Deviation Regime Watch
What Is a Class Deviation — and Why It Matters
A class deviation is an official memo issued by a federal agency that suspends or rewrites part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). These deviations allow agencies to bypass standard procurement rules—without changing the law—and they are not required to be made public.
Agencies are now using class deviations to remove rules that historically protected small business access to federal contracts. This tracker monitors those changes in real time.
What Was Suspended: Indicates the plain-language effect of the deviation. See the FAR Deviation Key below for the specific legal sections being suspended.
Identical Language?: Tells you whether the agency’s deviation matches the governmentwide “model” language that is being quietly reused across departments.
How federal agencies are dismantling small business contracting protections — in real time.
FAR Deviation Key
| FAR Section | Policy Area | What Was Suspended |
|---|---|---|
| 1.102(b)(2) | Small Business Opportunity Mandate | Required agencies to promote competition and provide opportunities for small businesses |
| 1.102-4(e) | Performance-Based Acquisition | Required agencies to use performance-based acquisition methods whenever practicable |
| 10.002(b) | Market Research / Rule of Two Trigger | Directed agencies to apply set-aside rules if market research identified two or more small businesses |
| 34.003(d) | Major Systems Accountability | Applied competitive and acquisition safeguards to major system contracts |
Live Deviation Tracker
This table tracks each federal agency that has issued a class deviation removing or altering key FAR sections that protect small business access to federal contracts. Updates are ongoing.
| Date Posted | Agency | FAR Parts Affected | What Was Suspended | Identical Language? | PDF Link | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/2/25 | SEC | Part 1, 34 | Small Biz Mandate, Major Systems Rule | ✅ Yes | View | Coming soon |
| 5/2/25 | DOC | Part 1, 34 | Small Biz Mandate, Major Systems Rule | ✅ Yes | View | Coming soon |
| 5/2/25 | DOL | Part 1, 34 | Small Biz Mandate, Major Systems Rule | ✅ Yes | View | Coming soon |
| 5/2/25 | MCC | Part 1, 10, 34 | Small Biz Mandate, Market Research Rule, Major Systems Rule | ✅ Yes | View | Coming soon |
| 5/2/25 | CPSC | Part 1, 10, 34 | Small Biz Mandate, Market Research Rule, Major Systems Rule | ✅ Yes | View | Coming soon |
| 5/2/25 | GSA | Part 1, 10, 34 | Small Biz Mandate, Market Research Rule, Major Systems Rule | ✅ Yes | View | Coming soon |