FAR 52.214-35—Submission of Offers in U.S. Currency.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 52.214-35 is a simple but strict solicitation provision that requires offerors to submit their prices and any other offer terms in U.S. dollars. It applies in sealed bidding and addresses one core topic: currency of the offer. The purpose is to ensure the government can compare bids on a common monetary basis and avoid ambiguity, exchange-rate risk, and administrative complications that would arise if offers were submitted in foreign currencies. In practice, this means an offer that is not stated in U.S. dollars is not merely subject to clarification or conversion; it must be rejected. For contractors, the provision creates a hard compliance requirement in preparing the bid package. For contracting officers, it provides a clear, objective basis for rejecting nonconforming offers and helps preserve fair competition and evaluation consistency.
Key Rules
Offers must be in U.S. dollars
All offers submitted under the solicitation must be expressed in U.S. currency. This applies to the price and any other monetary terms that are part of the offer.
Foreign-currency offers are rejected
If an offer is received in any currency other than U.S. dollars, the contracting officer must reject it. The provision does not allow conversion, correction, or negotiation to cure the defect after submission.
Applies as a solicitation provision
This rule is inserted into the solicitation under the cited prescription, so it becomes a binding condition of competition for that procurement. Offerors are expected to read and comply with it as part of the bid instructions.
Supports fair evaluation
Using one currency standard allows the government to evaluate bids consistently and compare prices without exchange-rate adjustments or uncertainty. It also reduces the risk of disputes over what amount was actually offered.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Include the provision when required by the prescription, review offers for compliance, and reject any offer submitted in a currency other than U.S. dollars.
Offeror/Contractor
Prepare and submit the offer in U.S. dollars only, ensuring all priced elements comply with the solicitation requirement before submission.
Agency
Use the provision to maintain a uniform pricing basis for the procurement and support consistent evaluation and administration of sealed bids.
Practical Implications
This is a strict responsiveness issue in sealed bidding: a foreign-currency offer is not a minor formatting error and generally cannot be fixed after opening.
Offerors with internal pricing systems that generate foreign-currency quotes must convert and verify the final submitted amount is in U.S. dollars before submission.
Contracting officers should check not only the total price but also any line-item, unit-price, or alternate-price entries to ensure the entire offer is in U.S. currency.
The rule avoids exchange-rate disputes, but it also means contractors bear the burden of any conversion risk before bid submission.
A common pitfall is assuming that a bid can be accepted if the foreign currency is easily convertible; under this provision, it cannot be accepted as submitted.
Official Regulatory Text
As prescribed in 14.201-6 (x) , insert the following provision: Submission of Offers in U.S. Currency (Apr 1991) Offers submitted in response to this solicitation shall be in terms of U.S. dollars. Offers received in other than U.S. dollars shall be rejected. (End of provision)