The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) is the government-wide system for documenting and tracking contractor performance on federal contracts. Every assessment entered into CPARS becomes part of a contractor's Past Performance Information (PPI), available to source selection officials on future competitive acquisitions through the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS).

The system exists because the government has a legitimate interest in knowing how contractors perform before awarding them new work. An accurate, consistent record of contractor behavior across agencies helps acquisition officials make better decisions. It benefits the government as a whole, not just the office that wrote the evaluation.

The authority for CPARS comes from FAR Subpart 42.15. For DoD, DFARS Subpart 242.15 adds additional requirements. Note that the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (effective April 2026) removed the phrase "for future source selection purposes" from Part 42, meaning agencies are now directed to use past performance information across the entire acquisition lifecycle — not just in source selections. See Section 8 for current developments.

FAR 42.1502 establishes mandatory thresholds. These apply to contracts and orders, not just base contracts. A task order or delivery order that meets the threshold on its own requires an evaluation even if the underlying IDIQ does not.

Annual evaluations are due within 120 days of the end of each performance period. Completion evaluations are due within 120 days of contract completion. Missing these deadlines is a compliance issue.

FAR 42.1503 requires evaluations to address five standard assessment areas. Each factor must be rated separately. An overall rating is also required.

Not every factor applies to every contract. Cost Control is marked "Not Applicable" on firm-fixed-price contracts. Small Business Subcontracting only applies when a subcontracting plan exists.

The standard CPARS five-level rating scale is defined in FAR 42.1503(h). Each rating has a specific regulatory meaning. Know what you are assigning before you assign it.

Narratives are not optional. Whatever rating you assign, support it with specific documented examples. Cite the milestone, the issue, the date, the outcome. A rating without narrative support does not hold up under review.

Once the CO submits the evaluation in CPARS, the contractor has 14 calendar days to review and submit written comments. These comments become part of the permanent record. The contractor cannot change your rating, but they can respond to it.

After the comment period closes, the assessment is finalized. If the contractor raises new documented facts you weren't aware of, consider them. If they simply disagree with an accurate rating, the rating stands.

Past performance is one of the most common evaluation factors in competitive acquisitions. Source selection evaluators pull CPARS records from PPIRS when evaluating past performance. Most records are retained for 3 years after final payment; construction and A-E records for 6 years.

The same applies in reverse. If a contractor genuinely performed at an Exceptional level and you rated them Satisfactory, you have harmed a contractor who earned better. They may lose future competitions to less capable competitors because their record understates their performance.

The most consistent problem in contractor performance assessments is grade inflation. COs and CORs inflate ratings to avoid conflict, to avoid the documentation burden, or because the overall relationship felt positive even when specific areas fell short.

It is not your job to reward a contractor for being pleasant. It is not your job to protect a contractor's reputation from an accurate record. Your job is to document what happened on your contract, accurately and specifically, so the next CO can make an informed decision.

Several changes are active or pending that affect how CPARS is used. The rating scale (Exceptional/Very Good/Satisfactory/Marginal/Unsatisfactory) and the five-factor structure remain in effect as of this writing.

SAT change (in effect Oct 1, 2025): The Simplified Acquisition Threshold increased from $250,000 to $350,000. Since the general CPARS applicability threshold is tied to the SAT, the new floor for required evaluations on most contracts is $350,000. The construction threshold ($750K) and A-E threshold ($35K) remain unchanged.

FAR Part 42 overhaul (in effect April 2026): The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul removed the phrase "for future source selection purposes" from Part 42. This is a meaningful shift. Agencies are now directed to use past performance information across the full acquisition lifecycle — option year decisions, award fee determinations, and other contract administration actions — not just when evaluating new proposals. Your CPARS assessments have broader reach than before.

Negative-events model (pending Congress): Both the FY2026 NDAA deliberations and the broader CPARS overhaul discussions have included proposals to replace or supplement the five-level scale with a negative-events-only model. Under that proposal, contractors would receive a score derived entirely from documented failures — defective products, delinquent deliveries, defective pricing, false claims, cybersecurity incidents — rather than an evaluative narrative. This model has not yet been enacted into law. The five-level rating scale remains the operative standard.