On August 6, 2025, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Council issued a final rule clarifying that contractors do not need to maintain a continuous registration in the System for Award Management (“SAM”) in the time between submitting a bid or proposal and contract award.  The final rule makes no changes to the interim rule issued in November 2024, which was immediately effective at that time.  This important clarification provides some flexibility to contractors to protect their contract awards against protests based on an administrative lapse.

In September 2018, the FAR Council attempted to streamline several inconsistent provisions regarding the timing of a contractor’s SAM registration by amending the FAR to specify that “[a]n Offeror is required to be registered in SAM when submitting an offer or quotation, and shall continue to be registered until time of award . . . .”  See FAR 52.204-7(b)(1) (Oct. 2018) (emphasis added); see also 89 Fed. Reg. 89472, 89473 (Nov. 12, 2024).  As highlighted in the Federal Register notice for the interim rule, both GAO and the Court of Federal Claims interpreted the addition of the phrase “shall continue to be registered until time of award” to create a requirement for continuous registration in SAM and sustained protests on the basis that the awardee had let its SAM registration lapse before award.  See 89 Fed. Reg. at 89473. 

In Myriddian, LLC v. United States, 165 Fed. Cl. 650, 655-56 (2023), the Court of Federal Claims sustained a protest on the basis that the awardee’s SAM registration had lapsed for 17 days between proposal submission and award, finding that compliance with FAR 52.204-7(b)(1) was a mandatory solicitation requirement.  In TLS Joint Venture, LLC, B-422275, Apr. 1, 2024, 2024 CPD ¶ 74 at 7-8, GAO sustained a protest where the awardee’s SAM registration lapsed for just one day between proposal submission and award, apparently because of delays in government review – the awardee had submitted its renewal information before expiration, but was waiting for government approval and activation in SAM.

The interim rule specified that the 2018 revision was not intended to invoke such a strict requirement for contractors and made immediately effective the change to FAR 52.204-7(b)(1) to remove the language implying a requirement for continuous registration in SAM.  The final rule confirms the language of the interim rule and solidifies for contractors that they will not be at risk of losing contract awards if their SAM registrations lapse for short periods of time between proposal submission and award.  Maintaining an accurate and up to date SAM registration is an important part of government contracts compliance, but this rule change recognizes that minor missteps do not have to trigger a consequence as severe as losing a contract award.

Photo of Jay Carey Jay Carey

Recognized by Chambers as one of the nation’s top bid protest lawyers and government contracts practitioners, Jay Carey represents clients in complex, high-stakes government procurements often worth billions of dollars. He is a co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice group and a…

Recognized by Chambers as one of the nation’s top bid protest lawyers and government contracts practitioners, Jay Carey represents clients in complex, high-stakes government procurements often worth billions of dollars. He is a co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice group and a co-chair of the Aerospace, Defense, and National Security industry group.

Jay has won bid protests collectively worth more than $100 billion, for clients across a range of industries — including aerospace & defense, energy, healthcare, biotechnology, cybersecurity, IT, and telecommunications. He litigates protests before the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); the Court of Federal Claims (COFC); and state tribunals across the country. A list of his recent wins can be found under the “Representative Matters” tab.

In addition, Jay advises clients on compliance matters, conducts internal investigations, and defends against investigations by federal and state agencies. He also counsels clients on matters related to the formation of government contracts, including organizational conflicts of interest and the protection of intellectual property rights when entering into procurement contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and “Other Transaction Authority” agreements with the government.

Jay serves as co-chair of the American Bar Association Public Contract Law Section’s Bid Protest Committee.

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Photo of Jennifer Bentley Jennifer Bentley

Jennifer Bentley is an associate in the Government Contracts Practice Group. Her practice is focused on litigation, investigations, and regulatory counseling across a range of government contracts matters. She has particular expertise in domestic sourcing issues, including the Buy American Act, Trade Agreements…

Jennifer Bentley is an associate in the Government Contracts Practice Group. Her practice is focused on litigation, investigations, and regulatory counseling across a range of government contracts matters. She has particular expertise in domestic sourcing issues, including the Buy American Act, Trade Agreements Act, and Build America, Buy America. She also maintains an active pro bono practice.

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