FAR 3.104-3—Statutory and related prohibitions, restrictions, and requirements.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 3.104-3 implements the Procurement Integrity Act’s core restrictions on procurement information and post-employment conduct. It covers four main topics: the prohibition on disclosing contractor bid or proposal information and source selection information before award, the prohibition on knowingly obtaining that same information before award, the required actions when an agency official and an offeror discuss possible non-Federal employment, and the one-year ban on certain former officials accepting compensation from a contractor after serving in key procurement roles or making certain high-value decisions. In practice, this section is designed to protect the fairness of the competition, prevent insider access to sensitive source selection data, and reduce conflicts of interest or the appearance of undue influence. It matters both to government personnel, who must safeguard information and report employment contacts, and to contractors, who must avoid improper attempts to obtain protected information and must screen hiring decisions for former officials subject to the compensation ban. The section also points readers to related ethics rules, including 18 U.S.C. 208, agency ethics regulations, and the Standards of Ethical Conduct, because compliance with FAR 3.104-3 is only part of the broader ethics framework.
Key Rules
No disclosure before award
Covered government personnel must not knowingly disclose contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information before award of the related Federal procurement contract, unless disclosure is otherwise authorized by law. This protects the integrity of the competition and prevents one offeror from gaining an unfair advantage.
No improper obtaining of information
No person may knowingly obtain contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information before award, unless authorized by law. This prohibition applies broadly and is aimed at preventing both direct requests and other efforts to acquire protected procurement data.
Employment contacts must be reported
If a covered agency official who is personally and substantially involved in a procurement over the simplified acquisition threshold is contacted by, or contacts, an offeror about possible non-Federal employment, the official must promptly report the contact in writing to a supervisor and the agency ethics official. The official must then either reject the employment possibility or disqualify from further participation until authorized to resume.
Employment contact means seeking employment
A 'contact' includes the actions treated as seeking employment under 5 CFR 2635.603(b), and unsolicited communications from offerors about possible employment also count. This means the rule is triggered even when the offeror initiates the discussion.
Employment reports retained two years
Agencies must keep reports of employment contacts for two years from the date the report was submitted. This creates an administrative record for ethics oversight, audits, and later review.
One-year compensation ban
A former agency official may not accept compensation from a contractor for one year after serving in certain high-level procurement roles or making certain major decisions involving a contractor, when the contract or decision exceeds $10 million. The restriction applies to employment as an employee, officer, director, or consultant.
Covered positions and decisions
The one-year ban applies to former procuring contracting officers, source selection authorities, source selection evaluation board members, and chief evaluators; to program managers, deputy program managers, and administrative contracting officers on large contracts; and to officials who personally made specified award, rate, payment, or claim decisions over $10 million.
Start date depends on role
The one-year restriction begins on different dates depending on the role: generally the contract award date or contractor selection date for procurement officials, the last day served in the relevant program or contracting role, or the date the official made the covered decision. This timing rule is important for determining when the ban expires.
Affiliate exception
The compensation ban does not extend to a division or affiliate of the contractor if that division or affiliate does not produce the same or similar products or services as the part of the contractor responsible for the covered contract. This exception is narrow and requires a real separation in business lines.
Responsibilities
Covered government officials
Must not disclose protected bid, proposal, or source selection information before award; must not knowingly obtain such information; must report employment contacts with offerors in writing; must either reject the employment possibility or stop participating in the procurement until ethics clearance is obtained; and must comply with related ethics and criminal statutes.
Agency supervisors
Must receive written reports of employment contacts, ensure the official is appropriately disqualified or otherwise handled under ethics rules, and support compliance with the reporting and recusal requirements.
Agency ethics officials
Must receive employment-contact reports, advise on disqualification and 18 U.S.C. 208 issues, and help determine when an official may resume participation in the procurement.
Agencies
Must retain employment-contact reports for two years and maintain internal controls and training to prevent improper disclosure, improper obtaining of information, and conflicts arising from employment discussions.
Offerors and contractors
Must not seek or induce disclosure of protected procurement information, must avoid improper attempts to obtain bid or source selection information, and must screen hiring and compensation arrangements for former officials subject to the one-year compensation ban.
Former covered officials
Must not accept compensation from a covered contractor for one year after serving in a covered role or making a covered decision, unless the affiliate/division exception applies. They should also verify whether their new employer is the same contractor entity tied to the covered contract.
Practical Implications
This section is a major source-selection integrity rule: even casual sharing of evaluation details, competitor pricing, or internal rankings before award can create a violation and jeopardize the procurement.
Employment discussions are a common trap. A simple conversation about future work with an offeror can trigger mandatory reporting and recusal, even if the offeror initiated the contact and even if no job offer is made.
Contractors should build hiring screens for former government officials, especially those who worked on large procurements, because the one-year compensation ban can affect employment, consulting, and officer/director roles.
Agencies need strong documentation and retention practices. Missing employment-contact reports or weak ethics tracking can make it difficult to prove compliance and can expose the agency to oversight findings.
The affiliate exception is not a blanket workaround. Contractors should confirm that the division or affiliate is genuinely separate and does not produce the same or similar products or services as the business unit tied to the covered contract.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) Prohibition on disclosing procurement information(41 U.S.C. 2102). (1) A person described in paragraph (a)(2) of this subsection must not, other than as provided by law, knowingly disclose contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information before the award of a Federal agency procurement contract to which the information relates. (See 3.104-4 (a).) (2) Paragraph (a)(1) of this subsection applies to any person who- (i) Is a present or former official of the United States, or a person who is acting or has acted for or on behalf of, or who is advising or has advised the United States with respect to, a Federal agency procurement; and (ii) By virtue of that office, employment, or relationship, has or had access to contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information. (b) Prohibition on obtaining procurement information ( 41 U.S.C. 2102). A person must not, other than as provided by law, knowingly obtain contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information before the award of a Federal agency procurement contract to which the information relates. (c) Actions required when an agency official contacts or is contacted by an offeror regarding non-Federal employment (41 U.S.C. 2103). (1) If an agency official, participating personally and substantially in a Federal agency procurement for a contract in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, contacts or is contacted by a person who is an offeror in that Federal agency procurement regarding possible non-Federal employment for that official, the official must- (i) Promptly report the contact in writing to the official’s supervisor and to the agency ethics official; and (ii) Either reject the possibility of non-Federal employment or disqualify himself or herself from further personal and substantial participation in that Federal agency procurement (see 3.104-5 ) until such time as the agency authorizes the official to resume participation in that procurement, in accordance with the requirements of 18 U.S.C. 208 and applicable agency regulations, because- (A) The person is no longer an offeror in that Federal agency procurement; or (B) All discussions with the offeror regarding possible non-Federal employment have terminated without an agreement or arrangement for employment. (2) A contact is any of the actions included as "seeking employment" in 5 CFR 2635.603(b) . In addition, unsolicited communications from offerors regarding possible employment are considered contacts. (3) Agencies must retain reports of employment contacts for 2 years from the date the report was submitted. (4) Conduct that complies with 41 U.S.C. 2104 may be prohibited by other criminal statutes and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. See 3.104-2 (b)(2). (d) Prohibition on former official's acceptance of compensation from a contractor ( 41 U.S.C. 2104 ). (1) A former official of a Federal agency may not accept compensation from a contractor that has been awarded a competitive or sole source contract, as an employee, officer, director, or consultant of the contractor within a period of 1 year after such former official- (i) Served, at the time of selection of the contractor or the award of a contract to that contractor, as the procuring contracting officer, the source selection authority, a member of a source selection evaluation board, or the chief of a financial or technical evaluation team in a procurement in which that contractor was selected for award of a contract in excess of $10,000,000; (ii) Served as the program manager, deputy program manager, or administrative contracting officer for a contract in excess of $10,000,000 awarded to that contractor; or (iii) Personally made for the Federal agency a decision to- (A) Award a contract, subcontract, modification of a contract or subcontract, or a task order or delivery order in excess of $10,000,000 to that contractor; (B) Establish overhead or other rates applicable to a contract or contracts for that contractor that are valued in excess of $10,000,000; (C) Approve issuance of a contract payment or payments in excess of $10,000,000 to that contractor; or (D) Pay or settle a claim in excess of $10,000,000 with that contractor. (2) The 1-year prohibition begins on the date- (i) Of contract award for positions described in paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this subsection, or the date of contractor selection if the official was not serving in the position on the date of award; (ii) The official last served in one of the positions described in paragraph (d)(1)(ii) of this subsection; or (iii) The official made one of the decisions described in paragraph (d)(1)(iii) of this subsection. (3) Nothing in paragraph (d)(1) of this subsection may be construed to prohibit a former official of a Federal agency from accepting compensation from any division or affiliate of a contractor that does not produce the same or similar products or services as the entity of the contractor that is responsible for the contract referred to in paragraph (d)(1) of this subsection.