What is Section 889 and why am I being asked to complete the Section 889 form?

Read this first

DoD, GSA, and NASA issued an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232). Section 889(a)(1)(B) prohibits executive agencies from entering into, or extending or renewing, a contract with an entity that uses any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system, on or after August 13, 2020, unless an exception applies or a waiver is granted.

Now the answer to your question

Your customer or prospective client does business with the Government (one of these agencies) and is therefore subject to this rule about “any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system” – hence why they are asking you to answer these questions, so they can be in compliance.

More Resources

Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2020-08 published in the Federal Register on July 14, 2020.

The list of documents included in this FAC are as follows:

• Introduction
• FAR Case 2019-009, Prohibition on Contracting With Entities Using Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment; Interim rule; Effective: August 13, 2020.
• Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG)
• Section 889 Webinar Part I - September 10, 2020 (New)
• Section 889 Webinar Part II - September 10, 2020 (New)
• FAQs