Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)

The simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) is the dollar figure that separates two different procurement regimes. Below it, a buyer — a federal contracting officer or a non-federal entity spending federal award funds — can use streamlined, informal small-purchase procedures. At or above it, the buyer must switch to formal, competitively solicited procurement: sealed bidding or a full request-for-proposals process, with the added documentation that comes with it. The SAT sits above a lower figure, the micro-purchase threshold, which marks the point below which no competitive quotes are required at all.

The term originates in the Federal Acquisition Regulation, where it is defined at FAR 2.101 and governs how federal agencies buy directly as contracting parties. Research institutions encounter the same dollar figure and the same underlying logic from the other direction, as recipients spending federal grant funds: 2 CFR 200.1 adopts the FAR’s dollar amount by cross-reference, and 2 CFR 200.320 builds the same below-SAT/at-or-above-SAT split into the procurement methods a non-federal entity must follow under the Uniform Guidance.

Current threshold value

As of this writing, the general simplified acquisition threshold is $350,000, up from $250,000, effective October 1, 2025. The related micro-purchase threshold rose in the same adjustment, from $10,000 to $15,000. Both figures moved as part of a periodic, inflation-based review the FAR requires of many acquisition-related dollar thresholds on a roughly five-year cycle — these are not one-time increases, and the next scheduled review will move them again. Because these thresholds do change, verify the current figure directly against FAR 2.101 on acquisition.gov or the current 2 CFR 200.1 definitions before relying on a specific dollar amount for a real procurement decision, rather than treating any figure quoted here (or anywhere else) as permanently current.

The $350,000/$15,000 figures are the general SAT and micro-purchase threshold. FAR 2.101 also defines several higher, situation-specific SAT figures — for contracts awarded and performed, or purchases made, in support of a contingency operation, humanitarian or peacekeeping operation, or in response to a nuclear/biological/chemical/radiological attack — which are not covered by this page. Check FAR 2.101’s full definition directly if a purchase falls into one of those categories; the general figure above does not apply to them.

How crossing the SAT changes procurement

Dollar range	What applies
Below the micro-purchase threshold ($15,000)	No competitive quotes required; price must still be considered reasonable and documented as such.
Micro-purchase threshold up to the SAT ($15,000–$350,000)	Simplified acquisition procedures: quotes from an adequate number of qualified sources (FAR Part 13; 2 CFR 200.320(a)(2) for grant recipients), reduced synopsis/publicization requirements, faster timeline.
At or above the SAT ($350,000+)	Formal methods: sealed bidding (FAR Part 14) or competitive proposals/RFP (FAR Part 15) for direct federal contracts; sealed bids or competitive proposals under 2 CFR 200.320(b) for non-federal entities. A documented cost or price analysis and, per an independent government cost estimate, are expected before soliciting. Construction contracts above the SAT additionally trigger the bonding requirements at 2 CFR 200.326.

Two audiences, one number

It’s worth being explicit that the SAT governs two related but distinct compliance regimes, because research administrators most often meet it from the grant-recipient side rather than the federal-contracting side:

• Federal agencies as buyers: when an agency itself is procuring goods or services as a contracting party, the FAR is the governing regulation, and Part 13 (simplified acquisition procedures) versus Parts 14/15 (formal methods) is the operative split.
• Non-federal entities spending federal award funds: when a university, hospital, nonprofit, or state or tribal government spends federal grant or cooperative-agreement money on goods or services, 2 CFR 200 Subpart D (the Uniform Guidance procurement standards) governs instead, but it borrows the same dollar figure and the same below/above logic by cross-reference at 200.1.

These are separate compliance regimes with separate enforcement mechanisms — a FAR violation is a contracting matter between an agency and its contractor, while a Subpart D violation is a grants-compliance matter that surfaces in a single audit finding — but they share the same number, which is why the two are easy to conflate in practice.

Why it matters for research administration

For a sponsored-programs or procurement office, the SAT is one of the first numbers checked when scoping any equipment purchase, service contract, or construction project on federal funds: it determines how many vendor quotes are needed, whether a formal solicitation and public synopsis are required, how long the procurement timeline realistically runs, and what documentation (cost/price analysis, an independent government cost estimate, bonding for construction) must be on file before an award is made. Getting the threshold wrong in either direction is an audit-finding risk: using informal small-purchase procedures above the SAT is a compliance failure, and running an unnecessarily formal, months-long competitive solicitation for a purchase that qualified for simplified procedures wastes institutional time and staff capacity without any compliance benefit.

The SAT also interacts with how institutions choose a purchasing channel in the first place. A group purchasing organization (GPO) or purchasing cooperative contract, direct vendor negotiation, or a standing blanket purchase order can each satisfy the competition requirement differently depending on which side of the SAT a given purchase falls — worth confirming against the specific procurement method requirements rather than assuming any one channel automatically satisfies them.

Frequently asked questions

Is the simplified acquisition threshold the same as the micro-purchase threshold?

No. The micro-purchase threshold ($15,000) is the lower figure below which no competitive quotes are required at all. The SAT ($350,000) is the higher figure above which formal procurement methods are required. Simplified acquisition procedures apply in the range between the two.

Does 2 CFR 200 use a different simplified acquisition threshold than the FAR?

No — 2 CFR 200.1 defines the simplified acquisition threshold for Uniform Guidance purposes by cross-reference to the FAR’s own definition at 48 CFR 2.101, so the dollar figure moves in step with the FAR’s periodic inflation adjustments rather than being set independently.

Does crossing the SAT mean a purchase gets simpler paperwork?

The opposite. Below the SAT, a buyer may use simplified, informal procedures. At or above it, formal competitive methods and additional documentation — cost/price analysis, an independent cost estimate, bonding for construction — are required.

Can an institution split a purchase to stay under the SAT?

No. Both the FAR and 2 CFR 200 prohibit structuring or splitting a single requirement into smaller purchases specifically to avoid a higher-dollar procurement method; the relevant threshold is measured against the total anticipated value of the requirement, not any individual transaction.