FAR 1.601 General

Section Federal Acquisition Regulation

Facts

Citation
FAR 1.601
Type
Section
Proposed changes
1
Text as of
FAC 2026-01
Official text
acquisition.gov

Text from acquisition.gov. Federal Register history from the Federal Register's records of the rules that amended this section.

Text

(a) Unless specifically prohibited by another provision of law, authority and responsibility to contract for authorized supplies and services are vested in the agency head. The agency head may establish contracting activities and delegate broad authority to manage the agency’s contracting functions to heads of such contracting activities. Contracts may be entered into and signed on behalf of the Government only by contracting officers. In some agencies, a relatively small number of high level officials are designated contracting officers solely by virtue of their positions. Contracting officers below the level of a head of a contracting activity shall be selected and appointed under 1.603.

(b) Agency heads may mutually agree to-

(1) Assign contracting functions and responsibilities from one agency to another; and

(2) Create joint or combined offices to exercise acquisition functions and responsibilities.

Proposed changes

Proposed rule Published Comments
Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 1, 2, 4, 33, 39, 40, and 53 91 FR 37550 · FAR Case 2026-001, Docket No. FAR-2026-0001, Sequence No. 1 Closed Jul 23, 2026No final rule found

Sections cited

  • FAR 1.603 Selection, appointment, and termination of appointment for contracting officers

Quick answers

What is FAR 1.601?

FAR 1.601 is a section of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, titled "General".

Are changes to FAR 1.601 proposed?

One proposed change has no final rule yet.

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