Since October 1, 2025, federal agencies have been able to use their simplest buying procedures on purchases up to $350,000. That ceiling is the simplified acquisition threshold, and it rose from $250,000. The micro-purchase threshold, which covers the smallest buys, rose from $10,000 to $15,000 at the same time.
| Threshold | Before October 1, 2025 | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-purchase | $10,000 | $15,000 |
| Simplified acquisition (SAT) | $250,000 | $350,000 |
Purchases above $15,000 must be set aside for small businesses. The test is whether the contracting officer expects offers from at least two capable small businesses at a fair price. If only one acceptable offer comes in from a small business, the contracting officer should award to that firm.
Being eligible does not mean you will be asked. Under $350,000, the contracting officer can choose who receives the request for quotes.
How buyers ask for quotes under $350,000
Many agencies already follow the FAR overhaul through temporary rule changes called deviations. Under those rules, a contracting officer has two ways to request quotes on a purchase of $350,000 or less. They can post the request on SAM.gov for any business to answer. Or they can send it directly to suppliers they select.
When a contracting officer sends it directly, these requirements apply:
| Requirement | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| A notice still goes on SAM.gov, unless an exception applies | You can see the purchase coming. For buys over $25,000, the notice goes up at least 15 days before the request is issued. |
| The request goes to at least three suppliers | Every direct request has room for at least three businesses. |
| Whenever practicable, two of them were not asked the last time | The buyer is expected to bring in businesses they have not asked before. |
The FAR Council put the same approach into the proposed permanent rules it published on September 18, 2026. Public comments close October 19, 2026. Our FAR overhaul status update covers where the rest of the rewrite stands.
Why this helps newer firms
The last requirement matters most if you are new to federal work. A contracting officer who buys the same thing again is expected to look past the businesses asked the first time. Some of those new names will belong to firms that have never held a federal contract.
Buyers do reach out to firms with no federal history. Jesse Millard runs Millard Mountain Fence & Deck, a fence and deck contractor in Eagle Point, Oregon. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invited him to quote a gate repair job. "They directly emailed me for the RFQ," he said in FEDCON's announcement of the award. The job called for a certification he did not hold, so he wrote back and said so. The agency waived the requirement, and he won his first federal contract.
The current FAR also keeps the choice fair. A contracting officer cannot request quotes based on personal preference. Before a solicitation goes out, they are expected to make every reasonable effort to find more small businesses.
So the list comes from what a buyer can find.
What a buyer sees when they look for you
Whether you answer notices. A notice for a purchase over $20,000 must say that any responsible business may submit a quote, and the agency has to consider it. If the request itself is not posted, the agency must send a small business a copy when asked. Businesses that respond to notices in their NAICS codes get seen by the offices that buy from them.
What your SBS profile says. SBA's Small Business Search (SBS) is where buyers can look up small businesses and confirm their certifications. A profile that describes your work in the words a buyer would search for gets found. A one-line description under a single NAICS code is easy to miss.
Whether the small business office knows your name. Under the current FAR, contracting officers are expected to check with the agency's small business specialist when they look for more small business sources. A specialist who already has your capabilities statement can put your name forward.
Whether you have delivered small orders. Purchases of $15,000 or less can go to one supplier without competing quotes, as long as the price is reasonable. Buyers are also asked to spread those orders among qualified suppliers. After one small order, that office has a record of you delivering, and you have started your federal past performance.
The bottom line
Under $350,000, a contracting officer can choose which suppliers get the request for quotes, and the rules push them to keep adding new names. The businesses that get added are the ones a buyer can find and already knows how to reach.
If you are not sure what buyers at your target agencies see when they look you up, talk to a FEDCON advisor.
This post reflects the FAR overhaul deviations and the proposed rules published September 18, 2026. We will update it when the final rules are published.