FAR 52.203-11—Certification and Disclosure Regarding Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 52.203-11 is the solicitation provision that implements the federal anti-lobbying certification and disclosure requirements tied to 31 U.S.C. 1352. It covers the definition of key terms used in the rule, incorporates by reference the substantive prohibition and exceptions from FAR 52.203-12, requires the offeror to certify that no appropriated funds have been or will be used to influence certain federal officials in connection with the contract award, and requires disclosure on OMB Standard Form LLL when lobbying contacts have been made by registrants under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. It also explains that regularly employed officers or employees paid reasonable compensation do not need to be reported on the disclosure form. The provision further states that submitting the certification and disclosure is a prerequisite to making or entering into the contract and warns that false certifications, prohibited expenditures, or failure to file or amend required disclosures can trigger civil penalties. In practice, this provision is about transparency and compliance: offerors must identify lobbying activity connected to the procurement, disclose it when required, and avoid using federal appropriated funds for prohibited influence efforts.
Key Rules
Key terms are defined by reference
The provision defines "lobbying contact" by statute and pulls several other important terms from FAR 52.203-12, including "agency," "influencing or attempting to influence," "officer or employee of an agency," "person," "reasonable compensation," and "regularly employed." Those definitions control how the certification and disclosure requirements are applied.
Anti-lobbying prohibition applies
The provision incorporates the prohibition and exceptions in FAR 52.203-12. That means the offeror must comply with the federal restrictions on using appropriated funds to influence certain federal transactions, subject to the limited exceptions recognized in the clause.
Certification is required with the offer
By signing the offer, the offeror certifies to the best of its knowledge and belief that no Federal appropriated funds have been or will be paid to influence specified federal officials in connection with the award of the contract. This is a representation made at the time of offer submission.
Lobbying disclosure may be required
If registrants under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 made a lobbying contact on behalf of the offeror regarding the contract, the offeror must submit OMB Standard Form LLL with the offer. The disclosure identifies the registrants involved and the lobbying activity.
Regular employees need not be reported
The offeror does not have to report regularly employed officers or employees to whom reasonable compensation was paid. This avoids treating ordinary internal personnel compensation as a reportable lobbying payment when they are acting within the rule's limits.
Certification and disclosure are prerequisites
Submitting the certification and any required disclosure is a condition precedent to making or entering into the contract under 31 U.S.C. 1352. If the required paperwork is missing or inaccurate, the Government may not be able to award the contract until the issue is resolved.
Violations can trigger civil penalties
A person who makes a prohibited expenditure or fails to file or amend a required disclosure may be subject to civil penalties under 31 U.S.C. 1352. The Government may also pursue other remedies, so the penalty is not the only possible consequence.
Responsibilities
Offeror
Certify, when signing the offer, that no Federal appropriated funds have been or will be used to influence covered federal officials in connection with the contract award. If applicable, complete and submit SF LLL with the offer and ensure the disclosure is accurate and complete.
Offeror's compliance or legal staff
Review lobbying activity, identify whether any LDA registrants made lobbying contacts on the offeror's behalf, determine whether disclosure is required, and confirm that any required SF LLL is filed and later amended if needed.
Contracting Officer
Include the provision when prescribed, evaluate whether the offer contains the required certification and any required SF LLL, and ensure the award file reflects compliance before contract award.
Registrants under the Lobbying Disclosure Act
If they made lobbying contacts on behalf of the offeror regarding the contract, their activities must be disclosed by the offeror on SF LLL; they should provide accurate information to support the disclosure.
Agency
Apply the statutory and FAR requirements consistently, maintain the integrity of the procurement process, and take appropriate action if a prohibited expenditure or disclosure failure is identified.
Practical Implications
This provision is often a front-end compliance check, so contractors should gather lobbying information early rather than waiting until award is imminent.
A common pitfall is assuming that only direct cash payments matter; the rule focuses on using Federal appropriated funds for prohibited influence activities and on required disclosure of lobbying contacts.
Another frequent mistake is failing to submit SF LLL when a registrant under the Lobbying Disclosure Act has made a covered lobbying contact on the offeror's behalf.
Contractors should distinguish between ordinary internal employees and reportable lobbying activity, because regularly employed personnel paid reasonable compensation are excluded from the disclosure requirement.
If the disclosure changes after submission, the offeror may need to amend it; ignoring updates can create civil penalty exposure and jeopardize award eligibility.
Official Regulatory Text
As prescribed in 3.808 (a) , insert the following provision: Certification and Disclosure Regarding Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions (Sep 2024) (a) Definitions. As used in this provision-"Lobbying contact" has the meaning provided at 2 U.S.C. 1602(8) . The terms "agency," "influencing or attempting to influence," "officer or employee of an agency," "person," "reasonable compensation," and "regularly employed" are defined in the FAR clause of this solicitation entitled "Limitation on Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions" ( 52.203-12 ). (b) Prohibition . The prohibition and exceptions contained in the FAR clause of this solicitation entitled "Limitation on Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions" ( 52.203-12 ) are hereby incorporated by reference in this provision. (c) Certification . The offeror, by signing its offer, hereby certifies to the best of its knowledge and belief that no Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress on its behalf in connection with the awarding of this contract. (d) Disclosure . If any registrants under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 have made a lobbying contact on behalf of the offeror with respect to this contract, the offeror shall complete and submit, with its offer, OMB Standard Form LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, to provide the name of the registrants. The offeror need not report regularly employed officers or employees of the offeror to whom payments of reasonable compensation were made. (e) Penalty . Submission of this certification and disclosure is a prerequisite for making or entering into this contract imposed by 31 U.S.C. 1352 . Any person who makes an expenditure prohibited under this provision or who fails to file or amend the disclosure required to be filed or amended by this provision, shall be subject to civil penalties as provided in 31 U.S.C. 1352 . An imposition of a civil penalty does not prevent the Government from seeking any other remedy that may be applicable. (End of provision)