FAR 52.204-25, fully explained.

FAR 52.204-25 is the contract clause that turns Section 889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) into an obligation a contractor signs up to at the moment of award. The clause is dated November 2021 in its current form and is prescribed by FAR 4.2105(b) for all solicitations and contracts, including those for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services.

It is a clause, not a representation. The representation that goes alongside it is FAR 52.204-24 (per-offer) and FAR 52.204-26 (annual SAM rep). The substantive prohibition lives in the clause; the certifications live in the companions.

Covered telecommunications equipment or services

Telecommunications equipment or services produced by Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hangzhou Hikvision, or Dahua, plus subsidiaries and affiliates, plus any entity reasonably believed to be owned, controlled by, or otherwise connected to a covered foreign country (currently the People's Republic of China).

Substantial or essential component

Any component necessary for the proper function or performance of a piece of equipment, system, or service.

Critical technology

Cross-references statutory definitions in the Export Control Reform Act and the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act. In practice: certain controlled defense articles, nuclear material, select agents.

Reasonable inquiry

A records-based inquiry into what the entity has in its possession about the producer or provider of covered telecom. Explicitly excludes the need for an internal or third-party audit (FAR 4.2101).

For the named-manufacturer enumeration and the operational hardware-screening side, see the Section 889 check page. This page is the legal and clause-mechanics layer. The two complement each other.

The single most useful distinction nobody on the SERP draws cleanly: each instrument has a different lifecycle role. Conflating them is how primes end up flowing the wrong document, missing the SAM annual rep, or treating the clause as a one-time attestation.

52.204-24 (provision)

Per-offer instrument. Inserted in solicitations only (FAR 4.2105(a)(1)). Requires the offeror to make two yes/no representations and, if either is "will provide" or "does use," to complete a structured disclosure under paragraph (e). Does not flow down.

52.204-25 (clause)

Post-award contractual obligation. Inserted in all solicitations and all contracts (FAR 4.2105(b)). Imposes the substantive prohibition and the flow-down requirement at paragraph (e). This is the load-bearing instrument.

52.204-26 (representation)

Annual representation in SAM.gov. Inserted in all solicitations (FAR 4.2105(a)(3)) and confirmed yearly through the SAM reps and certs cycle. Two checkboxes plus a "reasonable inquiry" preface added in the July 2020 interim rule.

52.204-24(d) requires two representations. First: the offeror represents that it "will" or "will not" provide covered telecommunications equipment or services to the government in the performance of any contract resulting from the solicitation. Second: the offeror represents that, after conducting a reasonable inquiry, it "does" or "does not" use covered equipment or services anywhere in its operations.

The "After conducting a reasonable inquiry for purposes of this representation" preface was added in the July 14, 2020 interim rule (85 FR 42679). It is not optional language. An offeror who checks "does not" without conducting a reasonable inquiry has made a misrepresentation, and the government can pursue the consequences any false certification carries.

52.204-26 mirrors the second representation in the SAM annual reps. Two checkboxes: do you provide covered telecom; do you use covered telecom. Same reasonable-inquiry preface applies.

The flow-down obligation lives at 52.204-25(e). The prime must insert "the substance of this clause, including paragraph (e)," in all subcontracts, task orders, and other contractual instruments, including subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services. The exclusion in paragraph (e) is narrow: paragraph (b)(2) (the actual prohibition language directed at the federal government) is omitted because the sub is not contracting with the government.

A second, independent path reinforces this: FAR 52.244-6(c)(1)(vii)lists 52.204-25 as a mandatory flow-down clause for commercial-item subcontracts, citing "Section 889(a)(1)(A) of Pub. L. 115-232." If a prime drafts a commercial-item subcontract and forgets the substance of 52.204-25, both the clause itself and 52.244-6 are violated.

What flows down

The substance of 52.204-25, including paragraph (e). The prime is not free to soften the language. Substantive equivalent only.

What does NOT flow down

52.204-24 is a provision aimed at the offeror in a federal solicitation. It does not flow to subs. A prime who flows 52.204-24 instead of 52.204-25 has made a drafting error.

Commercial items

No exemption. Paragraph (e) names commercial products and commercial services explicitly, and 52.244-6(c)(1)(vii) reaffirms.

Lower tiers

The substance must flow to every tier. There is no "tier-1 only" exception. The prime is responsible for ensuring its own subs flow it onward.

The verbatim definition at FAR 4.2101 is the controlling text: "An inquiry designed to uncover any information in the entity's possession about the identity of the producer or provider of covered telecommunications equipment or services used by the entity that excludes the need to include an internal or third-party audit."

Two parts of that sentence carry the weight. "In the entity's possession" frames the duty as records-based: the offeror is being asked what it can determine from materials it already has. "Excludes the need to include an internal or third-party audit" was added by the FAR Council in the 2020 interim rule to bound the burden, after industry comments warned that an open-ended inquiry would force every contractor to commission a third-party supply-chain audit before signing every solicitation.

What qualifies

Asset inventory review (network gear, video surveillance), purchase order and invoice review, OEM disclosures, supplier representations and confirmations, OUI and MAC-address inspection on networking equipment, cross-referencing prior SAM reps.

What is NOT required

Forensic device teardown, forced third-party supply-chain audit, foreign-ownership investigation of every supplier, real-time SCAP scans across the enterprise.

DiligenceDesk fits naturally into the records-based side: the orchestrator runs the SAM, FAPIIS, exclusions, hardware OUI registry, and ITA Consolidated Screening List queries that a reasonable inquiry would otherwise involve manually. See the methodology page for the full source matrix and verdict ladder this evidence feeds into.

FAR Subpart 4.21 contains the rules that turn the statute into procurement workflow. Six sections, each doing one job:

4.2100 Scope

States the subpart implements Section 889(a)(1)(A) and (a)(1)(B). Sets the boundary of what the rest covers.

4.2101 Definitions

The controlling definitions of "covered telecommunications equipment or services," "covered foreign country" (currently the PRC), "substantial or essential component," "critical technology," and "reasonable inquiry."

4.2102 Prohibition

The substantive ban. Two effective dates: August 13, 2019 for executive-agency procurement (Part A); August 13, 2020 for entering into or renewing contracts with entities that use covered telecom (Part B). Two narrow exceptions: third-party connections (backhaul, roaming, interconnection) and equipment that cannot route or redirect user data or permit packet visibility. See FAR 4.2102.

4.2103 Procedures

The post-award reporting clock. Within one business day of identifying covered equipment in a contractor's system, the contractor must report to the contracting officer; within ten business days, a follow-up plan to remove the equipment.

4.2104 Waivers

The agency-head waiver mechanism. Time-limited, must be reported to Congress, narrowly granted. Most contractors will never see one in practice.

4.2105 Solicitation provision and contract clause prescription

Where each instrument gets inserted: 52.204-24 in solicitations (per-offer), 52.204-25 in solicitations and contracts (post-award + flow-down), 52.204-26 in solicitations as the SAM annual rep.

• Checking "does not" on 52.204-26 without conducting a reasonable inquiry. The annual rep is a False Claims Act surface. The reasonable-inquiry preface in the clause language is enforceable, not aspirational.
• Flowing down 52.204-24 instead of 52.204-25. 52.204-24 is a provision for offerors in federal solicitations; subs are not bidding into a federal solicitation. The drafted-up flow-down is 52.204-25 (the clause). Some commercial-subcontract templates still get this wrong.
• Softening "the substance of this clause" in subcontracts. Paragraph (e) requires substantive equivalence. A prime that strips the inquiry language or the prohibition to make the clause more palatable to a sub has not flowed it down.
• Missing the FAR 4.2103 one-business-day report.Discovery triggers the clock. Plan for who at the contractor calls the contracting officer; do not let the discovery sit on a network manager's desk waiting for counsel review.
• Treating commercial-item subcontracts as exempt. They are not. 52.204-25(e) and 52.244-6(c)(1)(vii) both reach commercial items. The narrow statutory exceptions live at FAR 4.2102 and apply uniformly, not by contract type.

Where DiligenceDesk fits: the orchestrator runs the records-based portion of a reasonable inquiry across SAM.gov, the Section 889 hardware OUI registry, and the rest of the source matrix in the verdict ladder this evidence feeds into. For sub vetting specifically, see Section 889 vendor screening and the broader pre-award workflow in Step 5 of the diligence checklist.