FAR 52.219-27 — Notice of Set-Aside for, or Sole-Source Award to, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Concerns
What It Is
FAR 52.219-27 is the clause a contracting officer inserts to set an acquisition aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses or to make an SDVOSB sole-source award. It states that offers will be considered only from SDVOSB concerns, that the awardee must represent it is an SDVOSB at the time of its offer and at award, and — critically — that by submitting an offer the concern agrees that it will comply with the limitations on subcontracting (FAR 52.219-14) and the nonmanufacturer rule, if applicable. It is the operative clause that turns the policy of FAR Subpart 19.14 into a contract obligation on the specific buy.
When It Applies
- Acquisitions a contracting officer sets aside for SDVOSB concerns under FAR Subpart 19.14, and SDVOSB sole-source awards.
- Both SBA-certified SDVOSB set-asides and, for VA buys, awards under the VA Veterans First program (which the VAAR implements alongside this framework).
- Solicitations where the requirement met the rule of two — a reasonable expectation of offers from two or more SDVOSBs at a fair market price.
Key Provisions
| Provision | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Eligibility limited to SDVOSBs | Only offers from concerns that qualify as SDVOSB will be considered; an award to a non-SDVOSB on an SDVOSB set-aside is improper. |
| Status representation | The offeror represents it is an SDVOSB as of the date of its offer and must still qualify at award — status is fixed by the initial offer including price. |
| Agreement to the limitations on subcontracting | By submitting an offer, the concern agrees to comply with FAR 52.219-14 — the self-performance limits — for the resulting contract. |
| Nonmanufacturer rule | On supply set-asides, the awardee agrees to comply with the nonmanufacturer rule where it applies, supplying the product of a small business manufacturer absent a waiver. |
What It Means for an SDVOSB
This is the clause that creates the lane you compete in. Two consequences matter most: your SDVOSB status has to be real and current (SBA VetCert certification, fixed at the initial offer including price), and accepting the award means you have legally agreed to meet the limitations on subcontracting — so model your teaming plan against 13 CFR 125.6 before you bid, not after. Read it alongside the FAR 52.219-27 regulation explainer and the SDVOSB set-aside glossary term.
Common Pitfalls
- Treating SDVOSB status as something you can fix after award — it is set as of your initial offer including price and verified at award.
- Bidding the set-aside without a teaming plan that will satisfy FAR 52.219-14, then discovering you cannot self-perform the required share.
- Overlooking the nonmanufacturer rule on supply set-asides, where you generally must furnish the product of a small business manufacturer absent a waiver.
Run the Numbers
Frequently Asked
What does FAR 52.219-27 actually require of the awardee?
It limits the competition to SDVOSB concerns, requires the offeror to represent it is an SDVOSB at the time of offer and at award, and — by the act of submitting an offer — binds the concern to comply with the limitations on subcontracting (FAR 52.219-14) and the nonmanufacturer rule where applicable. In short, it both restricts who can win and attaches the self-performance obligation to the contract.
Is FAR 52.219-27 the same as the VA Veterans First set-aside?
They are related but not identical. FAR 52.219-27 is the governmentwide FAR clause for SDVOSB set-asides under Subpart 19.14. The VA runs its own statutory Veterans First Contracting Program under 38 U.S.C. § 8127, implemented through the VAAR, which gives veteran-owned firms priority on VA buys. Both rely on SBA VetCert certification, but a VA solicitation may cite VAAR clauses in addition to or instead of this FAR clause.
Primary Sources
Plain-English reference, not legal advice. Which clauses apply, and in which version, is set by the specific solicitation, and the FAR is periodically amended — always read the actual clause text in your solicitation and confirm its application with your contracting officer before relying on this.
Change log (1)
- LaunchedPublished the federal contract clauses reference covering the standard FAR Part 52 clauses an SDVOSB encounters in a set-aside contract — the SDVOSB set-aside clause (52.219-27), limitations on subcontracting (52.219-14), utilization of small business concerns (52.219-8), the reps-and-certs provisions (52.204-8 / 52.212-3), the commercial terms clauses (52.212-4 / 52.212-5), Changes (52.243-1), Termination for Convenience and Default (52.249-2 / 52.249-8), Prompt Payment and EFT payment (52.232-25 / 52.232-33), Service Contract Labor Standards (52.222-41), and basic cybersecurity safeguarding (52.204-21) — each with a key-provisions table, common pitfalls, an SDVOSB-specific angle, FAQPage, Legislation, Dataset, and BreadcrumbList structured data, primary-source FAR citations, and cross-links into the glossary, forms reference, contract types, regulation explainers, how-to guides, FAQ, and the limitations-on-subcontracting and price-to-win calculators.