On June 23, the FAR Council published the first batch of proposed rules in the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul — the most significant rewrite of the Federal Acquisition Regulation in more than four decades. OMB formally announced the release on June 25. Comments are due July 23, a 30-day window that is the statutory minimum, signaling the Council intends to finalize within 2026.

This first package is four proposed rules covering 17 FAR parts, built to implement Executive Order 14275, "Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement." The overhaul strips out non-statutory requirements and converts many mandatory steps into discretionary ones for contracting officers.

Two changes stand out for small IT and cyber firms. FAR Part 39, which governs IT acquisition, is included in the first rule (FAR Case 2026-001). And a newly built FAR Part 40 consolidates federal security requirements — supply chain risk, prohibited and excluded sources, and information safeguarding — into a single organized location, relocated from the old Part 4. For firms that work across both IT delivery and cybersecurity compliance, this is the section to read first. The information-safeguarding requirements moving into Part 40 sit directly alongside the controlled-unclassified-information and FIPS-encryption standards your NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC obligations already address.

FAR Part 19, which governs small-business acquisition — set-asides, the 8(a) program, SDVOSB, WOSB, and HUBZone — is not in this package. It remains under review for a later rule. That means the provisions most likely to reshape how small firms compete for set-aside work are still in play and still commentable when that package lands.

Also worth flagging: under the proposed rules, agencies will no longer be required to publicly announce contract awards over $5.5 million — the prior threshold was $4.5 million, and the announcement was mandatory. Agencies now may announce, not must. For small firms that build their pipeline from published award data, this reduces visibility into competitor wins and recompete signals.

The comment window is short by design. If your work touches IT acquisition or security and supply-chain compliance, the move is straightforward:

Confirm the provisions affecting your specific contracts against the Federal Register text before acting on any summary, including this one.

What is the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul?
It's the largest rewrite of the Federal Acquisition Regulation since its creation more than 40 years ago, implementing Executive Order 14275. The goal is to strip out non-statutory requirements, give contracting officers more discretion, and present procurement rules in plain language.

When are comments due on the first FAR Overhaul proposed rules?
July 23, 2026. Comments are submitted through regulations.gov, referencing the specific FAR case number.

Does the FAR Overhaul change small-business set-aside rules?
Not yet. FAR Part 19, which governs small-business acquisition, is not in the first batch of proposed rules — it's under review for a later package.

What is the new FAR Part 40?
Part 40 is a newly organized section that consolidates federal security-related acquisition requirements — supply chain risk, prohibited and excluded sources, and information safeguarding — previously scattered across FAR Part 4.