GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS)
The GSA Multiple Award Schedule, still widely called the Federal Supply Schedule, is a program of long-term governmentwide contracts for commercial products and services at negotiated ceiling prices. Agencies place orders and BPAs under FAR Subpart 8.4 rather than Part 13 or 15 procedures.
GSA directs the FSS program under 40 U.S.C. 501 and 41 U.S.C. 152(3); medical supply schedules are delegated to VA. Between 2019 and 2020 GSA collapsed its 24 legacy schedules into a single MAS solicitation. Ordering runs through FAR 8.405-1 for supplies and services without a statement of work, 8.405-2 for services that need one, and 8.405-3 for schedule BPAs.
The appeal is competition credit: Parts 13, 14, 15, and 19 do not apply to schedule orders, which are considered issued using full and open competition under 8.404(a). The credit is not free. Above the simplified acquisition threshold the ordering activity must post the RFQ on eBuy or send it to enough schedule contractors to reasonably expect at least three quotes, then document the evaluation.
Open-market add-ons are the recurring foot fault. An item not on the schedule rides on an order only if 8.402(f) is met: normal competition rules followed, price found fair and reasonable, item labeled as open market.
Regulatory Reference
FAR Subpart 8.4; 40 U.S.C. 501; 41 U.S.C. 152(3)
RFO Status
The Part 8 model deviation (August 14, 2025) pulls the prescriptive ordering procedures out of subpart 8.4 and points ordering activities to FSS procedures established by GSA, codified at GSAR subpart 538.71 effective November 3, 2025; Part 8 is not in the June 2026 first-batch proposed rules.
Category
Contract Types & Vehicles
How AcqBot Helps
AcqBot checks whether a requirement fits an awarded schedule SIN, routes the order through the right 8.405 procedure — or GSAR 538.71 where a deviation applies — and drafts the RFQ and quote-evaluation documentation the file needs above the simplified acquisition threshold.
Related glossary entries
Other Transaction Authority (OTA)
Other Transaction Authority (OTA) lets certain agencies enter agreements for research, prototypes, and follow-on production that are not standard procurement contracts — largely exempt from the FAR — to attract nontraditional contractors and move faster than conventional acquisition allows.
Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)
An Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract buys an unspecified quantity of supplies or services, within stated minimum and maximum limits, over a fixed period. The government buys through task or delivery orders under FAR 16.504, with a preference for multiple awards.
Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP)
A firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract sets a price that is not subject to adjustment based on the contractor's cost experience in performance. FAR 16.202 places maximum cost risk on the contractor, who absorbs every overrun and keeps every underrun.
Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF)
A cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) contract reimburses allowable costs and pays a fee negotiated and fixed at inception. The fee does not vary with actual cost, though it may adjust when the work changes. FAR 16.306 governs; statutory caps limit the fee.