FAR 9.106-1—Conditions for preaward surveys.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 9.106-1 explains when a preaward survey should be used, when it should be avoided, and what must happen if adverse information or exclusion status is discovered. It covers three main topics: the general condition for requesting a preaward survey, the special rule that discourages surveys for fixed-price awards at or below the simplified acquisition threshold and for commercial products or commercial services unless there is a good reason, and the duty of a cognizant contract administration office to pass along unfavorable information if it learns of it before a survey is requested. It also requires the surveying activity to check whether the prospective contractor is debarred, suspended, or otherwise ineligible before starting the survey. In practice, this section is about using preaward surveys only when they are actually needed to support a responsibility determination, avoiding unnecessary delay and cost, and ensuring that exclusion information is identified early so the Government does not waste time surveying a contractor that cannot receive award. For contracting officers, it is a gatekeeping rule that helps decide whether to seek additional information; for contract administration offices and surveying activities, it creates prompt reporting and screening duties.
Key Rules
Survey only when needed
A preaward survey is normally required only when the contracting officer does not already have enough information, including commercially available information, to make a responsibility determination. The survey is a supplemental tool, not a routine step in every procurement.
Avoid low-value surveys
For fixed-price contracts at or below the simplified acquisition threshold, and for acquisitions of commercial products or commercial services, the contracting officer should not request a preaward survey unless special circumstances justify the cost. This reflects a policy preference for speed and efficiency in lower-risk or commercially based buys.
Report unfavorable information promptly
If a cognizant contract administration office learns of a prospective award and has unfavorable information about the contractor, and no survey has been requested, it must promptly send the details to the contracting officer. The rule ensures the responsibility decision is informed by the best available adverse information.
Check exclusion status first
Before starting a preaward survey, the surveying activity must determine whether the prospective contractor is debarred, suspended, or otherwise ineligible. This screening prevents unnecessary survey work on a contractor who may already be barred from award.
Stop and notify if excluded
If the prospective contractor is debarred, suspended, or ineligible, the surveying activity must promptly advise the contracting officer and must not continue unless the contracting officer specifically asks it to proceed. The default is to halt the survey once exclusion status is identified.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Decide whether enough information already exists to make a responsibility determination and request a preaward survey only when needed. For fixed-price awards at or below the simplified acquisition threshold and for commercial products or commercial services, avoid requesting a survey unless circumstances justify the expense. If notified of unfavorable information or exclusion status, use that information in the award decision and decide whether any further survey activity is specifically warranted.
Cognizant Contract Administration Office
Monitor prospective awards and, when it becomes aware of unfavorable information about a contractor and no preaward survey has been requested, promptly transmit the details to the contracting officer. This office serves as an early-warning source for adverse performance or responsibility information.
Surveying Activity
Before beginning a preaward survey, check whether the prospective contractor is debarred, suspended, or ineligible. If the contractor is excluded, promptly notify the contracting officer and do not proceed unless specifically directed to do so.
Prospective Contractor
While not assigned an affirmative duty in this section, the contractor is the subject of the responsibility review and may be affected by adverse information or exclusion status identified through the survey process.
Practical Implications
This section is designed to prevent unnecessary preaward surveys, so contracting officers should not treat a survey as a routine checkbox. If the file already supports a responsibility determination, a survey may add delay without adding value.
For commercial buys and smaller fixed-price actions, the default is to skip the survey unless there is a real reason to spend the time and money. A common mistake is requesting a survey out of habit rather than based on a documented need.
Contract administration offices should treat unfavorable information as time-sensitive. If they learn something negative after award planning has started, they should not wait for a formal request before alerting the contracting officer.
Surveying activities must screen for debarment, suspension, and ineligibility before doing any substantive survey work. Failing to check exclusion status first can waste resources and create process errors.
If a contractor is excluded, the survey generally stops unless the contracting officer explicitly wants it to continue. That means the contracting officer should be prepared to decide quickly whether any additional fact-finding is still useful.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) A preaward survey is normally required only when the information on hand or readily available to the contracting officer, including information from commercial sources, is not sufficient to make a determination regarding responsibility. In addition, if the contemplated contract will have a fixed price at or below the simplified acquisition threshold or will involve the acquisition of commercial products or commercial services (see part 12 ), the contracting officer should not request a preaward survey unless circumstances justify its cost. (b) When a cognizant contract administration office becomes aware of a prospective award to a contractor about which unfavorable information exists and no preaward survey has been requested, it shall promptly obtain and transmit details to the contracting officer. (c) Before beginning a preaward survey, the surveying activity shall ascertain whether the prospective contractor is debarred, suspended, or ineligible (see subpart 9.4 ). If the prospective contractor is debarred, suspended, or ineligible, the surveying activity shall advise the contracting officer promptly and not proceed with the preaward survey unless specifically requested to do so by the contracting officer.