FAR 5.704—Publicizing preaward.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 5.704 explains how contracting officers must publicize certain preaward notices, with special rules for actions funded in whole or in part by the Recovery Act. It ties those notices back to the general publication procedures in FAR 5.201, then adds a separate requirement to post notices of proposed contract actions for orders over $25,000 issued under task or delivery order contracts when Recovery Act funds are involved. The section also clarifies that these notices are informational only, so the usual solicitation-response rules in FAR 5.203 do not apply, although contracting officers should still use their normal solicitation methods at the same time, such as eBuy. In addition, it prescribes how to identify Recovery Act actions in the notice title or GPE form, including the use of the word “Recovery” and the proper radio-button selection in SAM.gov. Finally, it requires plain, public-facing descriptions under FAR 5.207(a)(16) so the general public can understand the planned procurement without acronyms or specialized jargon. In practice, this section is about transparency, correct tagging of Recovery Act-funded actions, and making sure public notices are understandable and properly routed through the Governmentwide Point of Entry.
Key Rules
Use general publication rules
Contracting officers must follow the publication procedures in FAR 5.201 for these preaward notices. FAR 5.704 adds special requirements for certain Recovery Act-funded actions, but it does not replace the baseline publicizing framework.
Post notices for qualifying orders
Notices of proposed contract actions are required for orders over $25,000 that are funded in whole or in part by the Recovery Act and issued under task or delivery order contracts. This requirement applies to proposed orders, not to modifications of existing orders.
Modifications are handled postaward
The notice requirement in this section does not cover modifications to existing orders. Those modifications are addressed under FAR 5.705, which governs postaward publicizing.
Notices are informational only
These notices are for informational purposes only, so FAR 5.203 does not apply. That means the notice itself is not a solicitation and does not trigger the same response or competition procedures as a standard solicitation notice.
Use normal solicitation channels too
Even when a Recovery Act notice is posted, contracting officers should concurrently use their usual solicitation practice, such as eBuy. The Recovery Act notice supplements, rather than replaces, the normal procurement process.
Mark Recovery Act actions correctly
For notices submitted by ftp or email, the title field must begin with the word “Recovery.” If the notice is entered directly in the GPE, the contracting officer must select the “yes” radio button for the Recovery and Reinvestment Act field and also begin the title with “Recovery.”
Write public-friendly descriptions
The description required by FAR 5.207(a)(16) must use clear, concise language that the general public can understand. Contracting officers should describe the goods and services, including construction, in plain language and avoid acronyms or technical terms that are not widely understood.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Publicize applicable preaward notices under FAR 5.201 and, for Recovery Act-funded orders over $25,000 under task or delivery order contracts, ensure the required informational notice is posted. The contracting officer must also identify the action correctly as a Recovery Act action, use the proper title and GPE fields, prepare a plain-language description, and continue using normal solicitation methods at the same time.
Agency
Ensure its acquisition personnel and systems support proper public posting of Recovery Act-funded proposed contract actions and that notices are routed through the Governmentwide Point of Entry or other approved submission methods. The agency should also support compliance with plain-language and identification requirements.
Public/Interested Parties
Review the posted notice as an informational announcement of a proposed action. Because the notice is informational only, interested parties should not treat it as a solicitation governed by FAR 5.203.
Practical Implications
This section creates an extra transparency step for Recovery Act-funded orders over $25,000, so contracting officers need to check funding sources early and not wait until award planning is complete.
A common pitfall is confusing a proposed order notice with a solicitation notice; these Recovery Act notices do not replace the normal solicitation process and do not trigger FAR 5.203 procedures.
Another frequent error is failing to label the notice correctly in the title or GPE fields, which can make the action harder to identify and may create compliance issues.
The public description must be understandable to non-specialists, so boilerplate, internal program language, and acronyms should be avoided even if they are common inside the agency.
Because modifications to existing orders are excluded here, contracting officers should route those actions to the postaward publicizing rules in FAR 5.705 instead of using this section.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) (1) Follow the publication procedures at 5.201 . (2) In addition, notices of proposed contract actions are required for orders exceeding $25,000, funded in whole or in part by the Recovery Act, which are issued under task or delivery order contracts. This does not include modifications to existing orders, but these modifications are covered postaward, see 5.705 . These notices are for "informational purposes only," therefore, 5.203 does not apply. Contracting officers should concurrently use their usual solicitation practice ( e.g. , eBuy). (b) Contracting officers shall identify proposed contract actions, funded in whole or in part by the Recovery Act, by using the following instructions which are also available in the Recovery FAQs under "Buyers/Engineers" at the Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE) ( https://www.sam.gov ): (1) If submitting notices electronically via ftp or email, enter the word "Recovery" as the first word in the title field. (2) If using the GPE directly, select the "yes" radio button for the "Is this a Recovery and Reinvestment Act action" field on the "Notice Details" form (Step 2) located below the "NAICS Code" field. In addition, enter the word "Recovery" as the first word in the title field. (c) In preparing the description required by 5.207 (a)(16), use clear and concise language to describe the planned procurement. Use descriptions of the goods and services (including construction), that can be understood by the general public. Avoid the use of acronyms or terminology that is not widely understood by the general public.