FAR 9.109-2—Prohibition.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 9.109-2 establishes a mandatory prohibition on federal contracting with certain excluded entities. It tells contracting officers that they may not award, renew, or extend a contract for products or services to an entity that is identified in the System for Award Management (SAM) as excluded for purposes of this subpart because of involvement in activities that violate arms control treaties or agreements with the United States. In practice, this section is about screening for a specific exclusion category before taking contract action, and it applies to new awards as well as continuation actions such as renewals and extensions. Its purpose is to protect the government from doing business with entities whose conduct has triggered this treaty-related exclusion and to ensure contracting decisions comply with the governmentwide debarment/exclusion framework. For contracting officers, the section creates a hard stop: if the entity is listed in SAM for this reason, the contract action is prohibited. For contractors and offerors, it means eligibility can be affected by exclusion status, and they must ensure their registration and representations do not conflict with SAM exclusion records.
Key Rules
No award to excluded entities
A contracting officer must not award a contract for products or services to an entity identified in SAM as excluded for this subpart. The prohibition is mandatory and leaves no discretion to proceed with the award.
No renewals or extensions
The restriction applies not only to initial awards but also to renewals and extensions of existing contracts. If the entity is excluded under this subpart, the contracting officer cannot continue the relationship through those actions.
SAM is the controlling source
The exclusion must be identified in the System for Award Management. Contracting officers must check SAM and rely on the exclusion status shown there for this subpart before taking contract action.
Applies to products and services
The prohibition covers contracts for the procurement of products or services. It is not limited to one type of acquisition and applies broadly to covered contract actions.
Treaty-violation basis only
This section is limited to entities excluded because of involvement in activities that violate arms control treaties or agreements with the United States. It does not itself create other exclusion grounds or address unrelated suspension and debarment issues.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Verify whether the prospective contractor or current contractor is identified in SAM as excluded for this subpart, and do not award, renew, or extend a contract if the exclusion applies. The contracting officer must treat the prohibition as mandatory and stop the action when the exclusion is present.
Agency
Maintain acquisition compliance processes that ensure contracting personnel check SAM exclusion records before contract actions covered by this section. The agency must support adherence to the prohibition through internal controls and acquisition oversight.
Contractor/Offeror
Ensure its SAM registration and exclusion status are accurate and current, and understand that being listed as excluded for this subpart can prevent award, renewal, or extension. The contractor should address any exclusion issues through the appropriate legal or administrative channels rather than expecting the contracting officer to waive the prohibition.
Practical Implications
This is a strict eligibility screen, so contracting officers should check SAM before award and again before any renewal or extension action.
A common pitfall is assuming the prohibition applies only to new awards; it also blocks continuation actions on existing contracts.
If an entity is listed in SAM for this subpart, the contracting officer has no discretion to proceed, even if the requirement is urgent or the contractor is otherwise qualified.
Contractors should monitor their SAM status closely because an exclusion can disrupt recompetes, option-like continuation actions, and contract administration.
Acquisition teams should build this check into pre-award and pre-modification workflows to avoid invalid actions and compliance findings.
Official Regulatory Text
Contracting officers shall not award, renew, or extend a contract for the procurement of products or services with an entity identified as excluded in the System for Award Management, specifically for this subpart, on the basis of involvement in activities that violate arms control treaties or agreements with the United States.