The so-called “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul” (RFO), launched after the issue of Executive Order 14275 (Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement) in April 2025, is the most sweeping rewrite of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in its 40-year history. The long-term intent of the RFO is to simplify and streamline federal procurement, but certain concerns raised by FAR legal experts raise the question if its rollout is actively generating compliance risk for contractors. Here are a few of those concerns.

"Adopt First, Finalize Later"

Rather than follow a traditional notice-and-comment rulemaking process before implementation, agencies are directed on the RFO website to apply new standards via "class deviations." These are interim rule changes that take effect before formal codification. As Sam Finnerty of the DC law firm Piliero Mazza notes, the GSA has already issued class deviations for FAR Parts 1 and 34. This is an "adopt first, finalize later" strategy that Finnerty says risks undermining public participation, potentially turning the rulemaking process into a rubber stamp.

In other words, contractors are being held to standards that haven't been codified. This situation creates a precarious compliance environment in which rules adhered to during one phase of the RFO rollout could change in subsequent rulemaking phases.

Inconsistency Among Agencies Creates a Fragmented Rule Environment

The RFO requires agencies to adopt model class deviation text and to issue their own class deviations, creating a patchwork regulatory environment where the rules differ depending on which agency you're contracting at or even which contracting officer (CO) you're working with.

The attorneys at Covington are warning contractors that COs could continue to rely on policies and practices removed from the FAR if they deem them beneficial. This situation could encourage "contracting officer discretion in determining whether a practice is suitable rather than a matter of compliance." This risk is further heightened if a CO is inexperienced.

In short, a practice that's acceptable under one CO may trigger non-compliance findings under a similar contract. It is easy to imagine the number of protests this discrepancy could generate.

Is SAM.gov Creating Representation Mismatches?

The legal experts at Covington warned last fall that the government's own procurement website – SAM.gov – isn't keeping pace with the RFO. This situation has not improved.

GSA issued an alert on Monday, February 23, 2026, in fact, stating “SAM.gov will continue to collect Type1: Entity-level representations and certifications, but that Type 2: Procurement-specific and Type 3: By Submission of Offer representations and certifications will no longer be collected.”

GSA then asked for the benefit of its readers: “What will happen in the interim (e.g., after an RFO deviation that impacts sam.gov is implemented but before sam.gov is updated to reflect the changes)?”

The answer seems less than reassuring. Noting that “until the changes are made in SAM.gov, entities may still be required to submit information in SAM.gov that is no longer required/enforced,” GSA stated, “as agency RFO deviations are issued, they will likely require contracting officers to use the updated provisions and clauses.”

This situation definitely heightens the cost of responding to solicitations by creating more work. It also seems to heighten the risk that contractors completing SAM.gov registrations or representations may inadvertently certify in compliance with clauses that are then later removed from a solicitation, or fail to capture new requirements because SAM hasn't yet reflected them.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is that the RFO implementation remains a work in progress. Per GSA, it promises to “result in improved procurement outcomes through more accurate and traceable terms and conditions that are specific to each individual procurement,” but the transition to that end-state looks like it will be chaotic.

At the very least, contractors should remain alert to the need to track class deviation changes on SAM.gov. Companies may also want to consult with the contracting officers managing previously awarded agreements to learn if class deviations are going to be applied retroactively. The RFO makes it clear that doing so is discretionary for COs, so it may not happen. It is still better to be safe and ask.