Past Performance & CPARS
Past performance is a contractor's record on earlier contracts, weighed in source selection under FAR 15.305(a)(2). Agencies document it in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) for contracts over the simplified acquisition threshold, per FAR 42.1502.
FAR 42.1502 requires an evaluation at least annually and at completion for contracts and orders above the simplified acquisition threshold, for construction contracts of $900,000 or more, and for architect-engineer contracts of $45,000 or more. Assessing officials enter them in CPARS at cpars.gov on a five-level scale, Exceptional down to Unsatisfactory.
The contractor has up to 14 calendar days to comment or rebut, and the evaluation reaches source selection officials no later than 14 days after that notification whether or not comments are in. Disagreements go to a reviewing official above the contracting officer (FAR 42.1503(d)), but the government's rating stays in the record. Evaluations support source selections for three years after performance ends, six for construction and architect-engineer work.
An offeror with no relevant record cannot be rated favorably or unfavorably under FAR 15.305(a)(2), so a single Marginal report often costs more than an empty file. The narrative outlives the dispute.
Regulatory Reference
FAR 42.1502; FAR 42.1503; FAR 15.305(a)(2)
RFO Status
The Part 42 model deviation moves contractor performance information from subpart 42.15 to subpart 42.11 and drops the source-selection-only framing in favor of use for future purposes; Part 42 is not in the June 2026 first-batch proposed rules, so FAR 42.1503 remains the published baseline absent an agency deviation.
Category
Processes & Methods
How AcqBot Helps
AcqBot drafts CPARS narratives straight from the contract file — deliverable history, schedule variances, corrective actions — tracks annual and final evaluation due dates on every contract over the threshold, and flags ratings language that will not hold up at a level-above review.
Related glossary entries
Sources Sought Notice
A Sources Sought Notice is a pre-solicitation announcement, typically posted to SAM.gov, asking companies to identify their interest and capability to perform a prospective requirement — primarily used as market research to shape competition and set-aside decisions.
Request for Information (RFI)
A Request for Information (RFI) is a formal market research instrument used to gather industry input on capabilities, approaches, pricing structures, or draft requirements when the government is not yet ready to solicit — responses are voluntary and non-binding.
Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA)
Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) is a source selection process that awards to the lowest-priced offeror whose proposal meets minimum acceptability standards — no credit is given for exceeding requirements, and tradeoffs between price and quality are not permitted.
Best-Value Tradeoff
The best-value tradeoff process permits award to other than the lowest-priced or highest-rated offeror when the source selection authority documents that the superior proposal's benefits are worth its price premium, or that a cheaper proposal's savings outweigh its weaknesses.