On August 6, 2025, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Council issued a final rule clarifying that contractors do not need to maintain a continuous registration in the System for Award Management (“SAM”) in the time between submitting a bid or proposal and contract award.  The final rule makes no changes to the interim rule issued in November 2024, which was immediately effective at that time.  This important clarification provides some flexibility to contractors to protect their contract awards against protests based on an administrative lapse.Continue Reading FAR Council Clarifies SAM Registration Timing for Bidders