FAR 27.406—Acquisition of data.

General.

FAR 27.406-1 explains how the Government should identify, minimize, and specify contract data requirements, and how those requirements interact with data rights. It covers when data needs should be identified, the preference for including them in solicitations, the possibility of revising them during negotiations, and the need to keep data requirements to the minimum necessary for the contract’s purpose. It also addresses the contracting officer’s duty to state all known data requirements in the contract, including delivery timing, delivery location, and any handling limits or restrictions, with special attention to major system acquisitions where data items should be set out as separate line items when feasible. The section further recognizes that agencies may use their own schedule provisions and procedures to organize, identify, and manage required data. Finally, it limits the Government’s ability to demand unlimited rights in data that are otherwise limited rights data or restricted computer software, and it requires that any greater rights be clearly stated in the solicitation and fairly compensated.

Additional data requirements.

FAR 27.406-2 explains when and how the Government may use the clause at 52.227-16, Additional Data Requirements, to obtain data that cannot be fully identified at contract award. It is aimed mainly at experimental, developmental, research, and demonstration contracts, where the need for specific data may emerge later as the work progresses. The section covers when the clause should normally be included, the special treatment for basic or applied research performed solely by a university or college, the time period during which the Government may order data, contractor compensation for preparing and delivering the data, the contracting officer’s ability to relieve retention obligations to reduce storage costs, the ability to identify data that will not be ordered, the option to delete the phrase “or specifically used” in some cases, the relationship to the Rights in Data-General clause at 52.227-14, and the limits on ordering computer software for public dissemination. In practice, this section gives the Government flexibility to obtain needed data later without over-specifying every data requirement up front, while also protecting contractors from unnecessary retention and delivery burdens. It also helps balance data access with data-rights protections and recognizes that software dissemination raises special policy concerns.

Major system acquisition.

FAR 27.406-3 addresses technical data requirements in major system acquisitions, with a special focus on civilian-agency contracts other than NASA and the U.S. Coast Guard. It covers the use of the clause at 52.227-21, Technical Data Declaration, Revision, and Withholding of Payment—Major Systems, including how the contract must identify the specific technical data line items to which the clause applies, how the contracting officer must review delivered data and the contractor’s declaration, and when payment may be withheld or final payment delayed. It also covers the separate major-system rule for civilian agencies that require delivery of technical data developed exclusively with Federal funds when needed to support future competition for supplies or services in substantial quantities. In addition, it explains the use of the clause at 52.227-22, Major System—Minimum Rights, together with 52.227-14 and other required clauses, to ensure the Government receives at least the minimum rights required by statute in federally developed technical data. Finally, it limits the Government’s ability to require certain technical data from vendors whose products or processes are also offered commercially, except to the extent needed for Government operation or maintenance. In practice, this section is about balancing Government data rights, future competition needs, contractor protection for commercial technology, and payment controls tied to satisfactory technical data delivery.