FAR 9.104-6—Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 9.104-6 explains how contracting officers must use the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) when deciding whether an offeror is responsible before award, especially for contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold. It covers the required pre-award review of performance and integrity information, including data pulled from SAM Exclusions and CPARS, and it also addresses FAPIIS entries for immediate owners, subsidiaries, and predecessors of the offeror. The section tells contracting officers how to weigh FAPIIS information in responsibility determinations, how to treat older or less relevant information, and how to handle information about affiliates and subcontractor-related misconduct that is posted in the prime contractor’s record. It also requires the contracting officer to seek additional information from the offeror when relevant adverse information appears, and to notify the agency suspension/debarment official when the information may warrant action. Finally, it requires documentation in the contract file showing how FAPIIS was considered and what action resulted, including separate FAPIIS documentation when a nonresponsibility determination is made. In practice, this section is a key safeguard against awarding to contractors with unresolved integrity, performance, or exclusion issues, while still requiring balanced judgment and consideration of mitigation and relevance.
Key Rules
Mandatory FAPIIS review
Before awarding a contract above the simplified acquisition threshold, the contracting officer must review FAPIIS. The review includes performance and integrity information from FAPIIS itself, SAM Exclusions, and CPARS.
Covers owners and predecessors
FAPIIS identifies immediate owners, subsidiaries, and predecessors of the offeror when applicable. The contracting officer must consider this information when it is relevant to the responsibility determination.
Use sound judgment
The contracting officer must consider all FAPIIS information along with other past performance information, but must weigh relevance and current significance. Older, resolved, or unrelated matters may have limited value for present responsibility.
Affiliate information has limits
For affiliate information, the contracting officer must follow FAR 9.104-3(c). FAPIIS is not a blanket basis to disqualify an offeror based on every affiliate issue; the relationship and relevance matter.
Past performance source selection
When FAPIIS is used for source selection past performance evaluations, FAR 15.305(a)(2) applies. The contracting officer must use judgment in deciding how much weight the information deserves for the specific acquisition.
Subcontractor misconduct is posted to prime record
Because FAPIIS is a prime-contractor database, certain subcontractor-related information, such as trafficking in persons violations, is posted to the prime contractor’s record. The prime contractor may also post mitigating factors, which the contracting officer must consider.
Request more information and notify officials
If relevant adverse information appears in FAPIIS, the contracting officer must promptly request additional information from the offeror unless the offeror is already debarred, suspended, or voluntarily excluded. The contracting officer must also notify the suspension/debarment official when the information may warrant their review.
Document the file and FAPIIS
For every contract above the simplified acquisition threshold, the contracting officer must document how FAPIIS was considered and what action was taken. If the contracting officer finds the offeror nonresponsible, that determination must also be documented in FAPIIS under FAR 9.105-2(b)(2).
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Review FAPIIS before award for contracts exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold; consider all relevant performance and integrity information for the offeror and identified owners, predecessors, and subsidiaries; use sound judgment on relevance and weight; request additional information from the offeror when adverse information is relevant; notify the agency suspension/debarment official when appropriate; document the contract file; and record nonresponsibility determinations in FAPIIS.
Offeror
Provide additional information when the contracting officer requests it to demonstrate responsibility; ensure that required ownership, predecessor, and related information is properly identified through applicable representations and disclosures; and, where applicable, present mitigating factors that may explain or contextualize adverse information.
Prime Contractor
When subcontractor-related misconduct is posted in FAPIIS to the prime’s record, the prime contractor may submit mitigating factors for the contracting officer’s consideration, including evidence of compliance with applicable contract requirements such as FAR 52.222-50.
Agency Suspension/Debarment Official
Review referrals or notifications from the contracting officer when FAPIIS information appears to warrant debarment or suspension consideration and determine whether to initiate action under agency procedures.
Agency
Maintain procedures for notification and referral under the debarment and suspension rules; support the use of FAPIIS, CPARS, and SAM Exclusions as part of the acquisition integrity process; and ensure contracting officers understand documentation and referral requirements.
Practical Implications
FAPIIS is not just a checkbox; it can affect both responsibility determinations and source selection past performance ratings, so contracting officers need to review it early enough to act on what they find.
Not every negative record should drive a nonresponsibility finding. Older, resolved, or unrelated issues may be less relevant, so the key is whether the information bears on present responsibility for the specific acquisition.
If adverse information appears, the contracting officer should not jump straight to exclusion. The rule requires giving the offeror a chance to explain or provide mitigating information, unless the offeror is already excluded or debarred.
Subcontractor misconduct can still affect the prime contractor’s FAPIIS record, which means primes need to monitor subcontractor compliance and be ready to document mitigation and corrective action.
File documentation matters. A contracting officer who fails to explain how FAPIIS was considered, or who neglects to record a nonresponsibility determination in FAPIIS, creates a compliance gap and weakens the administrative record for award decisions.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) (1) Before awarding a contract in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, the contracting officer shall review the performance and integrity information available in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), (available at https://www.cpars.gov ), including FAPIIS information from the System for Award Management (SAM) Exclusions and the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). (2) In accordance with 41 U.S.C. 2313(d)(3) , FAPIIS also identifies– (i) An affiliate that is an immediate owner or subsidiary of the offeror, if any (see 52.204-17 , Ownership or Control of Offeror); and (ii) All predecessors of the offeror that held a Federal contract or grant within the last three years (see 52.204-20 , Predecessor of Offeror). (b) (1) When making a responsibility determination, the contracting officer shall consider all the information available through FAPIIS with regard to the offeror and any immediate owner, predecessor, or subsidiary identified for that offeror in FAPIIS, as well as other past performance information on the offeror (see subpart 42.15 ). (2) For evaluation of information available through FAPIIS relating to an affiliate of the offeror, see 9.104-3 (c). (3) For source selection evaluations of past performance, see 15.305 (a)(2). Contracting officers shall use sound judgment in determining the weight and relevance of the information contained in FAPIIS and how it relates to the present acquisition. (4) Since FAPIIS may contain information on any of the offeror's previous contracts and information covering a 5-year period, some of that information may not be relevant to a determination of present responsibility, e.g. , a prior administrative action such as debarment, suspension, voluntary exclusion, or administrative agreement, that has expired or otherwise been resolved, or information relating to contracts for completely different products or services. (5) Because FAPIIS is a database that provides information about prime contractors, the contracting officer posts information required to be posted about a subcontractor, such as trafficking in persons violations, to the record of the prime contractor (see 42.1503 (h)(1)(v)). The prime contractor has the opportunity to post in FAPIIS any mitigating factors. The contracting officer shall consider any mitigating factors posted in FAPIIS by the prime contractor, such as degree of compliance by the prime contractor with the terms of FAR clause 52.222-50 . (c) If the contracting officer obtains relevant information from FAPIIS regarding criminal, civil, or administrative proceedings in connection with the award or performance of a Government contract; terminations for default or cause; determinations of nonresponsibility because the contractor does not have a satisfactory performance record or a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics; or comparable information relating to a grant, the contracting officer shall, unless the contractor has already been debarred, suspended, or has agreed to a voluntary exclusion- (1) Promptly request such additional information from the offeror as the offeror deems necessary in order to demonstrate the offeror’s responsibility to the contracting officer (but see 9.405 ); and (2) Notify, prior to proceeding with award, in accordance with agency procedures (see 9.406-3 (a) and 9.407-3 (a)), the agency official responsible for initiating debarment or suspension action, if the information appears appropriate for the official’s consideration. (d) The contracting officer shall document the contract file for each contract in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold to indicate how the information in FAPIIS was considered in any responsibility determination, as well as the action that was taken as a result of the information. A contracting officer who makes a nonresponsibility determination is required to document that information in FAPIIS in accordance with 9.105-2 (b)(2).