FAR Council Deviates From Part 8 Model Deviation - Is It Any Better For Small Businesses?
At the end of last week, the FAR Council, as part of its "Revolutionary FAR Overhaul," released a revision to its Part 8 model deviation. Whether this change should alleviate concerns from small businesses is still unclear.
Part 8 Model Deviation
As we mentioned in our recent GovCon Bulletin,™ the model deviation directs agencies to first look at mandatory sources for supplies and services (like internal government inventories or federal prison production). After that, they are told, agencies should buy commercial products and services to the fullest extent possible. The model deviation expects agencies to search for these commercial products and services under existing governmentwide contracts or Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs), such as the Federal Supply Schedule, Governmentwide Acquisition Contract, or other Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity contracts.
If agencies find existing governmentwide contracts or BPA’s that offer products or services they need, the model deviation requires them to follow a specific order when purchasing. When the model deviation was first published on August 14, 2025, it instructed agencies to prioritize contracts designated as "best-in-class" (BIC) by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). Agencies were told to buy from existing governmentwide non-BIC contracts only if no BIC contracts met their needs. But as we pointed out in our article, this rule could limit opportunities for small businesses and might also dilute the value of holding a GSA contract.
The Revised Deviation
More recently, on September 5, 2025, the FAR Council updated the model deviation by replacing the BIC requirement with a mandate to use contracts designated as "required use" by OFPP. Consequently, the new ordering sequence is as follows: Agencies should purchase from "required use" governmentwide contracts or BPA's first, and if none are available, agencies should purchase from non-"required use" governmentwide contracts or BPA's. The FAR Council explained that OFPP would create a new category of “required use” contracts and establish the criteria for this designation. The FAR Council also clarified that while BIC contracts will still be prioritized, they will not be mandatory.
At this point, there is still no guidance from OFPP on which governmentwide contracts will qualify for the “required use” designation. The FAR Council's practitioner's guidance on Part 8 still refers to the BIC mandate with no mention of the new "required use" category. While it is likely that the pool of eligible contracts will be larger than those designated as BIC, it is unclear whether switching from a BIC mandate to a “required use” mandate will mitigate any harm to small businesses, including those holding GSA contracts. Since BIC contracts will still be prioritized, it seems that BIC contracts designated as “required use” and BIC contracts not designated as "required use" will still go to the head of their respective lines in any event. Given the lack of clarity, some contractors may question why any agency would persist in adopting the model deviation when the required ordering sequence under it is one big question mark.
The Amadeo Law Firm's GovCon FAR Overhaul Hub provides additional information on the FAR Overhaul, and the firm will continue to cover the overhaul in upcoming articles, webinars or video blogs.
