FAR 52.225-17—Evaluation of Foreign Currency Offers.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 52.225-17, Evaluation of Foreign Currency Offers, tells offerors and contracting officers how the Government will compare offers when more than one currency is submitted. Its purpose is to make price evaluation fair and consistent by converting foreign currency offers into U.S. dollars using a rate source the contracting officer identifies in the solicitation. The provision also fixes the exact date on which the exchange rate must be taken, and that date depends on the acquisition method: for sealed bidding, the bid opening date; for negotiated acquisitions, either the initial proposal due date if award is based on initial offers, or the proposal revision due date if award is based on revised proposals. In practice, this provision matters because exchange-rate movement can change the evaluated ranking of offers even when the nominal foreign-currency prices do not change. It also creates a clear administrative record for how the Government performed the conversion, which helps avoid disputes over evaluation fairness and price comparison methodology.
Key Rules
Convert all currencies to U.S. dollars
If the Government receives offers in more than one currency, it must evaluate them by converting the foreign currency offer(s) into United States currency. The evaluation is based on the converted amount, not the face value of the foreign currency offer.
Contracting officer names rate source
The solicitation must identify the source of the exchange rate the Government will use. The provision leaves a bracketed placeholder for the contracting officer to insert that source, so the evaluation method is fixed and transparent before offers are due.
Use bid opening date for sealed bidding
For sealed bidding procedures, the exchange rate is taken on the date of bid opening. This locks the conversion to the public opening date and prevents later exchange-rate changes from affecting the evaluation.
Use receipt date for initial offers
For negotiated acquisitions, if award will be made on the basis of initial offers, the exchange rate is taken on the date specified for receipt of offers. This ensures all initial proposals are evaluated using the same date-specific rate.
Use revision date when proposals are revised
If award is based on proposal revisions, the exchange rate is taken on the date specified for receipt of proposal revisions. This means the evaluation uses the rate applicable to the final revised submissions, not the original proposal date.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Insert the source of the exchange rate in the solicitation, apply the correct conversion date based on the acquisition method, and evaluate all offers using the selected rate source consistently.
Offerors/Contractors
Submit prices in the currency permitted or chosen for the offer and understand that the Government will convert foreign currency amounts to U.S. dollars for evaluation purposes.
Agency/Source Selection Team
Use the converted U.S. dollar values in the evaluation record and ensure the comparison methodology is applied uniformly to all offers.
Practical Implications
Exchange-rate swings can change the apparent low offer, so a foreign-currency price that looks best on paper may not be lowest after conversion.
The solicitation must clearly state the rate source; if it does not, the evaluation method may be challenged as unclear or inconsistent.
The controlling date matters a lot: bid opening, initial offer due date, or proposal revision due date can produce different evaluated prices even for the same nominal offer.
Contracting officers should document the conversion method and date carefully to support the award decision and defend against protests.
Offerors should not assume their quoted foreign-currency amount will be evaluated at a favorable later rate; the rule fixes the date in advance.
Official Regulatory Text
As prescribed in 25.1103 (c)(, insert the following provision: Evaluation of Foreign Currency Offers (Feb 2000) If the Government receives offers in more than one currency, the Government will evaluate offers by converting the foreign currency to United States currency using [ Contracting Officer to insert source of rate ] in effect as follows: (a) For acquisitions conducted using sealed bidding procedures, on the date of bid opening. (b) For acquisitions conducted using negotiation procedures- (1) On the date specified for receipt of offers, if award is based on initial offers; otherwise (2) On the date specified for receipt of proposal revisions. (End of provision)