FAR 22.805—Procedures.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 22.805 explains the preaward clearance process for equal employment opportunity compliance under Executive Order 11246 for large contracts and first-tier subcontracts, and it also addresses furnishing the required EEO poster. In practice, this section tells contracting officers when they must seek OFCCP clearance before award or before a contract modification that is effectively a new award, what information must be sent, where to send it, and how much lead time to allow. It also covers special routing rules for overseas work performed by employees recruited in the United States, an exception for contractors already listed in OFCCP’s National Preaward Registry, and the timing rules under which clearance is presumed if OFCCP does not act within the stated periods. The section further provides an urgent-and-critical contract exception that can permit award without preaward clearance when delay would be unacceptable, but requires immediate postaward review and can lead to enforcement if noncompliance is later found. Finally, it requires the contracting officer to furnish the contractor the appropriate quantities of the “Equal Employment Opportunity Is The Law” poster. The practical purpose is to ensure that large federal procurements do not proceed without an opportunity for OFCCP to review the contractor’s EEO compliance posture, while still preserving flexibility for urgent acquisitions.
Key Rules
Preaward clearance threshold
For contracts and first-tier subcontracts estimated at $10 million or more, the contracting officer must request OFCCP clearance before award, including awards of indefinite-delivery contracts and letter contracts. The same rule applies to modifications that add new effort and would amount to a contract award.
Direct request to OFCCP
The contracting officer must send the preaward clearance request directly to the appropriate OFCCP regional office, and verbal requests must be confirmed in writing or by facsimile. This is a formal agency-to-OFCCP process, not something the contractor handles on its own.
Special routing for overseas work
If the work will be performed outside the United States but employees are recruited within the United States, the request goes to the OFCCP regional office serving the contractor’s U.S. corporate home or branch office, or the office handling recruiting if different. If the contractor has no U.S. office, the request is based on the U.S. recruiting and training location.
Registry-based exception
No preaward clearance request is needed if the proposed contractor is listed in OFCCP’s National Preaward Registry, the projected award date is within 24 months of the Registry Notice of Compliance completion date, and the contracting officer documents the Registry review in the contract file. This is an exception to the normal preaward clearance requirement, not a waiver of EEO obligations.
Required request content
The clearance request must identify the prospective contractor and any relevant corporate affiliate, each proposed first-tier subcontractor over the threshold, the anticipated award date, prior Government contract or subcontract history, the place or places of performance, and the estimated dollar amounts if known. The request should be complete enough for OFCCP to assess the compliance risk and decide whether to conduct a review.
Timing and presumed clearance
The contracting officer should submit the request as early as feasible and, if possible, at least 30 days before the proposed award date. OFCCP has 15 days to say it intends to conduct a compliance evaluation; if it does not, clearance is presumed. If OFCCP does intend to evaluate, it then has 20 additional days to provide conclusions; if it misses that deadline, clearance is also presumed.
Urgent and critical award exception
If the normal process would delay an urgent and critical contract beyond the needed award date or offer expiration, the contracting officer must notify OFCCP immediately and request clearance by the required date. If OFCCP says it cannot finish in time, the contracting officer must submit written justification to the head of the contracting activity, who may approve award without preaward clearance after informing OFCCP.
Postaward review and enforcement
When an urgent award is made without preaward clearance, the contracting officer must immediately request a postaward evaluation from OFCCP. If that evaluation finds noncompliance with E.O. 11246, the Deputy Assistant Secretary may authorize enforcement procedures under FAR 22.809 against the contractor.
Poster distribution requirement
The contracting officer must furnish the contractor appropriate quantities of the poster titled “Equal Employment Opportunity Is The Law,” using agency procedures. This is a separate administrative requirement from the clearance process.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Determine whether the contract, subcontract, or modification meets the $10 million threshold; request OFCCP preaward clearance when required; route the request to the correct OFCCP regional office; include all required information; allow as much lead time as possible and aim for 30 days before award; document Registry checks when relying on the exception; handle urgent-and-critical award procedures; request postaward evaluation when award proceeds without preaward clearance; and furnish the required EEO posters to the contractor.
OFCCP Regional Office
Review preaward clearance requests, decide within 15 days whether it intends to conduct a compliance evaluation, and if it does, provide conclusions within the additional 20-day period. For urgent awards, advise whether a preaward evaluation can be completed by the required date and, when necessary, conduct postaward evaluation.
Head of the Contracting Activity
When an urgent and critical award cannot wait for preaward clearance, review the contracting officer’s written justification and may approve award without preaward clearance after informing the OFCCP regional office.
Deputy Assistant Secretary
If a postaward evaluation under the urgent-award procedure finds the contractor noncompliant with E.O. 11246, authorize use of enforcement procedures under FAR 22.809 against the contractor.
Contractor
Respond to the compliance environment created by OFCCP review, maintain readiness for preaward or postaward evaluation, and post the EEO notice using the posters furnished by the contracting officer. Contractors also should ensure their corporate and subcontracting information is accurate and available for clearance requests.
Agency
Follow internal procedures for transmitting clearance requests, tracking deadlines, and distributing posters, and ensure contracting personnel understand when the Registry exception or urgent-award exception applies.
Practical Implications
This section is a schedule-sensitive compliance checkpoint for large procurements: if the contracting officer waits too long to submit the request, award can be delayed even when the acquisition is otherwise ready.
Contractors should expect OFCCP scrutiny on large awards and should keep corporate identity, affiliate, prior contract history, and performance-location information current so the contracting officer can submit a complete request.
The National Preaward Registry can save time, but only if all three conditions are met; contracting officers should document the file carefully because missing the 24-month window or failing to record the review can invalidate reliance on the exception.
Urgent awards are possible, but they are not a shortcut around compliance; they create a follow-on obligation to seek postaward review and can expose the contractor to enforcement if OFCCP later finds noncompliance.
The poster requirement is easy to overlook because it is administrative, but it is still mandatory and should be handled through agency distribution procedures as part of award closeout or post-award setup.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) Preaward clearances for contracts and subcontracts of $10 million or more (excluding construction). (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (a)(4) and (a)(8) of this section, if the estimated amount of the contract or subcontract is $10 million or more, the contracting officer shall request clearance from the appropriate OFCCP regional office before- (i) Award of any contract, including any indefinite delivery contract or letter contract; or (ii) Modification of an existing contract for new effort that would constitute a contract award. (2) Preaward clearance for each proposed contract and for each proposed first-tier subcontract of $10 million or more shall be requested by the contracting officer directly from the OFCCP regional office(s). Verbal requests shall be confirmed by letter or facsimile transmission. (3) When the contract work is to be performed outside the United States with employees recruited within the United States, the contracting officer shall send the request for a preaward clearance to the OFCCP regional office serving the area where the proposed contractor’s corporate home or branch office is located in the United States, or the corporate location where personnel recruiting is handled, if different from the contractor’s corporate home or branch office. If the proposed contractor has no corporate office or location within the United States, the preaward clearance request action should be based on the location of the recruiting and training agency in the United States. (4) The contracting officer does not need to request a preaward clearance if- (i) The specific proposed contractor is listed in OFCCP’s National Preaward Registry via the Internet at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/pre-award/registry ; (ii) The projected award date is within 24 months of the proposed contractor’s Notice of Compliance completion date in the Registry; and (iii) The contracting officer documents the Registry review in the contract file. (5) The contracting officer shall include the following information in the preaward clearance request: (i) Name, address, and telephone number of the prospective contractor and of any corporate affiliate at which work is to be performed. (ii) Name, address, and telephone number of each proposed first-tier subcontractor with a proposed subcontract estimated at $10 million or more. (iii) Anticipated date of award. (iv) Information as to whether the contractor and first-tier subcontractors have previously held any Government contracts or subcontracts. (v) Place or places of performance of the prime contract and first-tier subcontracts estimated at $10 million or more, if known. (vi) The estimated dollar amount of the contract and each first-tier subcontract, if known. (6) The contracting officer shall allow as much time as feasible before award for the conduct of necessary compliance evaluation by OFCCP. As soon as the apparently successful offeror can be determined, the contracting officer shall process a preaward clearance request in accordance with agency procedures, assuring, if possible, that the preaward clearance request is submitted to the OFCCP regional office at least 30 days before the proposed award date. (7) Within 15 days of the clearance request, OFCCP will inform the awarding agency of its intention to conduct a preaward compliance evaluation. If OFCCP does not inform the awarding agency within that period of its intention to conduct a preaward compliance evaluation, clearance shall be presumed and the awarding agency is authorized to proceed with the award. If OFCCP informs the awarding agency of its intention to conduct a preaward compliance evaluation, OFCCP shall be allowed an additional 20 days after the date that it so informs the awarding agency to provide its conclusions. If OFCCP does not provide the awarding agency with its conclusions within that period, clearance shall be presumed and the awarding agency is authorized to proceed with the award. (8) If the procedures specified in paragraphs (a)(6) and (a)(7) of this section would delay award of an urgent and critical contract beyond the time necessary to make award or beyond the time specified in the offer or extension thereof, the contracting officer shall immediately inform the OFCCP regional office of the expiration date of the offer or the required date of award and request clearance be provided before that date. If the OFCCP regional office advises that a preaward evaluation cannot be completed by the required date, the contracting officer shall submit written justification for the award to the head of the contracting activity, who, after informing the OFCCP regional office, may then approve the award without the preaward clearance. If an award is made under this authority, the contracting officer shall immediately request a postaward evaluation from the OFCCP regional office. (9) If, under the provisions of paragraph (a)(8) of this section, a postaward evaluation determines the contractor to be in noncompliance with E.O. 11246, the Deputy Assistant Secretary may authorize the use of the enforcement procedures at 22.809 against the noncomplying contractor. (b) Furnishing posters . The contracting officer shall furnish to the contractor appropriate quantities of the poster entitled "Equal Employment Opportunity Is The Law." These shall be obtained in accordance with agency procedures.