FAR 9.507—Solicitation provisions and contract clause.

Solicitation provisions.

FAR 9.507-1 tells contracting officers what must be included in solicitations when there is a significant potential organizational conflict of interest (OCI) that will be handled by restricting the contractor’s future eligibility for certain work. This section works together with FAR 9.505 and the broader OCI rules in Subpart 9.5, and it focuses on the solicitation provision—not the final contract clause itself. In practice, the provision must alert offerors to the OCI issue, explain the specific conflict as the contracting officer sees it, describe the restraint the Government intends to impose on future contractor activities, and, when appropriate, say whether the proposed clause and its application are negotiable. The purpose is to give offerors fair notice before award, support informed competition, and reduce disputes by making the Government’s OCI concerns and intended restrictions transparent up front. For contractors, this section matters because it can affect whether they may compete, what work they may later perform, and whether they can negotiate the scope of any restriction. For contracting officers, it is a required disclosure tool that helps ensure the solicitation accurately reflects the OCI risk and the Government’s planned mitigation or restraint.

Contract clause.

FAR 9.507-2 explains how a contracting officer must handle contract clauses that restrict a contractor’s future work when a conflict-of-interest concern exists, especially in situations involving organizational conflicts of interest under FAR Part 9. The section covers when a solicitation must include a proposed restraint clause, what that clause must identify, when and how the final clause is negotiated with the successful offeror, and the limits on how long the restraint may last. Its purpose is to prevent unfair competitive advantage or bias while still allowing the Government to use needed contractors for sensitive work such as preparing specifications, work statements, systems engineering, or technical direction. In practice, this section requires the Government to be precise and narrowly tailored: the restraint must be tied to a real conflict concern, must describe both the type and duration of the restriction, and cannot be open-ended. For contractors, the rule matters because it can affect future bidding opportunities and subcontracting eligibility, so the restriction must be understood before award and reflected clearly in the contract. For contracting officers, it is a drafting and negotiation requirement that helps ensure the restraint is enforceable, reasonable, and limited to what is necessary to protect the integrity of the procurement process.