Search regulations MCP tool

Searches acquisition regulation sections (FAR, DFARS, DFARS PGI and GSAM/GSAR, in the codified edition and the Overhaul class-deviation edition; codified includes regulatory text plus PGI and GSAM manual guidance, which is not 48 CFR regulatory text) by keyword or meaning. Filter by regulation, edition, kind and part; walk the outline with regulation_section_parents or regulation_section_ancestors sorted by reading_order; find what cites a section, which clauses a section prescribes, and the DFARS, PGI and GSAM sections that supplement a FAR section. Results list citations and titles; to read a section verbatim, call Get_Regulation_Section with its citation and edition, or request the body field.

MCP tool name: Search_Regulations
Data type: Regulation section data type
Returns: Regulation section MCP response
Search modes: Keyword, Semantic
Annotations: Read only, not destructive, idempotent, closed world
Available in: GovTribe AI, GovTribe MCP

Examples

Use this tool to find which part, section, clause, or provision of the FAR, DFARS, DFARS PGI, or GSAM covers a topic, and to move around a regulation's outline. It returns citations and titles. To quote a section, call Get regulation section with the citation and edition from the result.

Use Acquisition regulation data for edition selection, agency applicability limits, effective dates, and held or renamed records.

Keep these rules in mind:

Choose the edition. A citation has at most one record per edition and may be absent from either edition. The codified edition includes 48 CFR regulatory text, DFARS PGI guidance, and GSAM internal-manual policy; PGI guidance and GSAM sections marked is_regulatory: false are not codified in 48 CFR. The overhaul edition is the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul class-deviation text that agencies are applying ahead of final rules. For the GSAM, overhaul is GSA's Revolutionary GSAR Overhaul (RGO) class deviation. Without regulation_editions, results mix both editions.
GSAR clauses, such as GSAR 552.238-79, are in the GSAM. Filter with regulations: ["GSAM"]. regulation_section_regulatory: true keeps sections marked as GSAR regulatory text; false keeps sections marked as GSA internal manual text. Neither value includes unmarked sections with is_regulatory: null, even when those sections appear in the GSAR. Omit this filter to include unmarked material.
An Overhaul section can be published before it takes effect. Check effective_date before treating its text as in force.
The parent, ancestor, cites, and prescribed-in filters take citations such as FAR Subpart 19.7 or DFARS 252.204-7012, or GovTribe IDs. They reject references that name no current section. supplements_far_sections instead accepts FAR citations, not GovTribe IDs, and does not require an existing FAR record.
Withdrawn sections and [Reserved] placeholders are never returned.

Which clause covers limitations on subcontracting?

{
  "tool": "Search_Regulations",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "limitations on subcontracting",
    "regulation_editions": [
      "codified"
    ],
    "regulation_section_kinds": [
      "clause"
    ],
    "fields_to_return": [
      "govtribe_id",
      "citation",
      "title",
      "edition",
      "clause_date",
      "prescribed_in",
      "govtribe_url",
      "source_url"
    ]
  }
}

Which GSAR clauses deal with economic price adjustment?

Some clause numbers printed in GSA's RGO deviation are stored under their GSAR number, so GSAR 552.516-90 is found as GSAR 552.216-90. When a citation from the RGO text is not found, search for its title.

{
  "tool": "Search_Regulations",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "economic price adjustment",
    "regulations": [
      "GSAM"
    ],
    "regulation_editions": [
      "overhaul"
    ],
    "regulation_section_regulatory": true,
    "fields_to_return": [
      "govtribe_id",
      "citation",
      "title",
      "edition_label",
      "is_regulatory",
      "effective_date",
      "source_url"
    ]
  }
}

What does FAR Subpart 19.7 contain?

regulation_section_parents returns the direct children of a section. Sort by reading_order to list them in the order the regulation prints them. Use regulation_section_ancestors instead to return everything under a part or subpart at any depth.

{
  "tool": "Search_Regulations",
  "arguments": {
    "regulation_section_parents": [
      "FAR Subpart 19.7"
    ],
    "regulation_editions": [
      "codified"
    ],
    "sort": {
      "key": "reading_order",
      "direction": "asc"
    },
    "per_page": 50,
    "fields_to_return": [
      "citation",
      "title",
      "kind"
    ]
  }
}

What cites FAR 52.219-14?

{
  "tool": "Search_Regulations",
  "arguments": {
    "cites_regulation_sections": [
      "FAR 52.219-14"
    ],
    "regulation_editions": [
      "codified"
    ],
    "fields_to_return": [
      "citation",
      "title",
      "regulation",
      "kind"
    ]
  }
}

Which clauses and provisions does FAR 19.507 prescribe?

{
  "tool": "Search_Regulations",
  "arguments": {
    "prescribed_in_regulation_sections": [
      "FAR 19.507"
    ],
    "regulation_editions": [
      "codified"
    ],
    "fields_to_return": [
      "citation",
      "title",
      "kind",
      "prescribed_in",
      "clause_date",
      "alternates"
    ]
  }
}

Which DFARS, PGI, and GSAM sections supplement FAR 19.102?

supplements_far_sections finds agency supplement sections that add to a FAR part, subpart, or section. far_analogs lists the FAR numbers each one supplements.

{
  "tool": "Search_Regulations",
  "arguments": {
    "supplements_far_sections": [
      "FAR 19.102"
    ],
    "regulation_editions": [
      "codified"
    ],
    "fields_to_return": [
      "citation",
      "title",
      "regulation",
      "far_analogs",
      "dfars_section"
    ]
  }
}

How does the FAR Overhaul treat small business set-asides?

Semantic search finds sections by meaning when you don't know the regulation's wording.

{
  "tool": "Search_Regulations",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "when must a contracting officer set aside an acquisition for small business",
    "search_mode": "semantic",
    "regulations": [
      "FAR"
    ],
    "regulation_editions": [
      "overhaul"
    ],
    "regulation_part_numbers": [
      "19"
    ],
    "fields_to_return": [
      "govtribe_id",
      "citation",
      "title",
      "hierarchy",
      "effective_date",
      "effective_change",
      "source_url"
    ]
  }
}

Which DFARS clauses changed most recently?

clause_date is the date printed on a clause or provision's title line. Sort by it to find recently revised clauses.

{
  "tool": "Search_Regulations",
  "arguments": {
    "regulations": [
      "DFARS"
    ],
    "regulation_editions": [
      "codified"
    ],
    "regulation_section_kinds": [
      "clause",
      "provision"
    ],
    "sort": {
      "key": "clause_date",
      "direction": "desc"
    },
    "fields_to_return": [
      "citation",
      "title",
      "clause_date",
      "source_revision"
    ]
  }
}

Read a short section in the results

body is the section's full text as Markdown. It is not returned by default because some clauses are very long. To read one section, paragraph, or alternate, call Get regulation section instead.

{
  "tool": "Search_Regulations",
  "arguments": {
    "govtribe_ids": [
      "<regulation_section_govtribe_id>"
    ],
    "fields_to_return": [
      "citation",
      "title",
      "edition",
      "effective_date",
      "body"
    ]
  }
}

Regulation section MCP response: Review the response shape returned by this tool.
Regulation section data type: Understand the shared record fields and relationships used by this tool.
Choose a search mode and write queries: Choose keyword or semantic search behavior and shape query values.
Source identifiers and record matching: Use GovTribe IDs and source identifiers when passing records between tools.

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