FAR clauses/Part 17/Checked 15 Sep 2026
FAR 52.217-9
Option to Extend the Term of the Contract
- Clause date
- MAR 2000
- Prescribed at
- FAR 17.208(g). Insert a clause substantially the same when an option is appropriate and the contract needs a preliminary written notice of intent to extend, a statement that an extension includes the option, and/or a limit on total contract duration.
- Applies to
- Contracts with option periods that extend the contract term (commonly multi-year service contracts).
- Flowdown
- No flowdown required
52.217-9 contains no subcontract flowdown paragraph; it governs only the Government's right to extend the prime contract. It is not listed in 52.244-6(c)(1) or 52.212-5(e)(1). - Full text
- FAR 52.217-9 on Acquisition.gov
… The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension. (b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause. (c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed …
From the clause · Codified FAR · FAC 2026-01
Why it matters: The preliminary notice in paragraph (a) is part of a valid exercise, so a CO who misses the notice window can find the option exercise challenged even when the program needs the next year.
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.
Know your clauses?
Clause & Effect is the daily game: five passages of real clause text with the giveaway words blacked out. Name the clause, then the section that prescribes it.
Play today’s Clause & EffectMore Part 17 clauses
1- 52.217-8Option to Extend ServicesFAR 17.208(f)