FAR 46.315—Certificate of conformance.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 46.315 is a short but important prescription rule that tells contracting officers when to include the Certificate of Conformance clause at 52.246-15 in solicitations and contracts. Its only express subject is the clause-insertion requirement, but it ties directly to the conditions in FAR 46.504, which govern when the Government may accept supplies or services based on a contractor’s certificate rather than a full Government inspection or other acceptance process. In practice, this section matters because it determines whether a contract will allow acceptance by certificate and therefore shifts some acceptance responsibility to the contractor. It is part of the broader quality assurance and acceptance framework in FAR Part 46, so it affects how deliverables are inspected, documented, and accepted. For contractors, it signals that they may be able to certify conformance in lieu of more intensive Government review, but only if the contract and the underlying conditions support that approach. For contracting officers, it is a mandatory clause-selection rule: when the conditions in 46.504 apply, the clause must be inserted in both solicitations and contracts for supplies or services.
Key Rules
Insert the clause when applicable
The contracting officer must include FAR 52.246-15, Certificate of Conformance, in solicitations and contracts for supplies or services when the conditions in FAR 46.504 apply. This is not discretionary once those conditions are met.
Depends on FAR 46.504
This section does not itself define when certificate of conformance is appropriate; it incorporates the standards in FAR 46.504. Users must look to that section to determine whether the contract qualifies for this acceptance method.
Applies to supplies and services
The prescription covers both supply and service acquisitions, so the clause may be used in either type of procurement if the FAR 46.504 conditions are satisfied.
Affects acceptance method
Including the clause allows acceptance to be based on the contractor’s certificate of conformance rather than solely on direct Government inspection or other acceptance procedures. That makes the clause a quality assurance and acceptance tool, not just a formality.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Determine whether the conditions in FAR 46.504 apply, and if they do, insert FAR 52.246-15 in the solicitation and resulting contract for supplies or services.
Contractor
If the clause is included, provide the required certificate of conformance and ensure the delivered supplies or services conform to contract requirements before certifying.
Agency
Use the FAR Part 46 acceptance framework consistently and ensure contracting personnel apply the clause prescription correctly when the conditions for certificate-based acceptance are present.
Practical Implications
This section is a clause-selection trigger: if the FAR 46.504 conditions are met and the clause is omitted, the contract may not properly support certificate-based acceptance.
Contractors should not assume they can self-certify conformance unless the clause is actually included and the contract terms support it.
Contracting officers should verify the underlying acceptance strategy early, because the certificate of conformance affects inspection, documentation, and acceptance workflow.
A common pitfall is treating this as a standalone authority; it only works in conjunction with FAR 46.504 and the contract’s quality assurance provisions.
Because it applies to both supplies and services, teams should not overlook service acquisitions when evaluating whether certificate-based acceptance is appropriate.
Official Regulatory Text
The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.246-15 , Certificate of Conformance, in solicitations and contracts for supplies or services when the conditions in 46.504 apply.