FAR clauses/Part 33/Checked 15 Sep 2026
FAR 52.233-3
Protest After Award
- Clause date
- AUG 1996
- Prescribed at
- FAR 33.106(b). Insert in all solicitations and contracts; use Alternate I if a cost-reimbursement contract is contemplated.
- Applies to
- All solicitations and contracts (Alternate I for cost-reimbursement).
- Flowdown
- No flowdown required
52.233-3 contains no paragraph requiring its insertion in subcontracts. It is not listed in 52.244-6(c)(1) or 52.212-5(e)(1). - Full text
- FAR 52.233-3 on Acquisition.gov
… (a) Upon receipt of a notice of protest (as defined in FAR 33.101) or a determination that a protest is likely (see FAR 33.102(d)), the Contracting Officer may, by written order to the Contractor, direct the Contractor to stop performance of the work called for by this contract. The order shall be specifically identified as a stop-work order issued under this clause. …
From the clause · Codified FAR · FAC 2026-01
Why it matters: Paragraph (f) lets the Government recover protest costs it paid, by offset against any contract, when a sustain resulted from the contractor's intentional or negligent misstatement, misrepresentation, or miscertification.
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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1- 52.233-1DisputesFAR 33.215(a)