FAR 52.203-13 — Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct
Requires federal contractors with contracts over $6M and 120-day performance to maintain a written code of ethics, training program, internal reporting mechanism, and disclosure to the agency Inspector General of credible evidence of fraud, bribery, or False Claims Act violations.
When This Clause Applies
Required in contracts and subcontracts exceeding $6M with performance over 120 days. Small business exemption applies for some elements but not the disclosure requirement.
What This Means for Contractors
Contractors must: (1) maintain a written ethics code distributed to all employees; (2) provide ethics training; (3) maintain a hotline or other reporting mechanism; (4) discipline violators; (5) self-disclose credible evidence of fraud/bribery/FCA violations or significant overpayments to the agency IG. Failure to disclose can independently trigger debarment.
Common Pitfalls
- 1Treating the ethics program as a one-time write-up rather than an ongoing program
- 2Not training new employees within reasonable time
- 3Failing to self-disclose credible fraud findings (treating it as discretionary)
- 4Inadequate hotline/reporting confidentiality
Related Topics
Continue Your Research
NAICS 518210 — Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services
Find federal contracts under NAICS 518210. Common agencies, set-asides, contract values.
NAICS 541330 — Engineering Services
Find federal contracts under NAICS 541330. Common agencies, set-asides, contract values.
Browse Full FAR Clause Library
All FAR and DFARS clauses we've documented with plain-English summaries.
GovCon Compliance Blog
Latest guidance on FAR/DFARS updates, CMMC, NIST 800-171, and capture strategy.
Need help complying with FAR 52.203-13?
Aliff helps GovCon firms map clause requirements to deliverables, build compliance evidence, and respond to CO inquiries with confidence.