FAR 46.105—Contractor responsibilities.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 46.105 explains the contractor’s core quality responsibilities under a federal contract. It covers the contractor’s duty to control quality, deliver only conforming supplies or services, manage the quality of vendors and suppliers, keep required evidence of conformance, and provide that evidence to the Government when asked. It also addresses the Government’s ability to require an acceptable inspection system or quality control program, and it identifies the main areas that quality control may cover, including manufacturing processes, drawings and engineering changes, testing and examination, reliability and maintainability, fabrication and delivery, technical documentation, preservation/packaging/marking, and service procedures. Finally, it states that the contractor must perform all inspections and tests required by the contract unless the contract specifically reserves some of them for Government performance. In practice, this section makes clear that quality is primarily the contractor’s responsibility, not the Government’s, and that contractors must build quality control into their operations rather than rely on final inspection to catch defects.
Key Rules
Contractor controls quality
The contractor is responsible for carrying out its contractual obligations by controlling the quality of supplies and services. This means quality must be managed throughout performance, not treated as a last-step check before delivery.
Only conforming items may be tendered
The contractor may tender to the Government for acceptance only those supplies or services that conform to contract requirements. Delivering known nonconforming work as if it were acceptable is inconsistent with this rule.
Supplier quality must be managed
The contractor must ensure that vendors and suppliers of raw materials, parts, components, subassemblies, and similar inputs have an acceptable quality control system. The contractor cannot shift quality risk to the supply chain without oversight.
Evidence of conformance must be kept
When the contract requires it, the contractor must maintain substantiating evidence that supplies or services meet quality requirements and furnish that information to the Government as required. Documentation is part of the quality obligation, not an optional administrative task.
Inspection system may be required
The contractor may be required to provide and maintain an inspection system or quality control program acceptable to the Government. The system must be adequate to support contract performance and comply with any applicable requirements in FAR 46.202.
Quality control covers many functions
Contractor quality control may extend to manufacturing processes, drawings and engineering changes, testing and examination, reliability and maintainability, fabrication and delivery, technical documentation, preservation/packaging/marking, and service procedures. The rule is broad and applies to both products and services.
Contract-required inspections and tests
The contractor is responsible for performing all inspections and tests required by the contract except those specifically reserved for Government performance. If the contract assigns a test or inspection to the Government, the contractor does not perform that specific task.
Responsibilities
Contractor
Control the quality of all supplies and services, deliver only conforming items, manage supplier and vendor quality, maintain required evidence of conformance, provide that evidence to the Government when required, operate any required inspection system or quality control program, and perform all contract-required inspections and tests except those reserved for the Government.
Vendors and Suppliers
Maintain acceptable quality control systems for raw materials, parts, components, subassemblies, and other inputs as required by the contractor’s quality management flowdown and oversight practices.
Government
Specify contract quality requirements, identify any inspections or tests reserved for Government performance, and determine whether the contractor’s inspection system or quality control program is acceptable when such approval is required.
Practical Implications
Quality control is a contractor responsibility from the start of performance, so contractors should build inspection, testing, documentation, and supplier oversight into their processes early.
A common pitfall is assuming final Government acceptance will cure poor internal quality control; this section places the burden on the contractor to prevent nonconforming work from being tendered.
Contractors should pay close attention to contract clauses that require specific records, certificates, test data, or other substantiating evidence, because failure to keep or provide them can become a compliance issue even if the product or service appears acceptable.
Supplier management matters: weak subcontractor or vendor controls can create prime contractor noncompliance if defective inputs reach the Government.
Contractors should verify which inspections or tests are theirs and which are reserved for the Government, because duplicating, skipping, or misassigning those tasks can create performance and acceptance problems.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) The contractor is responsible for carrying out its obligations under the contract by- (1) Controlling the quality of supplies or services; (2) Tendering to the Government for acceptance only those supplies or services that conform to contract requirements; (3) Ensuring that vendors or suppliers of raw materials, parts, components, subassemblies, etc., have an acceptable quality control system; and (4) Maintaining substantiating evidence, when required by the contract, that the supplies or services conform to contract quality requirements, and furnishing such information to the Government as required. (b) The contractor may be required to provide and maintain an inspection system or program for the control of quality that is acceptable to the Government (see 46.202 ). (c) The control of quality by the contractor may relate to, but is not limited to- (1) Manufacturing processes, to ensure that the product is produced to, and meets, the contract’s technical requirements; (2) Drawings, specifications, and engineering changes, to ensure that manufacturing methods and operations meet the contract’s technical requirements; (3) Testing and examination, to ensure that practices and equipment provide the means for optimum evaluation of the characteristics subject to inspection; (4) Reliability and maintainability assessment (life, endurance, and continued readiness); (5) Fabrication and delivery of products, to ensure that only conforming products are tendered to the Government; (6) Technical documentation, including drawings, specifications, handbooks, manuals, and other technical publications; (7) Preservation, packaging, packing, and marking; and (8) Procedures and processes for services to ensure that services meet contract performance requirements. (d) The contractor is responsible for performing all inspections and test required by the contract except those specifically reserved for performance by the Government (see 46.201 (c)).