and contract. This also applies to partial set-asides in multiple-award contracts, including those described in FAR 38.101, and Alternate I is required when fair participation incentives are included.
Limitations on subcontracting clause
FAR 52.219-14 must be inserted when any portion of the requirement is set aside for small business and the expected contract value exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold, and also in all set-aside or sole-source awards under the cited small business programs regardless of dollar value. For set-asides, the contracting officer must state in paragraph (f) whether compliance is measured at the contract level or order level.
HUBZone preference exception
The Limitations on Subcontracting clause must also be used when the HUBZone price evaluation preference is applied. However, if the offeror waives the preference or is not an other-than-small business, the clause is not inserted in the resultant contract.
Order set-aside notice for multiple-award contracts
FAR 52.219-13 must be included in solicitations for multiple-award contracts under which orders may be set aside for the small business concerns identified in FAR 19.000(a)(3), and in the contracts awarded from those solicitations. Alternate I is used in full and open solicitations and contracts when orders will be set aside and the conditions for set-aside are met at the time of order issuance.
Small business reserve clauses
For multiple-award contracts that have reserves, the contracting officer must insert FAR 52.219-31, Notice of Small Business Reserve, in the solicitation, and FAR 52.219-32, Orders Issued Directly Under Small Business Reserves, in both the solicitation and the resulting contract.
Nonmanufacturer Rule clause
FAR 52.219-33 must be inserted in solicitations and contracts, including multiple-award contracts, when orders may be set aside for small business or issued directly to a small business under the cited rules, and the item has a manufacturing or supply NAICS code. It applies when any portion of the requirement is set aside above the simplified acquisition threshold, or when the award is a set-aside or sole-source award under the cited programs, or when the HUBZone price evaluation preference is used, unless the preference is waived or the awardee is not other than small business.
SBA waiver exception
The contracting officer must not insert FAR 52.219-33 when SBA has waived the nonmanufacturer rule. The waiver removes the need for the clause because the underlying nonmanufacturer restriction does not apply.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Identify whether the acquisition is a total set-aside, partial set-aside, reserve, HUBZone preference action, or small-business-eligible multiple-award vehicle, and insert the correct FAR provision or clause and any required alternate. The contracting officer must also specify whether limitations on subcontracting are enforced at the contract level or order level when required.
Contracting Officer
Ensure the clause selection matches the acquisition structure, including multiple-award contracts where orders may later be set aside or issued directly to small business concerns. The officer must use the correct alternate when fair participation incentives are included and must omit clauses when the rule says not to use them.
Contracting Officer
Check whether SBA has waived the nonmanufacturer rule before inserting FAR 52.219-33, and verify whether the HUBZone preference has been waived or whether the awardee is other than small business before including the subcontracting clause in the resultant contract.
Contractor
Review the solicitation and contract clauses to understand whether the procurement is set aside, reserved, or subject to order-level set-asides, and comply with the applicable limitations on subcontracting, nonmanufacturer, and reserve-related requirements.
Agency/Program Office
Support acquisition planning by identifying whether the requirement will be structured as a total or partial set-aside, reserve, or HUBZone preference action, and ensure the acquisition strategy aligns with the applicable small business program rules.
Small Business Administration
Issue waivers of the nonmanufacturer rule when appropriate, which affects whether FAR 52.219-33 must be included.
Practical Implications
This section is mainly about getting the right clauses into the solicitation and contract at the right time; if the wrong clause is used, the small business restriction may be unenforceable or the procurement may be challenged.
Multiple-award contracts require special attention because the base contract may allow later order set-asides, direct orders, or reserve-based ordering, which means the solicitation must anticipate those possibilities and include the correct notice clauses.
The Limitations on Subcontracting clause is not one-size-fits-all: the contracting officer must decide whether compliance is measured at the contract level or order level for set-asides, and that decision should be clear in the clause.
The Nonmanufacturer Rule clause is easy to overlook in manufacturing or supply acquisitions, especially when a HUBZone preference or small business set-aside is involved; failing to check for an SBA waiver is a common mistake.
Contractors should read these clauses carefully because they affect teaming, subcontracting strategy, and whether the prime must perform a required share of the work or supply the end item itself.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) [Reserved] (b) [Reserved] (c) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.219-6 , Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside, in solicitations and contracts involving total small business set-asides. This includes multiple-award contracts when orders may be set aside for any of the small business concerns identified in 19.000 (a)(3), as described in 8.405-5 and 16.505 (b)(2)(i)(F). Use the clause at 52.219-6 with its Alternate I when including FPI in the competition in accordance with 19.502-7 . (d) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.219-7 , Notice of Partial Small Business Set-Aside, in solicitations and contracts involving partial small business set-asides. This includes part or parts of multiple-award contracts, including those described in 38.101 . Use the clause at 52.219-7 with its Alternate I when including FPI in the competition in accordance with 19.502-7 . (e) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.219-14 , Limitations on Subcontracting, in solicitations and contracts— (1) For supplies, services, and construction, if any portion of the requirement is to be set aside for small business and the contract amount is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, and in any solicitations and contracts that are set aside or awarded on a sole-source basis in accordance with subparts 19.8 , 19.13 , 19.14 , or 19.15 , regardless of dollar value. This includes multiple-award contracts when orders may be set aside for small business concerns, as described in 8.405-5 and 16.505 (b)(2)(i)(F), and when orders may be issued directly to a small business concern as described in 19.504 (c)(1)(ii). For contracts that are set aside, the contracting officer shall indicate in paragraph (f) of the clause whether compliance with the limitations on subcontracting is required at the contract or order level; (2) Using the HUBZone price evaluation preference. However, if the prospective contractor waived the use of the price evaluation preference, or is an other than small business, do not insert the clause in the resultant contract. (f) (1) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.219-13 , Notice of Set-Aside of Orders, in all solicitations for multiple-award contracts under which orders may be set aside for any of the small business concerns identified in 19.000 (a)(3), and all contracts awarded from such solicitations. (2) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.219-13 with its Alternate I in all full and open solicitations and contracts for multiple-award contracts under which orders will be set aside for any of the small business concerns identified in 19.000 (a)(3) if the conditions in 19.502-2 are met at the time of order set-aside, and the specific program eligibility requirements, as applicable, are also then met. (g) (1) The contracting officer shall insert the provision at 52.219-31 , Notice of Small Business Reserve, in solicitations for multiple-award contracts that have reserves. (2) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.219-32 Orders Issued Directly Under Small Business Reserves, in solicitations and the resulting multiple-award contracts that have reserves. (h) (1) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.219-33 , Nonmanufacturer Rule, in solicitations and contracts, including multiple-award contracts, when orders may be set aside for small business concerns as described in 8.405-5 and 16.505 (b)(2)(i)(F), and when orders may be issued directly to a small business concern as described in 19.504 (c)(1)(ii)), when— (i) the item being acquired has been assigned a manufacturing or supply NAICS code, and– (ii) (A) Any portion of the requirement is to be– (1) Set aside for small business and is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold; or (2) Set aside or awarded on a sole-source basis in accordance with subparts 19.8 , 19.13 , 19.14 , or 19.15 , regardless of dollar value; or (B) Using the HUBZone price evaluation preference. However, if the prospective contractor waived the use of the price evaluation preference, or is an other than small business, do not insert the clause in the resultant contract. (2) The contracting officer shall not insert the clause at 52.219-33 when the Small Business Administration has waived the nonmanufacturer rule (see 19.505 (c)(4)).