Deliveries or Performance
Also known as: Period of performance, delivery schedule, place of performance
Your role here: Where you learn when and where the work is due
At a Glance
- Part
- Part I — The Schedule
- What it contains
- Delivery dates, period of performance, and place of performance
- Key elements
- Base and option periods, milestone/delivery dates, location
- You…
- Read and plan to it — the schedule drives staffing and price
- Governing authority
- FAR 15.204-2(f); FAR Part 11 (delivery/performance)
What It Is
Section F answers the questions of when and where. Under FAR 15.204-2(f) it states the required time of delivery or the period of performance, the delivery or milestone schedule, and the place of delivery or performance. On a services contract this is usually a base period plus a set of option periods with a defined start and end; on a supply contract it is a delivery schedule with specific dates or lead times; on either it identifies whether the work is performed at a government site, at your facility, or at multiple locations. Section F sets the pace of the contract — the schedule you must staff to and price against — and it interacts directly with Section B, where those same base and option periods are priced, and with Section G, which handles the administrative mechanics. Because delivery dates are usually enforceable requirements, missing them can lead to consideration, cure notices, or termination for default, so Section F is a section to plan around, not just read.
What’s In It
- The period of performance — the base period and each option period's start and end.
- Delivery dates, milestone dates, or required lead times.
- The place of delivery or performance (government site, contractor site, or multiple).
- Any phase-in / transition period at the start of the contract.
- Constraints such as hours of operation, blackout dates, or surge windows.
What Goes Here
| Component | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Period of performance | The base and option periods define how long you will be on contract if all options are exercised. They must line up exactly with the priced periods in Section B. |
| Place of performance | Where the work happens affects your labor rates (locality pay), facility and clearance needs, and travel — all of which flow into your Section B price. |
| Phase-in / transition | Many services contracts include an unpaid or separately priced transition period. Plan and, where required, price it — a rocky phase-in can damage your early CPARS record. |
| Delivery discipline | Delivery and milestone dates are generally enforceable. Slipping them can trigger a cure notice or a termination for default, so build realistic schedule margin into your plan. |
What It Means for an SDVOSB
For an SDVOSB, Section F is where staffing reality meets the calendar. The period of performance tells you how long you must sustain the team you are proposing, and the place of performance drives your labor rates, clearance requirements, and travel — all of which belong in your Section B price. Pay special attention to any phase-in or transition period: small firms taking over an incumbent contract often under-plan the transition and stumble early, which shows up immediately in CPARS. And because delivery dates are enforceable, an SDVOSB that over-commits to an aggressive schedule to look competitive can find itself facing a cure notice or default termination it cannot afford. Match your proposed schedule to what your team can actually deliver, and price the periods in Section F consistently with Section B.
Watch Out For
- Section F period-of-performance dates not matching the priced periods in Section B.
- Under-planning the phase-in/transition period and stumbling in the first weeks of the contract.
- Ignoring place of performance when it changes your labor rates, clearance, or travel costs.
- Over-committing to an aggressive delivery schedule you cannot meet — missed dates can lead to default.
Run the Numbers
Frequently Asked
What is Section F of a solicitation?
Section F, under FAR 15.204-2(f), states the time, place, and schedule of delivery or performance — the period of performance (base and option periods), the delivery or milestone dates, and where the work is performed. It sets the pace you must staff to and price against, and it ties directly to Section B, where the same base and option periods are priced. Because delivery and performance dates are generally enforceable, missing them can trigger a cure notice or a termination for default, so Section F is a section to plan around.
Primary Sources
- FAR 15.204-2 — Part I — The Schedule (Section F)
- FAR Part 11 — Describing agency needs (delivery/performance schedules)
Plain-English reference, not legal advice. The Uniform Contract Format is tailored by agencies, and the FAR sections that define it are amended from time to time — always read the actual solicitation and confirm each section against the official source before relying on it, and consult qualified counsel for your specific situation.
Change log (1)
- LaunchedPublished the federal solicitation sections reference covering the thirteen sections of the Uniform Contract Format under FAR 15.204 — Section A (the SF 33 / SF 1449 cover form), B (prices and CLINs), C (the statement of work / PWS / SOO), D (packaging and marking), E (inspection and acceptance), F (deliveries and period of performance), G (contract administration data and invoicing), H (special contract requirements), I (the FAR clauses, including the SDVOSB set-aside and limitations on subcontracting), J (the list of attachments and wage determinations), K (representations and certifications, where SDVOSB status is certified), L (instructions to offerors), and M (evaluation factors for award) — each with an at-a-glance quick-facts card, a what's-in-it list, a what-goes-here table, an SDVOSB-specific angle, watch-outs, FAQPage, Article, Dataset, and BreadcrumbList structured data, primary-source FAR citations, and cross-links into the glossary, how-to guides, forms, clauses, solicitation types, source-selection methods, FAQ, and the set-aside eligibility, win-probability, price-to-win, and limitations-on-subcontracting calculators.