# 2025-00616: Government Clarifies Rules for Companies to Whine About Contracts

2025-00616, Federal Acquisition Regulation: Protests of Orders Under Certain Multiple-Award Contracts, is a Federal Register proposed rule from an unnamed agency published 2025-01-15, effective Comments must be submitted on or before March 17, 2025. (as of 2026-06-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00616
- As of: 2026-06-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2025-00616
- Title: Federal Acquisition Regulation: Protests of Orders Under Certain Multiple-Award Contracts
- Type: Proposed Rule
- Agencies: unknown
- Citation: unknown
- Published: 2025-01-15
- Effective: Comments must be submitted on or before March 17, 2025.
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-06-11

## In one line

Government Clarifies Rules for Companies to Whine About Contracts

## Summary

The Department of Defense, GSA, and NASA want to make it clearer when companies can protest orders under certain government contracts that have multiple winners. This change affects businesses bidding on these contracts by defining their protest rights more clearly. Comments on this proposal are open until March 17, 2025, so get ready to weigh in!

## Abstract

DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to clarify protest rights for orders set aside under certain multiple-award contracts.

## Effects PRIA read

- Set‑aside Decisions Not Protestable: cost, medium. The rule says that under 15 U.S.C. 644(r) a contracting officer’s choice to set aside—or not set aside—an order for small business concerns under a multiple‑award contract is an agency discretion and is not a basis for a protest. The amendment would add this clarification to FAR 16.505(a)(10)(iv),…
- Fewer Protests, Faster Order Awards: benefit, medium. Agencies expect this clarification to deter contractors from filing protests over set‑aside decisions, saving contractors and the Government time and resources and helping to expedite award of orders and avoid delays in meeting mission needs. The agencies note the rule could potentially affect any…

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## Sources
- [2025-00616 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/15/2025-00616/federal-acquisition-regulation-protests-of-orders-under-certain-multiple-award-contracts)
- [2025-00616 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-01-15/pdf/2025-00616.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2025-00615, Federal Acquisition Regulation: Small Business Participation on Certain Multipl…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00615)
- [Next: 2025-00638, Parentage Establishment in the Child Support Services Program; Withdrawal](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00638)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00616 (as of 2026-06-11).