What is the difference between FAR and DFARS?

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) are regulatory frameworks governing how the US Federal government and its defense agencies acquire goods and services:

• FAR is the primary set of rules governing federal government procurement across all agencies.
• It applies broadly across federal procurement.
• It establishes policies and procedures for acquisitions to promote efficiency, fairness and transparency.
• It covers topics such as contract formation, bidding, compliance, ethics and contract administration.
• DFARS is a supplement to FAR that provides additional regulations specifically for the Department of Defense (DoD):
• It applies specifically to DoD contracts, adding specialized requirements.
• It addresses DoD-specific requirements including security, cost accounting and special contract provisions tailored to defense needs.
• DFARS Clause 252.204-7012 is especially important because it mandates safeguarding Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and reporting cyber incidents, referencing NIST SP 800-171 to protect CUI.