FAROut Changes Ahead:
Highlights from the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul
by Ray Ward
August 25, 2025
(This is the second in a series of biweekly blogs on the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul)
If you’ve ever thought the Federal Acquisition Regulation felt like it was written in another century—well, you’re right. Literally. Born in 1984, the FAR has spent the past 40 years slowly trudging along while the rest of us leapt into the digital age. But big news: it’s finally getting the update it deserves.
Last week’s Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) webinar, hosted by the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, gave us an informed scoop on what’s changing. While the session was limited to government personnel, the updates have a ripple effect across both industry and government—so below are some highlights from the webinar for those who couldn’t attend (this author added a few flourishes to keep it interesting):
A Makeover 40 Years in the Making
This overhaul is no minor touch-up. For the first time ever, the entire 2,000 pages of the FAR are under review—not just a section here or a tweak there. The administration gave the FAR Council (made up of GSA, DoD, and NASA procurement leaders) 180 days to complete the task. Their deadline: October 1. No pressure. The goal? To shift the FAR from a play-by-play manual (“how”) into more of a strategy guide (“what”). Detailed “how-to” instructions won’t disappear, but they’ll move into Practitioner Guides that can be updated more easily—without dragging everyone through the full formal rulemaking process each time.
Out with the “Shalls” and “Musts”
Contracting officers, rejoice! Roughly 1,000 instances of “shall” and “must” are being swapped out for gentler words like “should” and “may” (or simply eliminated). It’s a subtle but powerful shift—especially when it comes to documentation requirements. Translation: less rigidity, more flexibility.
Market Research Gets a New Home
If you’ve been losing sleep over where market research belongs in the FAR (we know, it happens), rest easy. Content related to commercial item procurements has officially moved from Part 12 to Part 10. Logical? Yes. Shocking? Not at all.
AI and Acquisition: A Work in Progress
As artificial intelligence starts creeping into acquisition processes, the new framework makes it easier to adapt. Instead of updating the FAR every time AI drives a process change, tweaks can be more quickly and easily made to the Practitioner Guides.
Companion Guides and Class Deviations
A FAR Companion Guide is expected to drop this week on Acquisition.gov/far-overhaul, complete with a feedback form. This is your chance to weigh in—because if you’ve ever grumbled about FAR language, now’s the time to be heard.
Many agencies have already rolled out Class Deviations, requiring their contracting pros to follow the updated parts. DoD, however, is holding back until it can release a combined deviation with the DFARS (its FAR supplement). The DFARS is the largest agency supplement; no one wants conflicting rules.
What It All Means
At its heart, this overhaul is about modernization. The FAR was built for a paper-based 1980s world, and it’s finally being retooled for today’s digital, fast-moving acquisition environment. Will it be perfect on Day 1? Probably not. But it’s a major step toward making the FAR more agile, less burdensome, and—dare we say it—more user-friendly.
So, grab your Practitioner Guide, bookmark the feedback form, and get ready. By October 1, contracting as we know it will be living in the future . . . or at least the present.
The views expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of any agency of the federal government.