FAR 52.247-50—No Evaluation of Transportation Costs.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 52.247-50, No Evaluation of Transportation Costs, is a solicitation provision used when the Government cannot identify exact delivery destinations and it is impractical to set tentative or general delivery points for evaluating freight or transportation charges. The provision tells offerors that transportation costs for delivering supplies under the contract will not be considered in the source selection or award evaluation. Its purpose is to avoid speculative or unreliable price comparisons when shipping destinations are unknown, while keeping the evaluation focused on the other priced elements of the offer. In practice, this means the contracting officer must decide whether the conditions in FAR 47.305-5(c)(1) are met before including the provision, and offerors should not expect to gain or lose evaluation credit based on estimated transportation costs. The clause is short, but it has an important procurement-design function: it prevents distorted evaluations where transportation assumptions would be too uncertain to support fair comparison.
Key Rules
Use only when destinations are unknown
This provision is prescribed only when exact delivery destinations are not known at the time of solicitation. It is intended for situations where the Government cannot reasonably identify where supplies will be delivered.
No tentative delivery points
The provision applies when it is impractical to establish tentative or general delivery places for evaluating transportation costs. If the agency can reasonably identify delivery points or zones, another evaluation approach may be more appropriate.
Transportation costs excluded from evaluation
The solicitation must state that costs of transporting supplies to be delivered under the contract will not be an evaluation factor for award. Offerors are evaluated without adding or comparing freight assumptions.
Applies to solicitations, not contract performance
This is a solicitation provision used before award. It governs how offers are evaluated, but it does not itself set delivery terms, shipping responsibility, or payment rules for performance after award.
Must follow the prescription
The provision is inserted only as directed by FAR 47.305-5(c)(1). Contracting officers should not use it as a matter of convenience if transportation costs can be reasonably evaluated another way.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Determine whether exact destinations are unknown and whether it is impractical to establish tentative or general delivery places for evaluation. If the prescription is met, include the provision in the solicitation and ensure offer evaluation does not factor in transportation costs.
Agency
Support acquisition planning by identifying whether delivery locations are sufficiently uncertain to justify excluding transportation costs from evaluation. Ensure the solicitation structure and evaluation method are consistent with the procurement need.
Offeror/Contractor
Prepare offers without relying on transportation-cost evaluation credit. Understand that freight or delivery costs will not be used as an award discriminator under this provision, although actual performance obligations may still require delivery under the contract terms.
Practical Implications
This provision simplifies evaluation when shipping destinations are too uncertain to estimate fairly, but it can also make price comparisons less reflective of total Government cost.
A common pitfall is using the provision when delivery locations are actually predictable enough to support a transportation-cost evaluation; that can weaken the acquisition record.
Offerors should not assume that transportation costs are irrelevant to performance—only that they are not part of the award evaluation under this provision.
Contracting officers should document why exact destinations were unknown and why tentative delivery points were impractical, since the provision is tied to a specific regulatory prescription.
Because the clause is brief, it is easy to overlook its effect on the evaluation scheme; the solicitation should clearly align pricing instructions, evaluation factors, and delivery assumptions.
Official Regulatory Text
As prescribed in 47.305-5 (c)(1) , insert the following provision in solicitations when exact destinations are not known and it is impractical to establish tentative or general delivery places for the purpose of evaluating transportation costs: No Evaluation of Transportation Costs (Apr 1984) Costs of transporting supplies to be delivered under this contract will not be an evaluation factor for award. (End of clause)