FAR 52.215-9—Changes or Additions to Make-or-Buy Program.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 52.215-9, Changes or Additions to Make-or-Buy Program, governs how a contractor may change a contractually incorporated make-or-buy program and how deferred items may later be added to that program. It requires the contractor to follow the approved make-or-buy plan, give the contracting officer advance written notice of proposed changes, and submit enough justification for the government to evaluate the request. It also covers additions for items that were deferred during negotiation, requiring notice and justification at the earliest possible time. The clause makes clear that no change or addition becomes effective until the contracting officer gives written approval. The alternates add a special rule for contracts using incentive pricing arrangements: if the contractor wants to reverse a designated make-or-buy decision, it must support the request with certified cost or pricing data when required and then negotiate an equitable reduction in price, cost, and fee as applicable. In practice, this clause protects the government’s pricing and performance assumptions while giving contractors a controlled process to seek manufacturing or sourcing changes when business conditions change.
Key Rules
Follow the approved program
The contractor must perform in accordance with the make-or-buy program incorporated into the contract. The program is not just planning guidance; once incorporated, it becomes a contractual requirement.
Advance written notice required
Before proposing a change to the program, the contractor must notify the contracting officer in writing reasonably in advance. This applies to changes in the place of performance for any "make" items as well.
Provide enough justification
The contractor must submit justification in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of the proposed change or addition. The government must have enough information to assess cost, schedule, technical, and performance impacts.
Deferred items may be added later
For items deferred at negotiation for later inclusion, the contractor must notify the contracting officer at the earliest possible time and provide supporting justification. This ensures deferred sourcing decisions are revisited before work proceeds under an unapproved assumption.
Written approval makes it effective
A proposed change or addition to the make-or-buy program is not effective until the contractor receives the contracting officer’s written approval. Until then, the existing approved program remains controlling.
Alternate I: reversal under incentive pricing
When Alternate I applies, a contractor seeking to reverse a designated make-or-buy categorization must support the request with certified cost or pricing data when required, plus other data needed for evaluation. After approval, the contractor must promptly negotiate an equitable reduction in contract price under the applicable incentive price revision clause.
Alternate II: reversal under incentive fee
When Alternate II applies, the same evidentiary requirement applies, but the post-approval adjustment is an equitable reduction in the contract’s total estimated cost and fee under the applicable incentive fee clause. The pricing adjustment mechanism depends on the contract type.
Responsibilities
Contractor
Perform work in accordance with the incorporated make-or-buy program; give timely written notice before proposing changes; submit detailed justification for changes or additions; notify the contracting officer at the earliest possible time for deferred items; obtain written approval before implementing any change; and, when an alternate applies, provide required cost or pricing data and negotiate the required equitable reduction after approval.
Contracting Officer
Review proposed changes or additions to the make-or-buy program; evaluate the contractor’s justification and supporting data; issue written approval or disapproval; and, where an alternate applies, negotiate the appropriate price, cost, and fee adjustment after approving a reversal of the make-or-buy designation.
Agency/Government
Use the clause to preserve the integrity of negotiated sourcing assumptions, ensure proposed sourcing changes are evaluated before implementation, and apply the correct pricing adjustment mechanism when the contract includes an incentive pricing or incentive fee alternate.
Practical Implications
Contractors cannot unilaterally shift work from make to buy, change suppliers, or move production locations for make items without first getting written approval.
The justification package matters: vague business reasons are usually not enough; the contractor should be ready to explain cost, schedule, technical, quality, capacity, and risk impacts.
If the contract includes an incentive pricing alternate, a sourcing reversal can trigger a downward price, cost, or fee adjustment, so the contractor should model the financial impact before requesting approval.
Deferred items are a common trap: if an item was left out of the initial program for later decision, the contractor still has to raise it early and cannot treat it as automatically approved.
Contracting officers should verify that any approved change is documented in writing and that the contract pricing provisions are applied correctly before the contractor implements the revised sourcing decision.
Official Regulatory Text
As prescribed in 15.408 (a) , insert the following clause: Changes or Additions to Make-or-Buy Program (Oct 1997) (a) The Contractor shall perform in accordance with the make-or-buy program incorporated in this contract. If the Contractor proposes to change the program, the Contractor shall, reasonably in advance of the proposed change, (1) notify the Contracting Officer in writing, and (2) submit justification in sufficient detail to permit evaluation. Changes in the place of performance of any "make" items in the program are subject to this requirement. (b) For items deferred at the time of negotiation of this contract for later addition to the program, the Contractor shall, at the earliest possible time- (1) Notify the Contracting Officer of each proposed addition; and (2) Provide justification in sufficient detail to permit evaluation. (c) Modification of the make-or-buy program to incorporate proposed changes or additions shall be effective upon the Contractor’s receipt of the Contracting Officer’s written approval. (End of clause) Alternate I (Oct 2010) . As prescribed in 15.408 (a)(1) add the following paragraph (d) to the basic clause: (d) If the Contractor desires to reverse the categorization of "make" or "buy" for any item or items designated in the contract as subject to this paragraph, it shall- (1) Support its proposal with certified cost or pricing data in accordance with FAR 15.408 , Table 15-1 when required by FAR 15.403 , and data other than certified cost or pricing data, to permit evaluation; and (2) After approval is granted, promptly negotiate with the Contracting Officer an equitable reduction in the contract price in accordance with paragraph (k) of the Incentive Price Revision-Firm Target clause or paragraph (m) of the Incentive Price Revision-Successive Targets clause of this contract. Alternate II (Oct 2010) . As prescribed in 15.408 (a)(2), add the following paragraph (d) to the basic clause: (d) If the Contractor desires to reverse the categorization of "make" or "buy" for any item or items designated in the contract as subject to this paragraph, it shall- (1) Support its proposal with certified cost or pricing data in accordance with FAR 15.408 , Table 15-1 , when required by FAR 15.403 , and data other than certified cost or pricing data, to permit evaluation; and (2) After approval is granted, promptly negotiate with the Contracting Officer an equitable reduction in the contract's total estimated cost and fee in accordance with paragraph (e) of the Incentive Fee clause of this contract.