After you bid
What is CPARS?
Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System
CPARS is the federal system in which agencies record contractor performance evaluations, which are then available to source-selection officials on future competitions — making your CPARS record a direct input to whether you win again.
Also written as: CPARS rating, contractor performance assessment, past performance report.
FAR 42.1502 requires evaluations for contracts and orders exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, prepared at least annually and at the time work under a contract or order is completed. Two categories carry their own thresholds: construction contracts of $900,000 or more, and architect-engineer services contracts of $45,000 or more. Contracts terminated for default are evaluated regardless of value.
You have a right to respond. The evaluation is provided to the contractor, who may submit comments, rebutting statements or additional information, and a disagreement is reviewed at a level above the contracting officer. A rating left uncommented stands as written.
Because evaluations feed the past-performance factor on future bids, a poor CPARS entry is not a closed episode — it competes against you for years. Treat the review window as seriously as a proposal deadline.
What this means when you bid
Read every CPARS evaluation and respond within the window. An unanswered adverse rating follows you into every future source selection.
CPARS: the published figures
Each figure below was read from the regulation cited beside it on 2026-08-04. Thresholds are adjusted for inflation and changed by statute — follow the citation and confirm the figure in effect on your solicitation's date before you rely on it.
- Evaluations required for contracts and orders exceeding
- the simplified acquisition threshold
- Evaluation frequency
- at least annually, and at completion of the work
FAR 42.1502 references the threshold rather than restating the figure. The SAT itself is defined in FAR 2.101.
FAR 42.1502 · verified 2026-08-04
FAR 42.1502 · verified 2026-08-04
Where this definition comes from
Federal contracting is one of the few fields where the authoritative answer is free, public and one click away. These are the sources this page is built from — go and read them.
- FAR 42.1502→
Policy.
- FAR 42.1503→
Procedures.
- CPARS→
The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System itself.
This page explains a term in plain English and cites the authority it comes from. It is not legal advice, and the regulation governs where this page and the regulation differ.
Free tools for government contractors
Knowing the term is one thing. These free tools do something with CPARS. No login, no credit card.
See the contracts this applies to
A free weekly digest of new government solicitations for your trade and your state, each summarized in plain English by Sam — so you find out about the work while there is still time to bid it.
We email you bid alerts — that's it. No spam, no selling your address. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.
Free. No credit card. Unsubscribe any time.
CPARS— common questions
- What is CPARS?
- CPARS is the federal system in which agencies record contractor performance evaluations, which are then available to source-selection officials on future competitions — making your CPARS record a direct input to whether you win again.
- What is the evaluations required for contracts and orders exceeding for CPARS?
- the simplified acquisition threshold, per FAR 42.1502. FAR 42.1502 references the threshold rather than restating the figure. The SAT itself is defined in FAR 2.101. This figure was read from that source on 2026-08-04; thresholds are revised, so check the citation before relying on it in a bid.
- Why does CPARS matter when you are bidding?
- Read every CPARS evaluation and respond within the window. An unanswered adverse rating follows you into every future source selection.
Related terms
- Past performance
- Simplified acquisition threshold — Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)
- Debriefing
- Novation