Signature Date: March 26, 2026
Memorandum To:
Heads of the Contracting Activities (HCAs)
From:
Jennifer D. Johnson
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisitions and Senior Procurement Executive
Office of Acquisitions (OA)
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources (ASFR)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisitions and Senior Procurement Executive
Office of Acquisitions (OA)
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources (ASFR)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Subject:
Department of Health and Human Services Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR) Class Deviation (CD) No. 2026-03, in Support of Executive Order (EO) 14275, “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement;” Deviation to HHSAR Part 312.
1. EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately upon signature.
2. EXPIRATION DATE:
This CD is effective until incorporated into the HHSAR, superseded, or otherwise rescinded.
3. PURPOSE:
This HHSAR CD implements requirements to comply with EO 14275, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, and the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) initiative. This CD revises HHSAR part 312 to align with the FAR Council’s RFO model deviation text for FAR part 12.
4. APPLICABILITY:
The requirements in this CD are applicable to all HHS Divisions for applicable solicitations, contracts, and orders.
5. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Heads of the Contracting Activities (HCAs) must ensure this CD is disseminated to the acquisition workforce and ensure compliance with the requirements in the CD. Additionally, HCAs must review and update any applicable internal procedures and guidance to reflect the policies and guidance contained herein.
6. BACKGROUND:
On April 15, 2025, EO 14275, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, was signed. Section 2 of the EO establishes the policy that the FAR “should only contain provisions required by statute or essential to sound procurement, and any FAR provisions that do not advance these objectives should be removed.”
Under the RFO initiative, the FAR is being updated to:
- Remove language that is not required by statute
- Remove duplicative or outdated language
- Clarify or provide more plain language
- Revise language for the new FAR framework
- Retain language necessary for governmentwide acquisition standards.
The FAR Council released their RFO FAR part 12 model deviation text and affected part 52 solicitation provisions and contract clauses on August 14, 2025.
These changes flow down to and directly impact the HHSAR and require immediate updates.
41 U.S.C. 1707(a)(1) requires that a procurement policy, regulation, procedure, or form, including an amendment or modification, may not take effect until 60 days after it is published for public comment in the Federal Register if it “(A) relates to the expenditure of appropriated funds; and (B)(i) has a significant effect beyond the internal operating procedures of the agency issuing the policy, regulation, procedure, or form; or (ii) has a significant cost or administrative impact on contractors or offerors.”
However, to ensure alignment with recently issued EOs, it is necessary to issue this CD in advance of a proposed rule to ensure HHS solicitations, contracts, and orders consistently reflect the policies and priorities of the Administration. HHS intends on developing a rule after the release of this CD.
7. POLICY/GUIDANCE:
HHS contracting staff must comply with the following:
- Follow the RFO HHSAR part 312 deviation text instead of HHSAR part 312 as codified at 48 CFR Chapter 3. The RFO HHSAR deviation text is shown in the Attachment listed in Section 11.
- Clean (without markup) versions of RFO HHSAR deviation texts are available at https://www.hhs.gov/grants-contracts/contracts/contract-policies-regulations/hhsar-overhaul/index.html.
8. AUTHORITY:
This CD is issued under the authority of RFO FAR 1.304, Class deviations; RFO HHSAR 301.103, Authority; and RFO HHSAR 301.302, Policy.
9. SUMMARY OF HHSAR CHANGES:
To implement or align with the requirements of the RFO, the HHSAR is deviated, renumbered, revised, and updated with plain language edits. Notable changes are summarized below, and all changes are reflected in the Attachment listed in Section 11.
- HHSAR Part 312 – Acquisition of Commercial Items
- Part 312 is retitled “Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services” to align with the RFO FAR title and reserved in its entirety as the existing codified text is unnecessary.
- Existing subparts 312.1 and 312.2, and their underlying sections are removed.
- Part 312 is retitled “Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services” to align with the RFO FAR title and reserved in its entirety as the existing codified text is unnecessary.
10. CONTACT:
Acquisition workforce members with questions regarding this CD should contact their cognizant Division Acquisition Office or Acquisition Policy Council (APC) Representative(s), as appropriate.
The current list of APC Representatives may be found on the Acquisition Councils and Workgroups Page of the HHS Acquisition Portal (HHSAP). (Note: The HHSAP is accessible only by HHS employees and contractors on the HHS network. It is not publicly accessible.)
All other questions should be directed to Acquisition_Policy@hhs.gov.
11. ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment 1 – RFO HHSAR Part 312 Deviation Text