DFARS Subpart 212.70, “Defense Commercial Solutions Opening,” implements the CSO authority at 10 U.S.C. § 3458 for the Department of Defense. It was added by DFARS Case 2022-D006 as a final rule effective January 31, 2023.
The subpart establishes the CSO as a competitive procedure for acquiring innovative commercial items, generally through fixed-price-type awards, and requires senior-procurement-executive approval and congressional notification for CSO contracts exceeding $100 million. It is the binding regulatory counterpart to the statutory authority and the DoD/GSA guides.