Commercial Products & Services (Part 12)

FAR 52.212-2

Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services

Lists the non-price evaluation factors (e.g., technical capability, past performance, delivery) and states the relative importance of price versus non-price factors. The CO fills in the bracketed factors in the solicitation — offerors must respond to each factor exactly as written.

FAR / DFARS Part

FAR Part 12 — Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services

Prescribed By

FAR 12.301(c) — May be used in commercial solicitations when the Contracting Officer intends to make a tradeoff decision; the CO inserts the specific evaluation factors.

Flow-down to Subcontracts

Not flowed down. Used by the CO to evaluate competing offers.

What this clause requires

1Offerors must address every evaluation factor listed in the filled-in 52.212-2.
2The Government will evaluate offers and award to the responsible offeror whose offer represents the best value.
3Price is always an evaluation factor and must be reasonable.
4Past performance, if listed, is evaluated against recent and relevant prior contracts.

When this clause applies

Whenever the CO uses tradeoff procedures for a commercial buy and inserts this clause. If only price is the evaluation factor, the CO typically uses LPTA language or omits 52.212-2 entirely.

Common pitfalls

!Treating evaluation factors as suggestions rather than mandatory response sections — every factor must have a dedicated, clearly labeled section.

!Forgetting that 'reasonableness of price' is always evaluated even when not listed as a factor.

!Providing past-performance references that are not 'recent' (typically last 3 years) or 'relevant' (similar size, scope, complexity).

!Cross-referencing other volumes for technical content evaluators are not required to chase cross-references.

Proposal-team checklist

☐Mirror the filled-in evaluation factors in 52.212-2 as proposal volume/section headings.
☐Submit past-performance references with completed CPARS scores or client letters dated within last 36 months.
☐Make every page stand alone — assume evaluators read only the section they were assigned.
☐If price is 'approximately equal' in importance to non-price, prepare to win on technical strength, not just lowest price.

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FAQ

What does 'best value' mean here?

Under FAR 15.101-1 tradeoff procedures (applied to commercial buys via 52.212-2), best value means the Government may pay a price premium for superior technical/past-performance merit — but the source-selection authority must document the tradeoff.

If 52.212-2 lists Past Performance as a factor and I have no past performance, am I disqualified?

No. FAR 15.305(a)(2)(iv) — offerors without a record of relevant past performance must be evaluated as 'unknown' (neither favorable nor unfavorable). State this explicitly in your proposal.

Can I propose an alternative approach?

Only if the solicitation allows alternates. Many commercial solicitations require offers to be 'as specified.' Check 52.212-1 paragraph (e).

Related clauses

FAR 52.212-1

Instructions to Offerors — Commercial

FAR 52.215-1

Instructions to Offerors — Negotiated Acquisition

FAR 52.212-4

Contract Terms — Commercial

FAR 52.212-5

Statutes Required — Commercial

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Reference content based on the Federal Acquisition Regulation and DFARS as of June 2026. Always verify the current clause text at acquisition.gov before relying on it for an actual submission. Educational reference; not legal advice.