Federal contractors finally have clarity on a question that has created protest risk over the past few years: When, exactly, must an offeror be “active” in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be eligible for award?
The answer is now straightforward, clarifying award eligibility for every entity competing for federal contracts. An offeror must be active at “two-points,” the moment an offer is submitted and at the time of award. A temporary lapse in registration will no longer result in disqualification.
Background on FAR confusion
The clarification about SAM registration corrects a practical problem created by a September 2018 amendment to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.204-7 that many read as requiring continuous registration between the time of proposal submission and the time of award, a period that can stretch months and sometimes years. That amendment tried to harmonize inconsistent phrasing across the FAR by saying an offeror must be registered at submission and “shall continue to be registered until time of award.”
Bid-protest forums such as the Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims read that as a literal, continuous requirement. A brief mid-evaluation lapse could render an otherwise qualified offeror ineligible. For years, contractors worried about this technical hiccup. This outcome did not enhance the government’s ability to select best-value solutions but rather rewarded diligence in website maintenance at the expense of competition and, in some cases, small-business participation.
The FAR Council saw the problem and stepped in with an interim rule in November 2024 that stated, “the offeror must be registered at time of offer submission and at time of contract award but would not be required at every moment in between those two points.”
Two-point clarification in FAR final rule
A final rule issued on Aug. 7, 2025, adopts that approach without change, making clear that offerors need to be actively registered in SAM at “two points” only — when they submit an offer and when the government makes the award. No continuous pre-award monitoring is required (although offerors have a continuing obligation to ensure that the representation and certifications in SAM are accurate).
If registration becomes “inactive” during evaluations, that midstream lapse is no longer automatically disqualifying so long as the offeror was active at submission and is active again at award. This important change means businesses no longer risk wasting precious business capture dollars for a fleeting registration oversight and the government will no longer lose the ability to award contracts to competitive bids due to a contractor’s administrative error.
By fixing the timing rule, the FAR now aligns the compliance burden with decision points that matter in procurement. This change is particularly welcome for small businesses, which deal with ownership transitions, banking changes and certification updates more frequently than large companies.
Importantly, this clarification applies to the pre-award stage only. It does not change the fact that contractors must keep their SAM registration active during performance and all the way through final payment.
Staying compliant with the two-point rule
Think of the “two-point” rule as the pre-award guide and the “keep it active” rule as the post-award guide. Both requirements are distinct but equally important. Contractors should not view the “two-point” rule as permission to allow registrations to lapse after award. Letting registration slip during performance can result in delays and headaches that are entirely avoidable.
As noted above, accuracy in representations and certifications remains a separate, ongoing obligation. The “two-point” timing rule does not soften responsibilities related to size status, affiliation, domestic-content and country-of-origin certifications, exclusions, or responsibility-related disclosures. A SAM record that is “active” but inaccurate creates a different kind of risk.
Two clear takeaways emerge from the new rule. The first is that protest risk over mid-evaluation lapses is now over, as long as contractors can show they were “active” at submission and award. The key is documentation. Taking a quick screenshot or PDF of the SAM “active” page on submission day and another close to or at award, would be prudent. If eligibility is challenged, those records give agencies and protest forums exactly what they need to confirm compliance.
Second, the rule shifts the focus from continuous monitoring to disciplined internal timing and coordination. The rule creates an opportunity to reinforce coordination between business development and compliance functions. Capture teams should communicate anticipated submission and award windows, compliance should identify any upcoming changes that might disrupt validation, and both should ensure the two required records are in place to demonstrate compliance. When those pieces align, a regulatory tweak becomes operational clarity and attention stays on winning and performing contracts, not chasing SAM status in the background.
The rule provides a clear and lasting answer to what had previously resulted in punitive exclusion from competitions due to brief registration lapses. Eligibility now hinges on a “two-point” gate, submission and award, while contract performance continues to require uninterrupted registration. With basic internal controls, contractors of all sizes can reliably satisfy these obligations, minimize protest risk, and allow acquisition teams to concentrate on substantive procurement decisions.
Richard Arnholt is a member of the Washington, D.C.-based government contracts practice at the law firm Bass, Berry & Sims PLC. He advises companies as they navigate the contracting process with federal, state, and local governments.
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