Three dollar ceilings move when a declaration is in place: the Micro-Purchase Threshold (MPT) and Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) on the FAR Part 13 (noncommercial) side, plus the FAR Part 12 commercial procedure ceiling. The numbers are real, but they do not move automatically. A declaration has to exist, and the head of the agency has to determine that the supplies or services support the declared operation. Without that, you are at standard thresholds, even if the situation feels urgent.
Four trigger categories live in FAR 18.201 and FAR 18.202. Each one requires a specific kind of declaration or determination before any threshold moves. The agency-head determination tying a specific buy to that declaration is a separate step on top.
Defined at 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(13). A military operation either designated by the Secretary of Defense as one with armed forces in actions, operations, or hostilities, OR an operation that results in a call to active duty of uniformed service members under specific authorities during a war or declared national emergency. This is the most common deployed-CCO trigger.
Defense against or recovery from cyber, nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack. The threshold expansion is tied to a determination that the supplies or services are being used to facilitate that defense or recovery. The declaration text and scope drive what counts as in-scope.
A Presidential declaration of an emergency or major disaster under the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is the trigger for FAR 18.202 expansion of MPT and SAT, and for the Part 12 commercial procedure ceiling jump. Without that Presidential declaration, the thresholds do not move for a domestic incident.
A request from the Secretary of State or the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to facilitate provision of international disaster assistance under 22 U.S.C. 2292 et seq. Same gate logic: the request has to exist, and the supplies or services have to support the response.
Three thresholds, two columns, one table. Numbers verified against the current FAR at acquisition.gov. Cite the regulation, not this page. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council updates these, and the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) keeps shifting where things live.
| Threshold | Standard (no declaration) | Inside U.S. (CONUS) | Outside U.S. (OCONUS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro-Purchase Threshold (MPT) FAR 2.101 · 13.201(g) | $15,000 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) FAR 2.101 | $350,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Commercial procedure ceiling FAR Part 12 | $9,000,000 | $15,000,000 (no CONUS / OCONUS split for this one) | |
| Humanitarian / peacekeeping SAT FAR 18.204 · 2.101 | $350,000 | (no domestic increase) | $650,000 |
Three patterns to avoid. The first one is the teaching point that almost every new CCO has to hear out loud at least once.
A tornado hitting your facility is a real problem. It is also not, by itself, a declaration. The MPT and SAT do not move because of weather. They move when the President declares a major disaster or emergency under the Stafford Act, OR when the Secretary of Defense designates a contingency operation, OR when one of the other FAR 18.202 triggers is in place. Without the declaration, you are still at $15,000 / $350,000.
Even when the declaration is in place, FAR 2.101 says the higher threshold applies only when the head of the agency determines the supplies or services are to be used to support the declared operation. The contracting officer is not the head of the agency. The determination is a separate step. Document that the buy is in support of the declared operation before you cite the higher number.
The CONUS number applies inside the United States. The OCONUS number applies outside. They are not interchangeable. A buy executed at a CONUS installation in support of an OCONUS operation rides the CONUS ceiling unless a specific authority says otherwise. Read the place-of-performance language in FAR 2.101 carefully.
For stateside Stafford Act declarations, FEMA publishes a clean list. For overseas contingency operations, there is no public repository the deploying CCO can rely on. The contingency determination flows down through a delegation memo from your local Senior Contracting Official (SCO). When you are unsure whether a buy supports a contingency, route it up the chain until it is on paper.
Authoritative current list of Presidential emergency and major disaster declarations under the Stafford Act. Filterable by state, year, and declaration type. This is what answers "is the President's declaration in place for this incident yet?" If the page does not show your incident, the FAR 18.202 / 18.203 thresholds have not moved for it.
There is no public repository of currently designated contingency operations that a deploying CCO can use as authority. The determination flows down from your local Senior Contracting Official (SCO) as a delegation memo. If you do not have it on paper, you do not have it. Route the question up the chain and keep routing until somebody signs.