Certified Cost or Pricing Data (TINA)
Certified cost or pricing data are the facts contractors must submit and certify as accurate, complete, and current for negotiated actions above the FAR 15.403-4 threshold — $2.5 million, or $10 million for DoD contracts entered into after June 30, 2026 — unless an exception applies.
FAR 15.403-4 requires certified data before award of a negotiated contract, a subcontract at any tier, or a modification (including modifications of sealed-bid contracts) expected to exceed the threshold. The FAR text sits at $2.5 million after the October 1, 2025 inflation adjustment; for DoD, Pub. L. 119-60 raised the statutory threshold at 10 U.S.C. 3702 to $10 million for prime contracts entered into after June 30, 2026.
The exceptions at 15.403-1(b) do most of the work in practice: adequate price competition, prices set by law or regulation, commercial products and services, waiver, and modifications of commercial acquisitions. Below the simplified acquisition threshold, certified data may not be obtained at all. When required, the contractor signs the 15.406-2 certificate as of the date price agreement is reached.
Defective pricing is the exposure. Data that were not accurate, complete, and current entitle the government to a price reduction under FAR 52.215-10, with interest and a penalty for knowing violations. Data created between the final proposal and the handshake still count, which is why contractors run sweeps before certifying.
Regulatory Reference
FAR 15.403-4; FAR 15.403-1(b); FAR 15.406-2; FAR 52.215-10; 10 U.S.C. 3702; 41 U.S.C. ch. 35
RFO Status
The Part 15 model deviation restructures subpart 15.4 but keeps the certified cost or pricing data clauses substantively intact; the bigger change is statutory — Pub. L. 119-60 moved the DoD threshold to $10 million effective June 30, 2026, ahead of conforming FAR text, so check current agency guidance before citing a number.
Category
Regulations & Policy
How AcqBot Helps
AcqBot determines whether an action requires certified data or fits a 15.403-1(b) exception, documents that determination for the file, and tracks which threshold applies, the FAR figure or the post-June 2026 DoD statutory one, so the solicitation carries the right provisions from the start.
Related glossary entries
Class Deviation
A class deviation authorizes an agency to depart from specific FAR or supplement provisions for a category of contract actions rather than a single case — the mechanism agencies are using to implement the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul ahead of formal rulemaking.
Commercial Products and Services (FAR Part 12)
Commercial products and commercial services are items of a type sold, leased, licensed, or offered in the commercial marketplace, defined at FAR 2.101. FAR Part 12 implements the statutory preference for buying them whenever market research shows they can meet the agency's need.
Rule of Two
The rule of two directs a contracting officer to set aside an acquisition for small business when there is a reasonable expectation of receiving offers from at least two responsible small business concerns and making award at fair market prices, per FAR 19.502-2.
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is information the government creates or possesses, or that an entity handles on its behalf, that a law, regulation, or governmentwide policy requires safeguarding or dissemination controls for — sensitive but not classified, governed by 32 CFR Part 2002.