FAR 6.305—Availability of the justification.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 6.305 explains when and how an agency must publicly post the justification for other-than-full-and-open competition prepared under FAR 6.303-1, including the timing rules, where the justification must be posted, how long it must stay available, and what redactions are required before release. It implements the statutory public-posting requirements in 10 U.S.C. 3204(f) and 41 U.S.C. 3304(f), and it distinguishes among ordinary post-award postings, awards under the unusual and compelling urgency authority at FAR 6.302-2, and brand name justifications under FAR 6.302-1(c). The section also addresses the Government Point of Entry, agency website posting, minimum retention periods, and the need to protect contractor proprietary data and other exempt information under FOIA and related disclosure restrictions. Finally, it creates a narrow national security/security-risk exception where posting is not required if disclosure would reveal the agency’s needs and compromise security. In practice, this section is about transparency after a sole-source or limited-competition decision, while balancing public disclosure against proprietary and security concerns.
Key Rules
Post the justification publicly
The agency must make the justification required by FAR 6.303-1 publicly available, because the law requires public disclosure of the basis for certain noncompetitive awards. This is the default rule unless one of the specific exceptions in this section applies.
Standard 14-day deadline
For most awards, the justification must be posted within 14 days after contract award. This is the normal timing requirement and applies unless the award falls under the urgency exception or the brand name solicitation exception.
Urgency awards get 30 days
If the award is made under FAR 6.302-2, the justification must be posted within 30 days after contract award. This gives the agency a longer posting window for unusual and compelling urgency actions.
Brand name justifications post with solicitation
For a brand name justification under FAR 6.302-1(c), the justification must be posted with the solicitation rather than after award. The solicitation posting requirement in FAR 5.102(a)(6) applies here.
Post on GPE and agency website
The justification must be posted at the Government Point of Entry, currently SAM.gov, and also on the agency’s website, which may satisfy the agency-website requirement by linking to the GPE. This ensures broad public access through official procurement channels.
Keep it posted at least 30 days
The justification must remain publicly available for a minimum of 30 days. Agencies cannot remove it early simply because the award has been made or the initial posting period has passed.
Protect proprietary information
Contracting officers must screen justifications for contractor proprietary data and remove protected material, including related references and citations needed to protect that data, before public release. They should also consider FOIA exemptions and the disclosure prohibitions in FAR 24.202 when deciding what can be posted.
Optional contractor review for redaction
If the justification appears to contain proprietary data, the contracting officer should give the submitting contractor an opportunity to review it for proprietary information before posting. This review cannot delay the required posting deadlines.
Security exception can eliminate posting
The posting requirements do not apply if posting would disclose the agency’s needs and that disclosure would compromise national security or create other security risks. This is a narrow exception focused on protecting sensitive operational or security-related requirements.
Responsibilities
Agency
Make the required justification publicly available in the proper place and within the required timeframe; ensure it remains posted for at least 30 days; and apply the security exception only when disclosure would compromise national security or create other security risks.
Contracting Officer
Screen the justification for proprietary data and exempt information, redact as needed, consider FOIA and FAR 24.202 restrictions, and ensure posting occurs on time even if contractor review is still pending.
Contractor
If asked, review the justification for proprietary data and identify information that should be protected before public release. The contractor should respond promptly so the agency can meet the posting deadline.
Agency Website Administrator / Procurement Posting Official
Publish or link the justification on the agency website and coordinate with SAM.gov/GPE posting so the public can access the document in the required locations.
Practical Implications
This section is a post-award transparency requirement, so contracting teams need to build posting and redaction into the acquisition timeline early, not after award.
The most common mistake is missing the deadline because proprietary-data review takes too long; the contractor review process cannot delay posting.
Another frequent pitfall is over-redacting or under-redacting. COs must protect proprietary and exempt information, but they also need to preserve enough of the justification to explain the noncompetitive decision.
For brand name justifications, the timing is different: the justification must be posted with the solicitation, so teams should not wait until award to prepare it.
The national security/security-risk exception is narrow and should be documented carefully; agencies should not use it as a routine way to avoid public posting.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) The agency shall make publicly available the justification required by 6.303-1 as required by 10 U.S.C. 3204(f) and 41 U.S.C. 3304(f) . Except for the circumstances in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the justification shall be made publicly available within 14 days after contract award. (b) In the case of a contract award permitted under 6.302-2 , the justification shall be posted within 30 days after contract award. (c) In the case of a brand name justification under 6.302-1 (c), the justification shall be posted with the solicitation (see 5.102 (a)(6)). (d) The justifications shall be made publicly available- (1) At the Government Point of Entry (GPE) https://www.sam.gov . (2) On the website of the agency, which may provide access to the justifications by linking to the GPE; and (3) Must remain posted for a minimum of 30 days. (e) Contracting officers shall carefully screen all justifications for contractor proprietary data and remove all such data, and such references and citations as are necessary to protect the proprietary data, before making the justifications available for public inspection. Contracting officers shall also be guided by the exemptions to disclosure of information contained in the Freedom of Information Act ( 5 U.S.C. 552 ) and the prohibitions against disclosure in 24.202 in determining whether the justification, or portions of it, are exempt from posting. Although the submitter notice process set out in EO 12600, entitled "Predisclosure Notification Procedures for Confidential Commercial Information," does not apply, if the justification appears to contain proprietary data, the contracting officer should provide the contractor that submitted the information an opportunity to review the justification for proprietary data, before making the justification available for public inspection, redacted as necessary. This process must not prevent or delay the posting of the justification in accordance with the timeframes required in paragraphs (a) through (c). (f) The requirements of paragraphs (a) through (d) do not apply if posting the justification would disclose the executive agency’s needs and disclosure of such needs would compromise national security or create other security risks.