FAR Part 37 (Simplified) | Define Service Results and Who Directs the Work

This guide explains FAR Part 37 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR): Service Contracting.

Watch the FAR Part 37 lesson

Start with the result

Your proposal offers experienced people and thousands of labor hours. What result will the Government receive, and how will anyone know the service is acceptable? We will connect required results, measurable standards, performance evidence, and the boundaries for directing contractor personnel.

Understand what FAR Part 37 covers

FAR Part 37 addresses service contracting, including different service arrangements and performance-based acquisition. A service requirement can involve recurring operations, specialized support, or defined outputs. The contract's actual terms determine the commitment. Read the work statement and evaluation together: the qualifications you propose should support the result you must deliver. A staffing chart can explain your approach, but it does not replace the performance obligation or the acceptance standard.

Connect the PWS, standards, and surveillance

FAR 37.602 addresses the performance work statement, or PWS. To the maximum extent practicable, agencies describe required results and enable assessment against measurable standards. FAR 37.604 addresses quality assurance surveillance plans and connects them with FAR Subpart 46.4. Separate the contractor's quality-control practices from the Government's surveillance and acceptance responsibilities. FAR 37.104 also addresses personal services: relatively continuous Government supervision and control can create an employer-employee relationship, and personal services require specific statutory authorization. Ordinary direction about a required result is not automatically the same thing as supervising contractor employees as Government staff.

Check the applicable framework

This lesson uses the codified FAR text displayed on Acquisition.gov. Check the applicable agency deviation and your solicitation or contract before applying a section. An overhaul model is not automatically the text your agency has implemented. Keep the source, effective date, and solicitation amendment with your decision record.

A hypothetical example

Imagine a contractor supporting preventive maintenance at a federal facility. Its proposal emphasizes technician headcount but says little about completed maintenance records. The team maps each required service to its due date, performance standard, evidence, and responsible supervisor. It explains how the contractor assigns personnel and controls quality while supporting the Government's review of results. If the work statement is unclear, it asks a focused question before treating its preferred process as the contract requirement.

Avoid the shortcut

Do not invent performance percentages and present them as FAR requirements. Use the standards in the solicitation or contract, and label any proposed enhancement clearly. Avoid informal arrangements in which Government personnel continually direct individual contractor employees beyond the permitted structure. Bring supervision concerns to the contracting officer and your management team. Customer satisfaction matters, but a friendly working relationship does not rewrite the contract or authorize additional work.

Try this exercise

Build a service-results matrix with the required output, applicable standard, measurement method, evidence, contractor owner, and Government review point. Add the process for handling a missed standard or changed need. Have delivery and contracts review the same sample work record so both understand what demonstrates completion. Your takeaway is to make the service measurable and the responsibility boundaries clear before performance turns those assumptions into daily habits.

Turn the lesson into an operating decision

Use the worksheet with one current opportunity or contract. Save the documents reviewed and identify the person responsible for closing each open issue. Separate a regulatory requirement from a GovSuccess preparation practice, and record the evidence behind the business decision. A polished response should not conceal an unresolved assumption.

Official sources

Source check: November 2, 2026. The codified Acquisition.gov pages reviewed display FAC 2026-01, effective March 13, 2026. Check applicable agency deviations and the actual solicitation or contract.

Build your readiness baseline

Explore GovAssessment for a structured business-readiness baseline based on your answers. It does not certify compliance or guarantee an award.

General education, not legal or tax advice. Browse all FAR summaries.