MANAGING A GSA CONTRACT
What Regulations Govern GSA Schedules? FAR Part 8, GSAR 538.71, and Your Contract Clauses
GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts are governed by a layered set of authorities: the statutes behind the Federal Supply Schedule program, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the GSA Acquisition Regulation (GSAR), the MAS solicitation, and the clauses in your contract. Following the FAR overhaul, ordering procedures for Federal Supply Schedules are now addressed in GSAR Subpart 538.71, effective November 3, 2025. If you rely on older guidance that cites specific FAR 8.405 paragraphs, verify it against current text.
What are the sources of authority?
- Statutes: the Federal Supply Schedule program operates under authority in Title 40 of the U.S. Code and related law
- FAR Part 8: rewritten in the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul and covering required sources of supplies and services, including Federal Supply Schedules
- GSAR Subpart 538.71: GSA’s implementation of Federal Supply Schedule ordering, effective November 3, 2025
- GSAR clauses: contract clauses such as 552.238-80 (which includes a TDR alternate), 552.238-81 (the TDR version of the price reductions clause), and 552.238-83 (examination of records)
- The MAS solicitation, 47QSMD20R0001, and refreshes
- Your contract and modifications
What changed with the FAR overhaul?
The FAR overhaul restructured many parts of the FAR, including Part 8. GSA moved the detailed FSS ordering procedures into GSAR Subpart 538.71, and GSA maintains an FSS ordering procedures page on Acquisition.gov. Because of this, older summaries that describe the process by citing FAR 8.405 and specific dollar tiers may be out of date.
How do ordering procedures work now?
In general terms, procedures scale with the value of the order. Buyers place small orders more simply and use broader competition as the value rises. Thresholds are tied to the micro-purchase threshold and simplified acquisition threshold, which were adjusted on October 1, 2025 to $15,000 and $350,000. Confirm the current tiers and requirements on GSA’s FSS ordering procedures page before you cite them. Older guidance that says $10,000, $250,000, or a $25,000 sole-source rule should not be relied on.
Ordering officials also determine price reasonableness at the order level, and they may seek discounts below your schedule prices.
What do contractors need to know?
- Order acceptance: your contract sets rules about accepting or declining orders. Read the terms
- TDR and IFF: monthly reporting and at least quarterly fee remittance under the sales reporting clause
- Price reductions: the TDR version of the price reductions clause covers voluntary or GSA-requested reductions
- Records: examination of records provisions run for three years after final payment
- Subcontracting: large businesses must follow subcontracting plan rules. FAR thresholds are adjusted for inflation, and the current subcontracting plan threshold is $900,000 ($2 million for construction)
- Other clauses: labor, environmental, and executive order clauses added by refreshes
How do you verify current text?
- Acquisition.gov for FAR and GSAR text, including the FSS ordering procedures page
- SAM.gov and the Vendor Support Center for the MAS solicitation and refreshes
- Your contract in eMod, including modifications
- Your contracting officer, for questions about how a clause applies
Regulations change through rulemaking and class deviations, and GSA has used deviations, such as the December 2025 GSAR deviation for TDR. Note the date of any source you use.
GSA Schedule Regulations FAQs
Use current citations and the clauses in your own contract.
Citations, clauses, and orders
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Is FAR Subpart 8.4 still the right citation?
Older articles cite it, but the FAR overhaul rewrote Part 8 and GSA now describes FSS ordering in GSAR Subpart 538.71. Check the current text before you cite.
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Do the statutes matter to a contractor?
They provide the authority behind the program, but in daily practice your contract clauses and GSA instructions drive what you must do.
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Where is the TDR clause text?
The TDR-related clauses are in the GSAR on Acquisition.gov and in the MAS solicitation.
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Does the FAR apply to orders as well as the contract?
Yes. Orders are placed under the ordering procedures and carry the terms in the order and the contract.
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