FAR 22.1009-3—All possible places of performance identified.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 22.1009-3 addresses how a contracting officer must handle wage determinations when the government can identify all possible places or areas where contract services may be performed, even though the exact place of performance will not be known until award. The section requires the contracting officer to obtain a wage determination for each locality where performance may occur, so the solicitation reflects every potential wage rate that could apply under the Service Contract Labor Standards. It also covers what to do if, before the closing date for offers, the contracting officer learns that offerors may perform in additional, previously unidentified locations: the solicitation must be amended to add the missing wage determinations, and the offer period may need to be extended. Finally, the section directs the contracting officer to follow the procedures in FAR 22.1009-4 when additional localities are discovered, ensuring the solicitation remains complete and fair. In practice, this rule is meant to prevent wage understatements, protect service employees, and avoid solicitation defects that could lead to protests, delays, or post-award wage adjustments.
Key Rules
Identify every possible locality
If all possible places or areas of performance can be identified, the contracting officer must obtain a wage determination for each locality where services may be performed. The fact that the actual performance location will be chosen later does not relieve the government of this obligation.
Use all applicable wage determinations
The solicitation must include wage determinations for every identified locality so offerors can price the work accurately and understand the labor standards that may apply. This is required even when the final place of performance is not yet known.
Update the solicitation if new locations appear
If the contracting officer later learns, before the offer closing date, that potential offerors may perform in additional places not previously identified, the contracting officer must obtain wage determinations for those locations and amend the solicitation to include them.
Extend the offer deadline if needed
When adding new wage determinations could affect pricing or proposal preparation, the contracting officer must extend the time for submission of final offers if necessary. This protects competition and gives offerors a fair chance to respond to the revised solicitation.
Follow the related procedures
After identifying additional places of performance, the contracting officer must also follow the procedures in FAR 22.1009-4. This ensures the solicitation is handled consistently with the broader wage determination rules for service contracts.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Identify all possible places or areas of performance; obtain a wage determination for each locality; amend the solicitation if additional localities are discovered before the closing date; extend the offer deadline when necessary; and follow FAR 22.1009-4 procedures.
Offerors/Contractors
Review all wage determinations included in the solicitation, account for each possible locality in pricing and staffing plans, and monitor amendments that add new localities or change the time for submitting offers.
Agency
Support accurate acquisition planning and market research so the contracting officer can identify all potential performance locations early enough to include the correct wage determinations in the solicitation.
Practical Implications
This section is mainly about getting the solicitation right before award; missing a locality can create pricing errors, compliance issues, and possible protests.
Contracting officers should treat “possible places of performance” broadly and verify whether offerors could reasonably perform in more than one locality.
If new locations are discovered late, the safest course is to amend the solicitation promptly and consider extending the proposal deadline so all offerors compete on equal footing.
Contractors should not assume only one wage determination applies if the solicitation allows performance in multiple areas; they need to price for every listed locality.
A common pitfall is failing to update the solicitation after learning of additional performance locations, which can undermine fairness and create post-award labor standards problems.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) If the contracting officer can identify all the possible places or areas of performance (even though the actual place of performance will not be known until the successful offeror is chosen), the contracting officer shall obtain a wage determination for each locality where services may be performed (see 22.1008 ). (b) If the contracting officer subsequently learns of any potential offerors in previously unidentified places before the closing date for submission of offers, the contracting officer shall- (1) Obtain wage determinations for the additional places of performance and amend the solicitation to include all wage determinations. If necessary, the contracting officer shall extend the time for submission of final offers; and (2) Follow the procedures in 22.1009-4 .