DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[OMB Control No. 9000-0076; Docket No. 2024-0053; Sequence
No. 8]
Submission for OMB Review; Novation and Change-of-Name
Agreements
AGENCY:

Department of Defense (DOD), General Services

Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction
Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division has submitted to
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to
review and approve an extension of a previously approved
information collection requirement regarding novation and
change-of-name agreements.
DATES: Submit comments on or before [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS
AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER.]
ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for this

information collection should be sent within 30 days of
publication of this notice to
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting "Currently under Review
- Open for Public Comments" or by using the search
function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zenaida Delgado,
Procurement Analyst, at telephone 202-969-7207, or
zenaida.delgado@gsa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. OMB control number, Title, and any Associated Form(s):
9000-0076, Novation and Change-of-Name Agreements.
B. Need and Uses
This clearance covers the information that contractors
must submit to comply with the following requirements in
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 42.12:
• FAR 42.1203(a), Written Request. If a contractor wishes
the Government to recognize a successor in interest to its
contracts or a name change, the contractor must submit a
written request to the responsible contracting officer. The
request is used by the contracting officer to determine
what additional supporting documentation should be
submitted by the contractor and to determine what other
contract administration offices should be notified of the
contractor's request.
• FAR 42.1204(e) and (f), Novation Agreement. Pursuant to
FAR 42.1203(b)(1), upon request from the contracting
officer, the contractor shall submit three signed copies of
the proposed novation agreement, plus copies of the
supporting documentation listed at 42.1204(e) and (f), as
applicable. The documentation is used by the contracting
officer to evaluate and, if appropriate, execute a proposed

agreement for recognizing a third party as a successor in
interest.
• FAR 42.1205(a), Change-of-Name Agreement. Pursuant to FAR
42.1203(b)(1), upon request from the contracting officer,
the contractor shall submit three signed copies of the
proposed change-of-name agreement, plus copies of the
supporting documentation listed at 42.1205(a), as
applicable. The documentation is used by the contracting
officer to evaluate and, if appropriate, execute a proposed
agreement for recognizing a contractor's name change.
C. Annual Burden
Respondents:

1,625.

Total Annual Responses:
Total Burden Hours:

1,625.

3,163.

D. Public Comment
A.

A 60-day notice was published in the Federal

Register at 89 FR 24001, on April 5, 2024. A 60-day notice
was published in the Federal Register at 89 FR 24001, on
April 5, 2024. Comments from 3 respondents were received;
however, they did not change the estimate of the burden.
Comment: Three respondents submitted the following
recommendations for changes to the FAR:
•

For novation agreements:
✓

Define time frames in which the government will

review the novation request and request any further
information.

✓

Explicitly permitting the electronic submission

of novation packages.
✓

Reserve the novation process for only actual

transfer of assets which are embodied in a sale between
two entirely separate unaffiliated legal entities.
✓

Include recognition of a successor in interest

to Government contracts among entities registered in the
System for Award Management (SAM) that have a common
parent company when there is no transfer of assets.
✓

Allow for a streamlined process for a transfer

of assets between two affiliated entities within the
same corporate parent structure.
✓

Remove the requirement to provide the

“approximate remaining unpaid balance” of contracts to
be novated at FAR 42.1204(e)(2)(iv).
✓

Clarify that a novation process can begin before

all the documents are submitted although it won’t be
complete until all necessary requirements are fully
satisfied.
✓

Remove the requirement for a corporate seal or

require it only if the novated contracts are above a
very high dollar threshold.
✓

Replace the listed documents at FAR

42.1204(f)(1) to (3) with a simple Secretary’s
Certificate, certifying that all the activities

(registration, approval by the board, etc.) have been
completed.
✓

Require the government to appropriately deem an

acquirer as a successor in interest to the proposals.
This could be a confirmation or certification in SAM
that the resources proposed remain available to perform
and that the acquisition or novation does not change the
ability to perform.
✓

Require that the contracting officer managing

the contract with the largest total contract value be
the responsible contracting officer to execute the
novation agreement including a review by the
government’s legal counsel.
✓

Limit the list requested at FAR 42.1204(e)(2) to

multiple year contracts identified at the time of
submission of the request.
✓

Review the list of documentation being requested

in light of the advancement of electronic records.
•

For change-of-name agreements:
✓ Run the change-of-name process through SAM
exclusively. Deem the name change automatically
effective on all existing contracts and work
orders and all pending submitted proposals via
SAM.

✓ Limit the list requested at FAR 42.1205(a)(3) to
multiple year contracts identified at the time of
submission of the request.
✓ Explicitly permitting the electronic submission
of change-of-name packages.
Response: The respondents’ input is appreciated. The
recommendations made by the commenters may be considered
for future action. Any necessary revisions to FAR subpart
42.12, Novation and Change-of-Name Agreements, will be
accomplished through rulemaking.
Comment: In the process of updating a legal entity name in
SAM, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Commercial and
Government Entity (CAGE) Review requires a signed statement
from a contracting officer before an update to a
contractor’s CAGE will be made. At the same time, the
responsible contracting officer requests that SAM be
updated before issuing a novation or name change. This
apparently irreconcilable administrative conflict causes
delay in updating SAM resulting in more awards being issued
against the original contractor that would need a
modification. This creates additional burden for both the
contractor and the government.
Response: If a contractor is changing its name in SAM–
1. After completing the steps required by FAR 42.1205,
the contractor would have to update/renew its entire
Entity Registration in SAM and should be able to

upload either the signed Change-of-Name Agreement or
the signed SF30, Modification of Contract, satisfying
what’s required by the DLA CAGE team for screening and
validation. See SAM’s Knowledge Base articles #KB
0016829 and KB 0016831.
2. Before completing the steps required by FAR 42.1205,
the contractor–
.

Must provide the notification required by paragraph

(d) of the FAR clause at 52.204-13, System for Award
Management Maintenance.
a.

Would have to update/renew its entire Entity

Registration in SAM.
b.

When SAM sends the CAGE for screening and validation

to the CAGE team, the team may request legal
documentation to support the name change. This could
result in the contractor getting a request from the DLA
CAGE team for the same documentation needed to complete
the steps required by FAR 42.1205. See SAM’s Knowledge
Base article #KB 0016831.
3. But the contractor does not have any open federal
government contracts, then, the contractor would have
to update/renew its entire Entity Registration in SAM.
The contractor must provide the legal documentation
needed to support the name change to the CAGE team to
complete the CAGE/SAM validation process.

OBTAINING COPIES:

Requesters may obtain a copy of the

information collection documents from the GSA Regulatory
Secretariat Division by calling 202-501-4755 or emailing
GSARegSec@gsa.gov. Please cite OMB Control No. 9000-0076,
Novation and Change-of-Name Agreements.

Janet Fry,
Director,
Federal Acquisition Policy Division,
Office of Governmentwide Acquisition Policy,
Office of Acquisition Policy,
Office of Governmentwide Policy.

BILLING CODE: 6820-EP
[FR Doc. 2024-14725 Filed: 7/3/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 7/5/2024]