What is a federal subcontractor?
A federal subcontractor performs part of the work supporting a federal prime contract through an agreement with the prime contractor or another subcontractor. The federal agency is not normally the subcontractor's direct contractual counterparty for that work.
FAR 44.101 defines a subcontract broadly as a contract entered into to furnish supplies or services for performance of a prime contract or another subcontract. It defines subcontractor to include any supplier, distributor, vendor, or firm furnishing those supplies or services.
Subcontractor vs. prime contractor
A prime contractor receives an award directly from a federal agency. A subcontractor receives work from the prime or another subcontractor. One entity can occupy both roles on different awards, so the classification belongs to a specific relationship rather than the company in every context.
SAM registration also does not decide the role. A subcontractor may need only a UEI for certain reporting, may hold a full registration for other work, or may separately hold its own prime awards.
How subcontractors appear in public data
USAspending publishes reported subaward information that can connect a subawardee to a prime award. Those reports are the main public structured evidence of the relationship, but they do not cover every subcontract.
Reporting thresholds, tier rules, exceptions, and incomplete reporting mean absence from public subaward data is weak evidence. A reported subaward is useful positive evidence; no report should not be presented as proof that the entity never performed subcontract work.
Exclusion rules for prime contractors
FAR 9.405-2 prohibits contractors from entering certain subcontracts above $45,000 with a party that has an active exclusion record, unless there is a compelling reason. The rule excludes commercially available off-the-shelf item subcontracts from that prohibition and sets notification requirements through FAR 52.209-6.
The applicable contract, subcontract value, tier, item type, and incorporated clauses control the duty. A general subcontractor label does not establish which clause applies to a particular transaction.
How this registry classifies subcontractors
federal.contractors applies the Federal Subcontractor label when an entity appears as a subawardee in reported federal subaward data. Profiles preserve the distinction between observed prime awards, reported subawards, and SAM registration so one signal is not substituted for another.
Primary sources
Related terms