CPARS
The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System is the government's permanent record of how well you delivered. Every future evaluation board reads it, you rarely see it being written, and most contractors first learn how it works after a rating they cannot undo.
10,527
federal solicitations are open right now, and past performance is an evaluation factor in the large majority of the ones worth winning. Your CPARS record is what that factor is scored against.
What you are rated on
Six areas: quality, schedule, cost control, management, small business subcontracting, and regulatory compliance. Each gets one of five ratings from Exceptional down to Unsatisfactory, plus a narrative, and the narrative is what actually gets quoted back at you in a future source selection.
Not every area applies to every contract. Cost control is not rated on a firm fixed price award, because there is nothing for you to control.
Satisfactory is not a good score
This is the part that surprises people. Satisfactory means you did what the contract said. In a competitive evaluation where rivals hold Very Good and Exceptional, a wall of Satisfactory ratings reads as unremarkable and loses. If you want to be rated above Satisfactory you have to do something the narrative can point at, and it has to happen during the period being rated, not be argued for afterwards.
The 14 days that matter
When an evaluation is completed you get 14 calendar days to review and comment. That comment is published alongside the rating permanently. If you let the window pass the rating stands unanswered, and a future board reads a criticism with no reply beneath it.
Even where you cannot get a rating changed, the comment is worth writing. A measured, factual response to an unfair narrative does real work three years later.
Which contracts get rated
Generally those above the simplified acquisition threshold, with higher floors for some categories and for construction and architect-engineer work. Small awards below the threshold usually generate no CPARS record at all, which is why a company can hold years of federal work and still show as having no past performance.
Questions people ask
When is CPARS required?
For most contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold, with higher thresholds for certain categories. Small purchases below it generally produce no record.
Can I dispute a CPARS rating?
You have 14 days to submit comments, which are published with the rating. Beyond that there is an escalation to a level above the assessing official, but ratings are rarely overturned outright.
How long does a CPARS rating stay visible?
Three years for most work, six for construction and architect-engineer contracts.
Can I see my own CPARS record?
Yes, through the CPARS system itself once you are registered for it. You should be reading it rather than waiting to be told about it.
Does no past performance count against me?
It cannot legally be scored against you. A contracting officer must treat an absence of past performance as neutral, not negative, though in practice a competitor with strong ratings has the advantage.
Related
Capability statement · Simplified acquisition threshold · FAR and DFARS · Browse open solicitations