Title 41 — Public ContractsRelease 119-73not60
§3302 Requirements for Purchase of Property and Services Pursuant to Multiple Award Contracts
Title 41 › Subtitle Subtitle I— Federal Procurement Policy › Chapter 33— PLANNING AND SOLICITATION › § 3302
Summary
Agencies must use more competition when they buy goods or services under contracts that let them order from multiple vendors. Key terms: executive agency — the kind of agency defined elsewhere; individual purchase — a task order, delivery order, or other single buy; multiple award contract — a contract that lets an agency buy from two or more vendors under the same solicitation, including GSA schedule deals and certain task-order contracts; sole source task or delivery order — an order that skips the competitive steps required below. The rules must say that any single purchase over the simplified acquisition threshold from a multiple award contract must be competed unless a contracting officer writes a justification saying a specific exception applies or a law requires a particular source. Competing means giving fair notice of the buy (what work and how selection will be made) to contractors on the contract and giving all who reply a real chance to offer and be fairly judged. For some schedule-type contracts, notice can go to fewer vendors if as many as practical are told, but the agency must get at least 3 qualified offers or write that no other qualified vendors could be found. Agencies must post sole-source orders over the threshold on FedBizOpps within 14 days (unless classified or extraordinary) and share the written justification the same way they share other procurement justifications. The rules apply to purchases under any such contract, old or new, except they do not cover no-cost commercial leasing services that were awarded after full open competition.
Full Legal Text
Title 41, §3302
Public Contracts — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)In this section:
(1)The term “executive agency” has the same meaning given in section 133 of this title.
(2)The term “individual purchase” means a task order, delivery order, or other purchase.
(3)The term “multiple award contract” means—
(A)a contract that is entered into by the Administrator of General Services under the multiple award schedule program referred to in section 3012(3) of title 10;
(B)a multiple award task order contract that is entered into under the authority of chapter 245 of title 10 or chapter 41 of this title; and
(C)any other indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract that is entered into by the head of an executive agency with 2 or more sources pursuant to the same solicitation.
(4)The term “sole source task or delivery order” means any order that does not follow the competitive procedures in paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (c).
(b)The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall require enhanced competition in the purchase of property and services by all executive agencies pursuant to multiple award contracts.
(c)(1)The regulations required by subsection (b) shall provide that each individual purchase of property or services in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold that is made under a multiple award contract shall be made on a competitive basis unless a contracting officer—
(A)waives the requirement on the basis of a determination that—
(i)one of the circumstances described in paragraphs (1) to (4) of section 4106(c) of this title or section 3406(c) of title 10 applies to the individual purchase; or
(ii)a law expressly authorizes or requires that the purchase be made from a specified source; and
(B)justifies the determination in writing.
(2)For purposes of this subsection, an individual purchase of property or services is made on a competitive basis only if it is made pursuant to procedures that—
(A)require fair notice of the intent to make that purchase (including a description of the work to be performed and the basis on which the selection will be made) to be provided to all contractors offering the property or services under the multiple award contract; and
(B)afford all contractors responding to the notice a fair opportunity to make an offer and have that offer fairly considered by the official making the purchase.
(3)(A)Notwithstanding paragraph (2), and subject to subparagraph (B), notice may be provided to fewer than all contractors offering the property or services under a multiple award contract as described in subsection (a)(3)(A) if notice is provided to as many contractors as practicable.
(B)A purchase may not be made pursuant to a notice that is provided to fewer than all contractors under subparagraph (A) unless—
(i)offers were received from at least 3 qualified contractors; or
(ii)a contracting officer of the executive agency determines in writing that no additional qualified contractors were able to be identified despite reasonable efforts to do so.
(d)(1)The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall require the head of each executive agency to—
(A)publish on FedBizOpps notice of all sole source task or delivery orders in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold that are placed against multiple award contracts not later than 14 days after the orders are placed, except in the event of extraordinary circumstances or classified orders; and
(B)disclose the determination required by subsection (c)(1) related to sole source task or delivery orders in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold placed against multiple award contracts through the same mechanism and to the same extent as the disclosure of documents containing a justification and approval required by section 3204(e)(1) of title 10 and section 3304(e)(1) of this title, except in the event of extraordinary circumstances or classified orders.
(2)This subsection does not require the public availability of information that is exempt from public disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5.
(e)The regulations required by subsection (b) shall apply to all individual purchases of property or services that are made under multiple award contracts on or after the effective date of the regulations, without regard to whether the multiple award contracts were entered into before, on, or after the effective date.
(f)The regulations required by subsection (b) shall not apply to individual purchases for commercial leasing services that are made on a no cost basis and made under a multiple award contract awarded in accordance with the requirements for full and open competition.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Amendment Not Shown in TextThis section was derived from Pub. L. 110–417, [div. A], title VIII, § 863(a)–(e), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4547, which was set out as a note under section 253h of former Title 41, Public Contracts, prior to being repealed and reenacted by Pub. L. 111–350, §§ 3, 7(b), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3677, 3855. section 863(b)(3)(A) of Pub. L. 110–417 was restated as subsec. (c)(3)(A) of this section and subsequently amended by Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title X, § 1075(e)(14), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4375. For applicability of that amendment to this section, see section 6(a) of Pub. L. 111–350, set out as a Transitional and
Savings Provision
s note preceding section 101 of this title. section 863(b)(3)(A) of Pub. L. 110–417 was amended by striking “subsection (d)(2)(A)” and inserting “subsection (d)(3)(A)”. Such reference did not appear in the text of subsec. (c)(3)(A) as enacted. See
Historical and Revision Notes
below. Repeal of Subsection (f)Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title VIII, § 893(b)(2), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1540 provided that, effective Dec. 31, 2025, subsection (f) of this section is repealed. See 2019 Amendment note below.
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 330241:253h note.Pub. L. 110–417, [div. A], title VIII, § 863(a)–(e), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4547. In subsection (b), the words “Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act” are omitted because of section 6(f) of the bill. The words “shall require” are substituted for “shall be amended to require” to reflect the permanence of the provision. In subsection (c)(2)(A), the words “except as provided in paragraph (3)” are omitted as unnecessary. In subsection (c)(3)(A), “subsection (a)(3)(A)” is substituted for “subsection (d)(2)(A)” for consistency in the revised title and to correct an error in the law. In subsection (d)(1), the words “Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act” are omitted because of section 6(f) of the bill. The words “shall require” are substituted for “shall be amended to require” to reflect the permanence of the provision.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2021—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 117–81, § 1702(h)(12)(A), substituted “section 3012(3)” for “section 2302(2)(C)” in subpar. (A) and “chapter 245 of title 10” for “sections 2304a to 2304d of title 10,” in subpar. (B). Subsec. (c)(1)(A)(i). Pub. L. 117–81, § 1702(h)(12)(B), substituted “section 3406(c)” for “section 2304c(b)”. Subsec. (d)(1)(B). Pub. L. 117–81, § 1702(h)(12)(C), substituted “section 3204(e)(1)” for “section 2304(f)(1)”. 2019—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 116–92, § 893(b)(2), struck out subsec. (f). Text read as follows: “The
Regulations
required by subsection (b) shall not apply to individual purchases for commercial leasing services that are made on a no cost basis and made under a multiple award contract awarded in accordance with the requirements for full and open competition.” Pub. L. 116–92, § 893(b)(1), added subsec. (f).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2019 Amendment Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title VIII, § 893(b)(2), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1540, provided that the amendment made by section 893(b)(2) is effective Dec. 31, 2025. Individual Acquisition for Commercial Leasing Services Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 877, Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1907, which related to individual acquisition for commercial leasing services not construed as purchase of property or services under certain conditions, was repealed by Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title VIII, § 893(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1540.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
41 U.S.C. § 3302
Title 41 — Public Contracts
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60