Government Contracting Acronyms

 Federal government contracting has a language of its own. Whether you’re preparing your first GSA Schedule offer or managing an existing contract, you’ll run into a steady stream of acronyms, from FAR and GSAR to SAM, UEI, SIN, and TDR. For businesses new to selling to the government, this shorthand can make solicitations, contract modifications, and GSA communications hard to follow. Knowing what these terms mean is one of the first steps toward competing successfully in the federal marketplace.

At the center of it all for many companies is the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), a long-term, government-wide contract that lets federal agencies, and in some cases state and local governments, buy commercial products and services at pre-negotiated prices. Getting on a GSA Schedule means working through requirements like Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) disclosures, Trade Agreements Act (TAA) compliance, and registration in the System for Award Management (SAM). Once you hold a contract, ongoing obligations such as Transactional Data Reporting (TDR), catalog updates in the FAS Catalog Platform (FCP), and CPARS performance reviews bring even more terminology. Contractors pursuing other vehicles, including VA Federal Supply Schedules (FSS), OASIS+, and NASA SEWP, will find their own sets of acronyms as well.

To help, The Gormley Group has compiled this glossary of the government contracting acronyms our GSA Schedule consultants encounter most often. It covers key agencies, regulations, contract vehicles, small business programs, and compliance terms, along with notes on legacy systems like DUNS, CCR, and FedBizOpps that have since been replaced. Bookmark this page as a quick reference, and if you have questions about what any of these terms mean for your GSA or VA Schedule, our team is here to help.

An A-Z Federal Government Acronym Directory

• AAS – Assisted Acquisition Services
• ACO – Administrative Contracting Officer
• AIMS – Advertising and Integrated Marketing Solutions
• ANC – Alaska Native Corporation
• BAA – Buy American Act
• BAFO – Best and Final Offer
• BLS – Bureau of Labor Statistics
• BOA – Basis of Award
• BPA – Blanket Purchase Agreement
• CAGE Code – Commercial and Government Entity Code
• CAP – Corrective Action Plan
• CAS – Cost Accounting Standards
• CAV – Contractor Assessment Visit
• CCA – Contract Compliance Analyst
• CCR – Central Contractor Registration (moved to SAM)
• CDM – Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation
• CFR – Code of Federal Regulations
• CID – Central Intake Desk
• CISA – Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
• CMAS – California Multiple Award Schedules
• CO (or KO) – Contracting Officer
• COO – Country of Origin
• COMSATCOM – Commercial Satellite Communications
• COTS – Commercial Off-The-Shelf
• CPARS – Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System
• CS – Contract Specialist
• CSP – Commercial Sales Practices
• CTA – Contractor Teaming Arrangement
• D&B – Dun & Bradstreet
• DAPA – Distribution and Pricing Agreement
• DAR – Defense Acquisition Regulation
• DFARS – Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement
• DHS – Department of Homeland Security
• DLA – Defense Logistics Agency
• DOD – Department of Defense
• DOJ – Department of Justice
• DoR – Dealer of Record
• DOT – Department of Transportation
• DPAS – Defense Priorities and Allocations System
• DUNS – Data Universal Numbering System
• EDI – Electronic Data Interchange
• EDWOSB – Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business
• EEO – Equal Employment Opportunity
• EFT – Electronic Funds Transfer
• EPA – Economic Price Adjustment
• EPEAT – Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool
• EPLS – Excluded Parties List System (now in SAM)
• ERM – Electronic Records Management
• eSRS – Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System
• ETS – Essentially the Same
• EULA – End-User License Agreement
• FAI – Federal Acquisition Institute
• FAR – Federal Acquisition Regulation
• FAS – Federal Acquisition Service
• FBO – Federal Business Opportunities (also known as FedBizOpps – replaced by SAM)
• FCP – FAS Catalog Platform
• FEMP – Federal Energy Management Program
• FM QSMO – Financial Management Quality Service Management Office
• FOB – Free On Board (also called Freight On Board)
• FOIA – Freedom of Information Act
• FPDS – Federal Procurement Data System
• FPI – Federal Prison Industries (also known as UNICOR)
• FPR – Final Proposal Revision
• FPT – Formatted Product Tool
• FSC – Federal Supply Class
• FSS – Federal Supply Schedule
• FSSI – Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative
• FTA – Free Trade Agreement
• FY – Fiscal Year
• GAO – Government Accountability Office
• GBL – Government Bill of Lading
• GEOINT – Geospatial Intelligence
• GIS – Geographic Information Systems
• GPA – Government Procurement Agreement
• GSA – General Services Administration
• GSAM – General Services Administration Manual
• GSAR – General Services Acquisition Regulation
• GWAC – Government Wide Acquisition Contract
• HACS – Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services
• HCaTS – Human Capital and Training Solutions
• HHS – Department of Health and Human Services
• HRLOB – Human Resources Line of Business
• HSPD – Homeland Security Presidential Directive
• HUBZone – Historically Underutilized Business Zone
• IAW – In Accordance With
• IBR – Incorporated By Reference
• IDIQ – Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity
• IFF – Industrial Funding Fee
• IOA – Industrial Operations Analyst
• IPS – Identity Protection Services
• ISR – Individual Subcontracting Report
• ITAR – International Traffic in Arms Regulations
• JWOD – Javits-Wagner-O’Day Program
• LOS – Letter of Supply
• LPTA – Lowest Price Technically Acceptable
• MAC – Multi Agency Contract
• MAP – Minimum Advertised Price
• MAS – Multiple Award Schedule
• MFC – Most Favored Customer
• MiA – Made in America
• MOBIS – Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services
• MOT – Maximum Order Threshold
• MPT – Micro-purchase Threshold
• NAC – National Acquisition Center
• NAFTA – North American Free Trade Agreement
• NAICS – North American Industry Classification Standard
• NARA – National Archives and Records Administration
• NDAA – National Defense Authorization Act
• NIB – National Industries for the Blind
• NISH – National Industries for the Severely Handicapped
• NMR – Non-Manufacturer Rule
• OASIS – One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services
• OCONUS – Outside Continental United States
• ODC – Other Direct Costs
• OIG – Office of Inspector General
• OLM – Order Level Materials
• OMB – Office of Management and Budget
• OPM – Office of Personnel Management
• ORCA – Online Representations and Certifications Application (now in SAM)
• OSDBU – Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
• OTA – Other Transaction Authority
• OTS – Off-the-Shelf
• PACS – Physical Access Control Systems
• PBS – Public Buildings Service
• PCO – Procurement Contracting Officer
• PES – Professional Engineering Services
• PIV – Personal Identification Verification (Federal)
• PKI – Public Key Infrastructure
• PO – Purchase Order
• PPIRS – Past Performance Information Retrieval System
• PRC – Price Reduction Clause
• PSC – Product and Service Codes
• PSS – Professional Services Schedule
• PTAC – Procurement Technical Assistance Center
• PWS – Performance Work Statement
• QAP – Quality Assurance Plan
• RFI – Request for Information
• RFP – Request for Proposal
• RFQ – Request for Quote
• SAM – System for Award Management
• SAT – Simplified Acquisition Threshold
• SBA – Small Business Administration
• SBDC – Small Business Development Center
• SBIR – Small Business Innovation Research
• SCA – Service Contract Act
• SCLS – Service Contract Labor Standards
• SDVOSB – Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
• SEWP – Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement
• SIC – Standard Industrial Classification
• SIN – Special Item Number
• SIP – Schedule Input Program
• SOW – Statement of Work
• SRP – Sales Reporting Portal
• SSQ – Schedule Sales Query
• SSR – Summary Subcontracting Report
• STTR – Small Business Technology Transfer
• SUBK – Subcontracting
• T&C – Terms and Conditions
• TAA – Trade Agreements Act
• TAPS – Temporary Administrative & Professional Staffing Services
• TDR – Transactional Data Reporting
• TO – Task Order
• TXMAS – Texas Multiple Award Schedule
• UEI – Unique Entity Identifier
• USC – United States Code
• USDA – United States Department of Agriculture
• VA – Department of Veterans Affairs
• VAMC – Veterans Affairs Medical Center
• VISN – Veterans Integrated Services Network
• VOSB – Veteran-Owned Small-Business
• VSC – Vendor Support Center
• WAWF – Wide Area Workflow
• WD – Wage Determination
• WDOL – Wage Determination On-Line
• WOSB – Woman-Owned Small Business
• WTO – World Trade Organization
• 4PL – Fourth-Party Logistics

The Gormley Group (TGG) is a government contracts consulting company with unparalleled government contracting domain expertise. TGG consultants and management team have over 350 years of accumulated contracting knowledge and have provided our services to thousands of businesses of all sizes. We provide offer preparation, compliance and contract management support for GSA/VA Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) and other federal and state contracting vehicles such as OASIS+, SEWP, 2GIT BPA, CMAS, TXMAS and US Communities. TGG is proud that the majority of our business is referrals which come from all areas of industry and government and we were named an Inc. Magazine Business to Business Power Partner Award Winner.