302 FW 1
Contracting Officers’ Certification and Appointment Program

Supersedes 302 FW 1, FWM 133, 03/17/04

Date:  April 25, 2008, as amended 04/02/2009

Series: Logistics

Part 302: Contracting Officers

Originating Office: Division of Contracting and Facilities Management

 

 

PDF Version

 

1.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? The purpose of this chapter is to provide guidance to our acquisition workforce and their managers concerning the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Program and the Contracting Officer Certificate of Appointment (COA) Program.

 

1.2 What are the objectives of this chapter? The objectives of this chapter are to:

 

A. Supplement the Department of the Interior's FAC-C Manual and COA Manual, and

 

B. Describe the Service’s requirements and procedures for FAC-C certification and appointment as a Contracting Officer (CO).

 

1.3 What is the scope of this chapter? This chapter applies to all Service employees who are responsible for the acquisition of supplies and services for amounts above the micro-purchase threshold. The micro-purchase thresholds are currently amounts up to:

 

A. $3,000 for a single transaction for supplies,

 

B. $2,500 for services, and

 

C. $2,000 for construction.

 

1.4 What are the authorities for this chapter?

 

A. Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Act, as amended (41 U.S.C. 405(a)).

 

B. OFPP Policy Letter 05-01: Developing and Managing the Acquisition Workforce, 04/15/05.

 

C. Office of Management and Budget (0MB) Memorandum: The Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Program, 01/20/06.

 

D. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 1.6, Career Development, Contracting Authority, and Responsibilities.      

 

E. U.S. Department of the Interior Contracting Officer Certificate of Appointment Program Manual.

 

F. U.S. Department of the Interior Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Program Manual.

 

1.5 What is the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) program? OFPP established the FAC-C program in 2005. FAC-C describes the minimum education, experience, and training standards for COs and others in the acquisition workforce. The FAC-C Manual provides detailed standards.

 

1.6 What is the Contracting Officer Certificate of Appointment (COA) program? The COA program replaces the Contracting Officer Warrant System program. It provides the authority and procedures for appointing COs and granting them a certificate of appointment, previously known as a warrant. An applicant must be certified under the FAC-C Program before receiving a COA. The COA Manual describes the program in detail.

 

1.7 Who is responsible for the FAC-C and COA programs in the Service?

 

A. The Chief, Division of Contracting and Facilities Management (CFM):

 

(1) Is the Bureau Procurement Chief,

 

(2) Recommends FAC-C applications for approval to the Department’s Acquisition Career Manager,

 

(3) Gives final approval of COAs for the Service, and

 

(4) Terminates CO appointments.

 

B. The Chief, Branch of Policy and Information Management in the Division of Contracting and Facilities Management (CFM):

 

(1) Is the Bureau Acquisition Career Coordinator, and

 

(2) Makes recommendations to the Bureau Procurement Chief on actions for FAC-C certification and COA applications.

 

1.8 What are the steps leading to certification under the FAC-C Program?

 

A. The employee who plans to be a CO must:

 

(1) Meet the qualifications in the FAC-C Manual;

 

(2) Register and enter data in the Acquisition Career Management Information System (ACMIS) on the required courses he/she completes; and

 

(3) Complete the application found in the FAC-C Manual and send it and the required supporting documentation to his/her supervisor.

 

B. The employee’s supervisor must:

 

(1) Review the application and supporting documentation for completeness and to ensure the employee is qualified;

 

(2) Recommend or decline to recommend the employee for certification. Send the application through the Regional Chief, Contracting General Services (CGS) or the Chief, Branch of Acquisition and Assistance Operations (for the Washington Office) to the Bureau Acquisition Career Coordinator for review.

 

C. The Bureau Acquisition Career Coordinator must:

 

(1) Review the application to ensure the employee meets the qualifications, and

 

(2) When the application is acceptable, endorse it and send it to the Bureau Procurement Chief.

 

D. The Bureau Procurement Chief reviews the application, and, if acceptable, endorses it and sends it to the Department’s Acquisition Career Manager.

 

E. The Department’s Acquisition Career Manager reviews the package and issues the certificate or takes other appropriate action.

 

1.9 What are the steps leading to an employee receiving a Certificate of Appointment? You can find detailed information about these steps in the COA Manual.

 

A. The Regional Director or his/her designee determines the number of CO appointments their Region needs. In the Washington Office, the Chief, CFM determines the number of appointments. The RD/Chief, CFM or his/her designee should consider the following general guidelines for determining the number of COs for an office:

 

(1) Consider receiving support from other components before requesting a new appointment;

 

(2) Have a minimum of 25 open-market contract actions annually (contract awards, purchase orders, or modifications) in the office; and

 

(3) Have a minimum of 25 open-market contract actions annually for each additional CO to be appointed in the same office.

 

B. The supervisor of the COA applicant sends a completed application package to the Bureau Procurement Chief for approval through the Regional Chief, CGS or through the Chief, Branch of Acquisition and Assistance Operations (for the Washington Office). You can find the application and other forms on CFM’s intranet site. The package includes:

 

(1) The application for appointment (the applicant’s identifying information in Section 1 of the application form must include the office’s Organizational Code and that of other offices for which the applicant will serve as CO);

 

(2) A list of current COAs by level in the office; and

 

(3) A data report, based on data from the Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation or the Interior Department Electronic Acquisition System, in the format shown in Table 1-1. The data must be for the previous two fiscal years and support the need for the requested appointment. Do not include micro-purchases or General Services Administration (GSA) supply system actions not requiring a CO appointment.

 

Table 1-1 Justification Data for CO Position

Dollar Range

Number of Transactions

Total Dollar Value

$2,501 to $10,000

 

 

$10,001 to $100,000

 

 

$100,001 to $1,000,000

 

 

$1,000,001 to $5,000,000

 

 

$5,000,001 to $10,000,000

 

 

greater than $10,000,000

 

 

 

C. The Bureau Procurement Chief:

 

(1) Reviews the COA application to ensure the applicant meets the qualifications, including FAC-C certification at the appropriate level;

 

(2) Reviews the data on organizational need and number of existing COs at the location; and

 

(3) Issues a COA or takes other appropriate action.

 

1.10 What are the levels of authority for COs? Depending on the needs of the office and the experience and qualifications of the employee, COs have different levels of authority. They are only allowed to issue contracts and task and delivery orders with a total value up to their authorized dollar threshold. Table 1-2 shows the levels of authority for COs.

 

Table 1-2: CO Levels of Authority

COA Level

Series2

Required FAC-C Level

Open Market

(Up to a maximum of)

Interagency Agreements3

(Up to a

maximum of)

Ordering from Established Sources

(Up to a

maximum of)

Level IA1

Any Series

Level I

$10,000 Supply,

$2,500 Service &

$2,000 Construction

None

$25,000

Level IB

1102 & 1105

Level I

$100,000

$100,000

$500,000

Level II

1102

Level II

$10,000,000

$10,000,000

$10,000,000

Level III4

1102

Level III

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Space Leasing

Any Series

None

Unlimited, general purpose and special

use space only

None

Unlimited, general purpose and special use space only

 

Notes: 1 Level IA authority is for non-procurement personnel (any classification series) performing simplified acquisitions as a collateral or part-time duty.

2 Appointments may only be made to Federal employees.

3 COs are only required to sign obligations, i.e., funding being transferred to another agency, not agreements under which the Department receives funds.

4 A Region may only have one Level III COA unless the Bureau Procurement Chief approves a waiver.

 

1.11 Can a COA be transferred to another location?

 

A. If a CO is reassigned to another office or location within a Region, the existing COA is automatically suspended until the Chief, CGS/CFM documents the need for the COA at the new office or location. See section 1.9B for documentation requirements.

 

(1) In the Regions, the Chief, CGS sends the documentation to the Regional Director. After reviewing the need, the Regional Director may send a request to the Bureau Procurement Chief asking him/her to reinstate the COA.

 

(2) Section 1.11A above does not apply to employees promoted or reassigned to a new GS-1102 or 1105 series position within the same office.

 

B. If a COA is needed in a Region and the CO will be reassigned from a different Region within the Service, the Region needing the COA must first send an application to the Bureau Procurement Chief for approval. If approved, the Bureau Procurement Chief terminates the COA from the original Region and establishes a new COA in the Region requiring the CO. The COA does not transfer.

 

C. The Service does not recognize COAs that other bureaus or agencies issue.

D. At the request of a Regional Contracting Office Chief, the Bureau Procurement Chief may authorize an employee with a current COA to exercise his/her CO authority for up to 6 months at a duty station other than the one to which he/she normally reports.  This covers emergency situations and applies even if the new duty station is in a different Region.

 

1.12 What are the requirements for emergency COAs?

 

A. An emergency may require us to issue an emergency COA. An emergency is a situation that threatens danger to someone’s life or physical safety or to property (e.g., a forest fire). 

 

(1) When a Regional Contracting Office Chief identifies a need exists for an emergency COA beyond the Region’s boundaries, he/she must send a request to the Bureau Procurement Chief requesting authorization for an employee with an existing COA to exercise his/her authority at another location (see section 1.11D). 

 

(2) If a Regional Contracting Office Chief needs a new COA to cover an emergency, he/she must request a new COA that does not specify a location. The request must:

 

(a) Explain the nature of the emergency, and

 

(b) Specify the length of time that he/she needs the COA. 

 

B. In addition to the location exemption, emergency COAs are also exempt from the workload data requirements in section 1.9B(3).

 

C. The Bureau Procurement Chief will not issue an emergency COA to an employee who does not have a FAC-C certification. The dollar threshold of the COA must coincide with the FAC-C certificate level.

 

 

For information on the content of this chapter, contact the Division of Contracting and Facilities Management. For additional information about this Web site, contact Krista_Holloway, in the Division of Policy and Directives Management.  


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