The 2025 Revolutionary FAR reboot is cutting red tape and promising rapid federal awards. Explore how regulatory changes and reduced compliance burdens will create unexpected openings for small federal contractors.
What does that mean for your business? Hint: new rules, faster awards, and bigger opportunities.
The FAR rulebook is being rewritten, and small businesses need to pay attention. Here’s what the 2025 overhaul could mean for you.
On May 6, 2025, the General Services Administration (GSA) released draft revisions to key parts of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) under a sweeping initiative called the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO).
This modernization effort, mandated by Executive Order 14275, aims to eliminate red tape, streamline contracting, and speed up awards. But there’s a catch: while the changes are still in draft form, agencies are already adopting them immediately through FAR deviations. The public has until September 30, 2025, to submit comments.
What’s Changing?
The initial overhaul affects FAR Parts 1, 34, and 52:
- Part 1 introduces a mandatory four-year sunset clause for non-statutory rules, which could mean more agile—but also more unstable—regulations.
- Part 34 trims down Earned Value Management and major system acquisition policies.
- Part 52 aligns solicitation and contract clauses with the revised structure, eliminating duplicative or outdated content.
The long-term goal? Replace regulatory clutter with Strategic Acquisition Guidance (SAG), plain-language playbooks tailored to sectors like cloud software and agile development.
What’s this Means for Small Business Contractors?
- Faster Procurements: With less bureaucracy and simplified rules, small businesses could see quicker award cycles, especially for IT and SaaS contracts.
- Simplified Compliance: Fewer procedural hurdles and the use of plain-language SAG guides could make it easier for new or growing small businesses to participate.
- Less Burdened Solicitations: Elimination of non-essential DEI or procedural clauses may reduce proposal prep time and streamline onboarding.
What to Watch Out for?
- Rule Volatility: The four-year sunset clause means rules not mandated by law could expire automatically, creating unpredictability.
- Limited Input Window: Since agencies are adopting changes before rulemaking is final, public comment may have less impact and contractors must stay current and proactive.
- Prepare for procedural shifts—lean into agile practices and position your business to respond quickly.
The 2025 Revolutionary FAR Overhaul marks a turning point in how the federal government does business. For small contractors, it presents a rare opportunity: a faster, more flexible procurement process designed to reduce compliance barriers and open the door to innovation.
But with opportunity comes urgency. As draft rules become operational norms, small businesses must act fast—review the changes and adapt your strategy to align with the evolving acquisition environment.
Success in this new landscape will favor those who are informed, nimble, and proactive. For small business government contractors, the key will be staying engaged, adapting quickly, and leveraging simplified entry points in this new era of acquisition
