Acquisition Divisions

Contracting Authority

Delegation/Flow of Procurement Authority

• President delegates authority to Head of the Agency
• Head of the Agency delegates to the Procurement Executive (PE)
• PE delegates to the Head of the Contracting Office (HCO)
• HCO delegates to the Contracting Officer (CO)
• HCO delegates to the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR)

Actual Versus Apparent Authority

• Actual Authority is required to bind the Government
  • Who?? -- The Contracting Officer (CO)
  • How?? -- CO Warrant
  • A CO may delegate some of his/her authority to a designated representative (e.g., COTR) through an appointment letter or designation in the contract
  • A purchase card holder has the authority to bind the Government within the authority delegated to him/her
  
  
• Apparent Authority
  • Apparent authority is not real or actual authority
  • Contractor may be bound by its representative possessing apparent authority
  • Government is not similarly bound
  • The stricter requirements of actual authority apply! The Government is not bound by unauthorized acts of its agents