FAR 37.114—Special acquisition requirements.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 37.114 addresses special acquisition requirements for service contracts that produce advice, opinions, recommendations, ideas, reports, analyses, or other work products because those services can influence Government authority, accountability, and decision-making. The section is designed to prevent contractors from performing inherently governmental functions, to ensure Government officials retain and properly exercise their own authority, and to require stronger management controls when contractors support functions that are not inherently governmental but closely support inherently governmental activities. It also covers staffing oversight, limits on changing or expanding contract performance into inherently governmental work during performance, and disclosure requirements for contractor personnel who may appear to be Government employees in meetings, on telephones, or in other public-facing settings. In practice, this means agencies must actively manage these contracts, maintain enough qualified Government oversight, and make sure contractor status is visible to avoid confusion, improper delegation, or the appearance that contractors are speaking or acting for the Government. For contractors, the rule means careful attention to role boundaries, identification practices, and how deliverables are labeled and presented.
Key Rules
Protect Government authority
Service contracts that generate advice or analyses can affect official decision-making, so agencies must manage them to avoid contractor performance of inherently governmental functions. Government officials must continue to exercise their own authority and accountability, rather than allowing contractors to take over those responsibilities.
Maintain qualified oversight
Agencies must assign a sufficient number of qualified Government employees to oversee contractor activities, especially when the work supports policy development or decision-making. Oversight must be active enough to monitor performance and prevent improper delegation.
Do not expand into governmental work
During performance, the functions being performed may not be changed or expanded so they become inherently governmental. If the scope of work drifts in that direction, the agency must stop and correct the arrangement rather than letting the contractor continue.
Apply enhanced scrutiny to close support
When contracting for functions that are not inherently governmental but closely support inherently governmental functions, agencies must use greater scrutiny and an enhanced degree of management oversight. This reflects the higher risk that contractor work could influence or blur Government responsibilities.
Identify contractor personnel
Contractor personnel who attend meetings, answer Government telephones, or work in situations where their status is not obvious must identify themselves as contractors unless the agency determines that no harm would result from not doing so. The goal is to prevent the public or Congress from mistakenly believing the contractor is a Government official.
Mark contractor work products
Documents and reports produced by contractors must be suitably marked as contractor products, or contractor participation must be appropriately disclosed. This helps ensure transparency about authorship and prevents contractor work from being mistaken for official Government output.
Responsibilities
Agency
Ensure service contracts are managed to avoid inherently governmental performance, assign enough qualified Government staff to oversee contractor activities, apply enhanced oversight to closely supporting functions, and determine when contractor identification is unnecessary because no harm would result.
Contracting Officer
Structure and administer the contract so the scope does not drift into inherently governmental work, ensure appropriate oversight arrangements are in place, and require proper marking or disclosure of contractor-produced documents and reports.
Program/Technical Officials
Monitor contractor performance closely, especially where the work supports policy or decision-making, and intervene if contractor tasks begin to expand into inherently governmental functions.
Contractor
Ensure contractor personnel identify themselves when their status is not obvious, avoid presenting themselves as Government officials, and mark deliverables or disclose participation as required so contractor authorship is clear.
Government Employees
Retain and exercise Government authority and accountability, provide active oversight of contractor activities, and avoid relying on contractors to make or appear to make official Government decisions.
Practical Implications
This section is a warning flag for service contracts that produce advice or analysis: the closer the work is to policy, decision-making, or official communications, the more carefully it must be managed.
A common pitfall is scope creep during performance, where a support contract gradually starts to look like an inherently governmental function; agencies need to watch for that early and correct it.
Another frequent issue is contractor visibility: if contractor staff answer phones, attend meetings, or interact with outsiders without identifying themselves, the public may assume they are Government employees.
Contractor deliverables should not be left ambiguous; reports, memoranda, and analyses should be clearly labeled or otherwise disclosed as contractor work products.
For agencies, the practical test is whether enough qualified Government personnel are actually supervising the work and making the decisions that only the Government may make.
Official Regulatory Text
Contracts for services which require the contractor to provide advice, opinions, recommendations, ideas, reports, analyses, or other work products have the potential for influencing the authority, accountability, and responsibilities of Government officials. These contracts require special management attention to ensure that they do not result in performance of inherently governmental functions by the contractor and that Government officials properly exercise their authority. Agencies must ensure that- (a) A sufficient number of qualified Government employees are assigned to oversee contractor activities, especially those that involve support of Government policy or decision making. During performance of service contracts, the functions being performed shall not be changed or expanded to become inherently governmental. (b) A greater scrutiny and an appropriate enhanced degree of management oversight is exercised when contracting for functions that are not inherently governmental but closely support the performance of inherently governmental functions (see 7.503 (c)). (c) All contractor personnel attending meetings, answering Government telephones, and working in other situations where their contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public or Congress that they are Government officials, unless, in the judgment of the agency, no harm can come from failing to identify themselves. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by contractors are suitably marked as contractor products or that contractor participation is appropriately disclosed.