Full and Open Acquisition, in practice

FAR clauses/Part 19/Checked 15 Sep 2026

FAR 52.219-8
Utilization of Small Business Concerns

Clause date
JAN 2025
Prescribed at
FAR 19.708(a). Insert when the contract amount is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, unless a personal services contract is contemplated or the contract, together with all its subcontracts, will be performed entirely outside the United States and its outlying areas.
Applies to
Contracts expected to exceed the SAT, including contracts awarded to small businesses and contracts without a subcontracting plan.
Flowdown
Flows down in some subcontracts
52.219-8 has no flowdown paragraph of its own. 52.244-6(c)(1) requires it in subcontracts for commercial products or commercial services if the subcontract offers further subcontracting opportunities, and if that subcontract (except one to a small business concern) exceeds the FAR 19.702(a) threshold (currently $900,000; $2 million for construction) on the date of award, the subcontractor must include 52.219-8 in lower-tier subcontracts that offer subcontracting opportunities. 52.219-9(d)(9) requires the same assurance in a subcontracting plan. Also listed in 52.212-5(e)(1).
Full text
FAR 52.219-8 on Acquisition.gov

… It is the policy of the United States that small business concerns, veteran-owned small business concerns, service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, HUBZone small business concerns, small disadvantaged business concerns, and women-owned small business concerns shall have the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in performing contracts let by any Federal agency, including contracts and subcontracts for subsystems, assemblies, components, and related services for major systems. …

From the clause · Codified FAR · FAC 2026-01

Why it matters: Paragraph (e) lets the prime rely in good faith on a subcontractor's size and status representations, but a HUBZone claim must be confirmed as SBA-certified in SAM or DSBS.

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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