FAR clauses/Part 4/Checked 15 Sep 2026
FAR 52.204-21
Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems
- Clause date
- NOV 2021
- Prescribed at
- FAR 4.1903. Insert in solicitations and contracts when the contractor or a subcontractor at any tier may have Federal contract information residing in or transiting through its information system.
- Applies to
- Any contract where the contractor or a subcontractor may have Federal contract information on its systems, including commercial acquisitions.
- Flowdown
- Flows down in some subcontracts
52.204-21(c) requires the substance of the clause, including paragraph (c), in subcontracts (including subcontracts for commercial products or commercial services, other than COTS items) in which the subcontractor may have Federal contract information residing in or transiting through its information system. Also listed in 52.244-6(c)(1). - Full text
- FAR 52.204-21 on Acquisition.gov
… (vii) Sanitize or destroy information system media containing Federal Contract Information before disposal or release for reuse. (viii) Limit physical access to organizational information systems, equipment, and the respective operating environments to authorized individuals. (ix) Escort visitors and monitor visitor activity; maintain audit logs of physical access; and control and manage physical access devices. …
From the clause · Codified FAR · FAC 2026-01
Why it matters: These 15 controls are the floor for any contractor system holding FCI, and the flowdown reaches small subcontractors who may assume cybersecurity clauses don't apply to them.
This is the codified text, not any agency's Revolutionary FAR Overhaul deviation. An agency running a class deviation may have this clause renumbered, rewritten or prescribed differently — check the deviation before you put a clause in a solicitation.
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