FAR Council Issues Second Round of FAR Overhaul Proposed Rules Covering 16 FAR Parts: Analysis of Proposed Parts 9, 14, 27, 28, 36, and 47 plus associated FAR Part 52 clauses

September 23, 2026

NOTE: This is the first of two installments of Wiley’s analysis covering proposed rules issued by the FAR Council on September 18, 2026. Our second installment will follow soon.

What: The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) issued the second set of proposed rules to implement Executive Order (EO) 14275, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, covering 16 parts of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), plus the related clauses in Part 52. (The proposed rules can be found here, here, here, and here.) The FAR Council has now initiated eight of 12 proposed rulemakings that collectively will rewrite the entire FAR. The formal notice-and-comment rulemakings represent Phase Two of the “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul” (RFO) process that began in 2025, when the FAR Council began posting model class deviations to each FAR Part that virtually all federal agencies have adopted.

One theme of this second round of proposed rules is to include more instructions as to when various clauses do or do not apply to commercial products and services. As with the first set of proposed rules, this second round of proposed rules incorporates and builds on general changes from the RFO class deviations, such as reorganizing the FAR Parts to follow the phases of the acquisition process, adopting plain language, and relocating examples and non-statutory requirements from the FAR to non-regulatory guidance documents, such as the FAR Companion. The proposed rules go well beyond the revisions in the class deviations, however.

This first installment of our analysis covers the proposed changes in FAR Cases 2026-010 and -011, covering FAR Parts 14, 28, 36, plus the associated FAR Part 52 clauses and Parts 9, 27, and 47, plus the associated FAR Part 52 clauses, respectively. The second installment will cover FAR Cases 2026-003 and -006, covering FAR Parts 8, 12, 13, 15, 38, and 44, plus the associated FAR Part 52 clauses and Parts 16, 17 and 35, plus the associated FAR Part 52 clauses, respectively. 

When: The proposed rules were published in the Federal Register on September 18, 2026, and comments are due 30 days after publication (October 19, 2026). The proposed rules do not state when the FAR Council expects to issue final rules or when those final rules will become effective. The shortened comment period indicates the FAR Council intends to move quickly.

What It Means for Contractors: The most impactful changes to contractors proposed in FAR Cases 2026-010 and -011 relate to FAR Part 27. In the proposed rule, the FAR Council proposes revising the FAR to mirror much of the data rights requirements of the Defense Federal Acquisition Supplement (DFARS). An overview of key revisions in the two FAR Cases covered by this alert is below.

FAR Case 2026-010 includes the overhaul of Parts 14, 28, 36, and the associated FAR Part 52 clauses.

• Proposed FAR Part 14 features several changes. Consistent with the RFO’s approach to remove text that is not required by statute and to reduce duplication across parts, several sections were removed, including discussion of pre-bid conferences (deemed unnecessary), publicizing contract actions (moved to Part 5), uniform contract format (moved to Part 15), and bid protests (moved to Part 33). Another update appears in tension with other proposed changes to Parts 12 and 15.

In proposed FAR 14.301 and the accompanying clause at 52.214-7, the FAR Council proposes to change the “late is late” rule to add that a late bid would not be considered unless the bid is received before award is made and the contracting officer (CO) determines that accepting the late bid is in the Government’s best interest and would not unduly delay the acquisition. But proposed Part 14 also retains prior requirements to accepting a late bid:  if transmitted through an electronic commerce method, the bid was received at the point of entry to the Government no later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of bids or that there is acceptable evidence to confirm the bid was received at the installation designated for receipt of bids and was under the Government’s control prior to the time set for receipt of bids. Retention of this text seems to diverge from the language in proposed Parts 12 and 15, which simply allow the CO to accept a late proposal if doing so is in the Government’s best interest and would not unduly delay the acquisition. The proposed rule also augments and moves to FAR 14.001 the definition of what is “acceptable evidence” of physical and electronic receipt.

• Proposed FAR Part 28 features minimal changes from the existing FAR. The changes include use of “must” in place of “shall,” updates to FAR references, and updates to referenced websites, which the FAR Council described as simplifications and administrative corrections.
• Proposed FAR Part 36 adds several changes beyond the model deviation text. First, the proposed rule prohibits reverse auctions for certain design and construction services. Second, the proposed rule at 36.202-3(f) adds that debriefings of successful and unsuccessful architect-engineer firms “may be held” after final selection, and “will be” conducted “to the extent practicable” in accordance with FAR 15.301; this is similar to original FAR 36.607(b). Finally, the proposed rule at proposed FAR 36.301(b)(1)(ii) clarifies that a contractor may pursue a request for equitable adjustment (REA) based on differing site conditions only if the contractor provided prior written notice and submitted the request before final payment; the prior deviation text used “or.”

FAR Case 2026-011 addresses the overhaul of FAR Parts 9, 27, 47, and the relevant clauses in FAR Part 52.

• The proposed changes to the FAR Part 9 deviation text are relatively modest. In Subpart 9.1, the proposed rule moves guidance on application of the responsibility standards in FAR 9.104-1 from FAR 9.104-3 to FAR 9.104-2 and restores guidance similar to that in original FAR 9.104-3(b) regarding poor performance as a grounds for a nonresponsibility determination. In lieu of the broad statement in the deviation text of FAR 9.104-3(b) to consider whether the offeror “is or recently [has] been deficient in contract performance” or “taken corrective action,” the proposed rule restores factors the CO should consider such as the history of meeting contract quality requirements, compliance with subcontracting plans (if the solicitation requires a subcontracting plan), the number of contracts involved, the extent of deficient performance, the overall pattern of performance, and corrective actions taken. Further, similar to the original FAR, a CO is instructed to presume a prospective contractor is nonresponsible if it has been “seriously” deficient in contract performance unless the circumstances were beyond its control or the offeror has taken “meaningful” corrective action. The proposed rule also updates the records that constitute integrity records in proposed FAR 9.104-5 and eliminates the admonition that all information in FAPIIS on or after April 15, 2011, except past performance reviews, will be made public. Presumably, elimination of the admonition is related to FAPIIS’s discontinuation as a database.

In FAR Subpart 9.2, the proposed rule exempts the Department of Defense from FAR 9.204(a)(2)(i), which requires agencies to bear the cost of conducting specified testing and evaluation (excluding the costs associated with producing the item or establishing the production, quality control, or other system to be tested and evaluated) for a small business when there are specified qualification requirements and fewer than two manufacturers.

FAR Subpart 9.4, governing suspension and debarment, includes primarily numbering updates to the deviation text and minor, non-substantive word changes. One correction is to re-insert as a basis for reducing the period or extent of debarment the “elimination of other causes for which the debarment was imposed,” which was in the original FAR but excluded from the deviation text for FAR 9.406-4. Although this was included in the deviation text, the proposed rule continues proposing to add noncompliance with proposed clause FAR 52.222-XX, Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors, as a cause for debarment or suspension under FAR 9.406-2(b)(1) and 9.407-2(a), respectively.

In a departure from the inclusion of other pending proposed FAR changes in the overhaul rulemaking, as was the case with FAR Part 40, the proposed revisions to FAR Part 9 do not include substantive changes to the organizational conflict of interest rules in FAR Subpart 9.5, despite a long pending rulemaking before the FAR Council.

• Proposed FAR Part 27 replaces much of the existing civilian agency data rights framework with a DFARS-like model, including the use of data rights assertion tables. Proposed FAR 27.402 and FAR 52.227-26 essentially combine pre-overhauled DFARS 252.227-7013 and 252.227-7014, where the source of development funding for an item, component, or process determines the Government’s default rights in technical data and computer software. The proposed rule also adds the ability to enter into specially negotiated licenses. Similarly, proposed FAR 27.503 and FAR 52.227-27 essentially adopt pre-overhauled DFARS 252.227-7015 for commercial technical data. And proposed FAR 27.502 reinforces that the Government will still acquire commercial computer software under standard commercial licenses, unless those licenses are inconsistent with federal law or do not satisfy the Government’s needs. The proposed rule also aligns the SBIR/STTR data rights provisions and clauses with the DFARS overhaul class deviations and the May 3, 2023 SBA Policy Directive.
• Proposed FAR Part 47 largely preserves the deviation FAR’s transportation framework, including its existing removal of the 33 provisions and clauses from the original FAR, while making targeted operational changes. Proposed FAR 47.305-3(c) extends FAR 52.247-48 to f.o.b. destination supply contracts generally, including commercial acquisitions. More suppliers would face the prohibition on invoicing before shipment and the requirement to retain shipment records for three years after final payment. Under proposed FAR 47.405, proposed FAR 52.247-63 adds an exception for commercial product subcontracts to its air carrier flowdown. Proposed FAR 47.203-6 and FAR 52.247-23 would change the household goods liability entry from cents to dollars per pound per article. Because the revised provisions express liability in dollars rather than cents, carrying forward the former numerical entry without conversion would increase the stated liability by a factor of 100. These changes arguably add qualifications to the preamble’s characterization of the transportation revisions as nonsubstantive.

The second installment covering the remaining proposed rules from September 18, 2026 will follow shortly.

Wiley’s Government Contracts Practice has provided timely breakdown and thought leadership on every aspect of the FAR and DFARS overhaul on its FAR and DFARS Overhaul site and will continue to report on this second phase of the FAR overhaul process.