Below is a list of common acronyms used in government contracts. We provided links to as many as possible or as seemed appropriate. The links are authoritative in that they refer directly to an agency, organization, or regulation – we try to avoid the bias of referring to commercial websites.
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| 8(a) | Section 8 (a) of the Small Business Act; Federal Contracting Preference Program for Disadvantaged Businesses |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| AAR | After Action Report |
| ACAT | Acquisition Category |
| ACO | Administrative Contracting Officer |
| ACS | Assistant Chief of Staff |
| ACWP | Actual Cost of Work Performed |
| ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act |
| ANSI | American National Standards Institute |
| AVBS | Automated Best Value System (past performance system) |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| BoL | Bill of Lading |
| B&P | Bid and Proposal |
| BAA | Buy American Act or Broad Agency Announcement |
| BAC | Budget at Completion |
| BAFO | Best and Final Offer |
| BDO | Blanket Delivery Order |
| BOA | Basic Ordering Agreement |
| BPA | Blanket Purchase Agreement |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| CAGE | Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE code) |
| CAO | Congressional Affairs Office |
| CAS | Cost Accounting Standards |
| CBO | Congressional Budget Office |
| CCDR | Contract Cost Data Reporting |
| CCR | Central Contractor Registration (see SAM) |
| CDA | Contract Disputes Act |
| CDD | Contract Delivery Date |
| CDRL | Contract Data Requirements List |
| CFR | Code of Federal Regulations |
| CFSR | Contract Funds Status Report |
| CICA | Competition in Contracting Act |
| CID | Commercial Item Description |
| CIO | Chief Information Officer |
| CLIN | Contract Line Item Number |
| CM | Configuration Management |
| CMM | Capability Maturity Model |
| CMMI | Capability Maturity Model-Integrated |
| CMO | Contract Management Office |
| CMT | Contract Management Team |
| CO | Contracting Officer (sometimes KO) |
| COB | Close of Business |
| CofC | Certificate of Conformance |
| COFC | U.S. Court of Federal Claims |
| CONUS | Continental United States |
| COR | Contracting Officer’s Representative |
| COTR | Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative |
| COTS | Commercial Off-the-Shelf |
| CPAF | Cost Plus Award Fee |
| CPFF | Cost Plus Fixed Fee |
| CPIF | Cost Plus Incentive Fee |
| CPR | Cost Performance Report |
| CRADA | Cooperative Research and Development Agreement |
| CWHSSA | Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act |
| CY | Calendar Year |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| DACA | Days After Contract Award |
| DARO | Days After Receipt of Order |
| DARPA | Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency |
| DBA | Davis Bacon Act (prevailing wages on federal contracts |
| DCAA | Defense Contract Audit Agency |
| DCMA | Defense Contract Management Agency |
| DFARS | Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement |
| DHS | Department of Homeland Security |
| DID | Data Item Description |
| DLA | Defense Logistics Agency |
| DLH | Direct Labor Hour |
| DOC | Department of Commerce |
| DOD | Department of Defense |
| DOE | Department of Energy |
| DOI | Department of the Interior |
| DOJ | Department of Justice |
| DOL | Department of Labor |
| DOS | Department of State |
| DOT | Department of Transportation |
| DTIC | Defense Technology Information Center |
| DUNS | Data Universal Numbering System |
| SDVOB | Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Business |
| DVD | Direct Vendor Delivery |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| ECP | Engineering Change Proposal |
| EDD | Estimated Delivery Date |
| EDI | Electronic Data Interchange |
| EDOP | Expedited Delivery Order Process |
| EEO | Equal Employment Opportunity |
| EFT | Electronic Funds Transfer |
| EO | Executive Order |
| ETC | Estimate to Complete |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| FAC | Federal Acquisition Circular |
| FAR | Federal Acquisition Regulation |
| FAS | Federal Acquisition Service |
| FASA | Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act |
| FFP | Firm Fixed Price |
| FFRDC | Federally Funded Research and Development Center |
| FIPS | Federal Information Processing Standards |
| FISMA | Federal Information Security Management Act |
| FLSA | Fair Labor Standards Act |
| FMS | Foreign Military Sales |
| FOIA | Freedom of Information Act |
| FPDS | Federal Procurement Data System |
| FPI | Fixed Price Incentive |
| FPL | Federal Procurement List |
| FSC | Federal Supply Classification |
| NSN | National Stock Number |
| FSS | Federal Supply Schedules |
| FY | Fiscal Year |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| G&A | General and Administrative |
| GAA | General Agency Agreement |
| GAO | Government Accountability Office |
| GBL | Government Bill of Lading |
| GFE | Government Furnished Equipment |
| GFM | Government Furnished Materials |
| GFP | Government-Furnished Property |
| GOCO | Government Owned, Contractor Operated |
| GPO | Government Printing Office |
| GSA | General Services Administration |
| GSAM | General Services Administration Acquisition Manual |
| GWAC | Government-wide Acquisition Contract |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| HBCUs | Historically Black Colleges and Universities |
| HCA | Head of Contracting Activity |
| HUB | Historically Underutilized Business |
| HUBZone | Historically Underutilized Business Zone |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| IAW | In Accordance With |
| IFB | Invitation for Bid |
| IG | Inspector General |
| IDIQ | Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity |
| ISO | International Standards Organization (or International Organization for Standardization) |
| ISSA | Interservice Support Agreement |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| LOE | Level of Effort |
| LO/LT | Lot |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| M&IE | Meals and Incidental Expense |
| MACC | Multiple Award Construction Contract |
| MBDA | Minority Business Development Agency |
| MBE | Minority Business Enterprise |
| MILSPEC | Military Specification |
| MIL-STD | Military Standard |
| MOA | Memorandum of Agreement |
| MOU | Memorandum of Understanding |
| MWBE | Minority or Woman-Owned Business Enterprise |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| NAICS | North American Industry Classification System |
| NARA | National Archives and Records Administration |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| NASAFARS | National Aeronautics Space Administration FAR Supplement |
| NAVFAC | Naval Facilities Engineering Command |
| NDI | Non-Developmental Item |
| NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology |
| NSN | National Stock Number |
| NTE | Not to Exceed |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| O&M | Operations & Maintenance |
| OCONUS | Outside the Continental United States |
| OFCCP | Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs |
| OFPP | Office of Federal Procurement Policy |
| OMB | Office of Management and Budget |
| OPM | Office of Personnel Management |
| OSDBU | Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization |
| OSHA | Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
| OWBO | Office of Women’s Business Ownership |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| PCO | Procurement Contracting Officer |
| PCR | Procurement Center Representative |
| PEO | Program Executive Officer |
| PES | Professional Engineering Services |
| PID | Procurement Item Description |
| PL | Public Law |
| PMP | Program Management Plan |
| PO | Purchase Order |
| POC | Point of Contact |
| POCA | Performances Oriented Construction Activity |
| PR | Pair; Peer Review(s); Purchase Request |
| PRDA | Program Research and Development Announcement |
| PTAC | Procurement Technical Assistance Center |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| QA | Quality Assurance |
| QAB | Quality Assurance Program |
| QBL | Qualified Bidders List |
| QC | Quality Control |
| QMS | Quality Management System |
| QPL | Qualified Products List |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| IRAD/R&D | Internal/Research and Development |
| RDD | Required Delivery Date |
| RFB | Request for Bid |
| RFI | Request for Information |
| RFID | Radio Frequency Identification |
| RFP | Request for Proposal |
| RFQ | Request for Quotation |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| SABER | Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineer Requirements |
| SADBUS | Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Specialist |
| SBA | Small Business Administration |
| SBAC | Small Business Advisory Committee |
| SBDC | Small Business Development Center |
| SBIC | Small Business Investment Company |
| SBIR | Small Business Innovation Research |
| SBLO | Small Business Liaison Officer |
| SBSA | Small Business Set Aside |
| SCA | Service Contract Award |
| SCORE | Service Core of Retired Executives |
| SDB | Small Disadvantaged Business |
| SDV | Service Disabled Veteran |
| SDVOSB | Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business |
| SEC | Securities and Exchange Commission |
| SF | Standard Form |
| SIC | Standard Industrial Classification Codes |
| SIN | Special Item Number |
| SKN | Stock Keeping Number |
| SKU | Stock Keeping Unit |
| SOO | Statement of Objectives |
| SOP | Standard Operating Procedure |
| SOW | Statement of Work |
| SSA | Social Security Administration |
| STTR | Small Business Technology Transfer Program |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| T&M | Time and Materials |
| T for C | Termination for Convenience |
| T for D | Termination for Default |
| TCO | Termination Contracting Officer |
| TD | Technology Development |
| TIN | Taxpayer Identification Number |
| TINA | Truth in Negotiations Act |
| TIPS | Technical Information Packages |
| TQM | Total Quality Management |
| TTN | Technology Transfer Network |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| U/I | Unit of Issue |
| UCC | Uniform Commercial Code |
| UPC | Universal Product Code |
| USC | United States Code |
| USG | United States Government |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| V&V | Verification and Validation |
| VA | Veterans Administration |
| VAR | Value Added Reseller |
| VC | Venture Capital or Venture Capitalist |
| VOB | Veteran-Owned Business |
| VSC | Vendor Support Center |
Abbreviation |
Full Title |
|---|---|
| WAWF | Wide Area Work Flow |
| WBC | Women’s Business Centers |
| WBE | Women’s Business Enterprise |
| WBS | Work Breakdown Structure |
| WOSB | Woman-Owned Small Business |
| WRD | Wage Rate Determination |