[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 48, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 48CFR11.103]

[Page 173-174]
 
            TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM
 
                CHAPTER 1--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION
 
PART 11_DESCRIBING AGENCY NEEDS--Table of Contents
 
      Subpart 11.1_Selecting and Developing Requirements Documents
 
Sec.  11.103  Market acceptance.

    (a) Section 8002(c) of Pub. L. 103-355 provides that, in accordance 
with agency procedures, the head of an agency may, under appropriate 
circumstances, require offerors to demonstrate that the items offered--
    (1) Have either--
    (i) Achieved commercial market acceptance; or
    (ii) Been satisfactorily supplied to an agency under current or 
recent contracts for the same or similar requirements; and
    (2) Otherwise meet the item description, specifications, or other 
criteria prescribed in the public notice and solicitation.
    (b) Appropriate circumstances may, for example, include situations 
where the agency's minimum need is for an item that has a demonstrated 
reliability, performance or product support record in a specified 
environment. Use of market acceptance is inappropriate when new or 
evolving items may meet the agency's needs.
    (c) In developing criteria for demonstrating that an item has 
achieved

[[Page 174]]

commercial market acceptance, the contracting officer shall ensure the 
criteria in the solicitation--
    (1) Reflect the minimum need of the agency and are reasonably 
related to the demonstration of an item's acceptability to meet the 
agency's minimum need;
    (2) Relate to an item's performance and intended use, not an 
offeror's capability;
    (3) Are supported by market research;
    (4) Include consideration of items supplied satisfactorily under 
recent or current Government contracts, for the same or similar items; 
and
    (5) Consider the entire relevant commercial market, including small 
business concerns.
    (d) Commercial market acceptance shall not be used as a sole 
criterion to evaluate whether an item meets the Government's 
requirements.
    (e) When commercial market acceptance is used, the contracting 
officer shall document the file to--
    (1) Describe the circumstances justifying the use of commercial 
market acceptance criteria; and
    (2) Support the specific criteria being used.