FAR 52.249-14 Excusable Delays: Bid-Day Contractor Checklist

By QuickBidSetup Editorial Team · Published October 30, 2026 · Sources linked below

When assembling bids for federal projects, trade contractors and prime builders face strict performance milestones. A critical safeguard against wrongful default findings is FAR 52.249-14 Excusable Delays. This clause outlines the specific circumstances where a contractor will not be considered in default if project progress stalls. Understanding how this provision operates during pre-bid risk reviews helps estimators account for schedule liabilities alongside standard items on a bid day checklist.

Checklist Step 1: Identify Where FAR 52.249-14 Applies

During bid review, estimators must verify the contract type and prescription terms under FAR 49.505(b). FAR 52.249-14 is inserted into solicitations and contracts for supplies, services, construction, and research and development on a fee basis whenever a cost-reimbursement contract is contemplated. It also belongs in time-and-material contracts and labor-hour contracts.

For construction contracts specifically, the clause carries an important wording modification: the words "completion time" substitute for "delivery schedule" in the final sentence. Tracking this modification ensures that schedule risk analysis aligns directly with contractual completion obligations.

Checklist Step 2: Screen the Cause Against the Core Standard

Under paragraph (a) of the clause, a contractor is shielded from default only if the failure arises from causes beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the contractor. The definition of default under this provision explicitly includes failing to make progress in the work so as to endanger performance. In every instance, both lack of fault or negligence and absence of control must exist simultaneously.

Checklist Step 3: Match Job Events to the Nine Listed Examples

Estimators should review project risk profiles against the specific examples detailed in FAR 52.249-14. When an unforeseen delay develops, contractors evaluate whether it matches one of these nine recognized categories:

• Acts of God or of the public enemy
• Acts of the Government in either its sovereign or contractual capacity
• Fires
• Floods
• Epidemics
• Quarantine restrictions
• Strikes
• Freight embargoes
• Unusually severe weather

Reviewing these categories alongside other federal protections—such as terms governing differing site conditions—gives bidding teams a complete picture of schedule exposure.

Checklist Step 4: Verify Subcontractor Tier Fault and Alternative Sources

Delays stemming from lower tiers require a strict three-part evaluation. Paragraph (b) states that if the failure to perform is caused by the failure of a subcontractor at any tier to perform or make progress, the prime is not deemed in default only if the root cause was beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of both the contractor and the subcontractor.

However, the contractor will still be considered in default if all three of the following conditions occur:

1. The subcontracted supplies or services were obtainable from other sources;
2. The Contracting Officer ordered the contractor in writing to purchase these supplies or services from the other source; and
3. The contractor failed to comply reasonably with this order.

Estimators reviewing critical material lead times or specialty subcontract packages must factor in whether secondary supply channels exist if a primary vendor fails.

Checklist Step 5: Follow the Contracting Officer Schedule Revision Process

Protection under the clause is not automatic. Paragraph (c) requires positive action: upon request of the contractor, the Contracting Officer shall ascertain the facts and extent of the failure. If the Contracting Officer determines that any failure to perform results from one or more of the qualifying causes, the delivery schedule (or completion time on construction jobs) shall be revised.

This adjustment remains subject to the rights of the Government under the contract termination clause. Having clear jobsite logs ready to submit when requesting an evaluation is essential for securing schedule relief.

Sources

52.249-14 Excusable Delays. | Acquisition.GOV

Published October 30, 2026. No affiliate links on this page. Facts come from the sources linked above; check them for updates.