SF 30: Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract Explained

SF 30 is the federal Standard Form titled “Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract.” It is the form a contracting officer uses to amend a solicitation before award and to modify a contract after award. This guide sets out, from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) text itself, which actions must use the form, which may use it, and how the unilateral versus bilateral distinction maps onto it. It is a contract form, not a grants form; research offices meet it when a federal contract (rather than a grant or cooperative agreement) is amended.

What SF 30 is and who runs it

As described on the official GSA forms library page on 2026-10-29, the form is numbered SF30, carries the title “Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract,” shows a current revision date of 11/2016, and cites FAR (48 CFR) 53.243 as its authority. The form’s use is governed by the FAR.

FAR 53.243 lists where the form is prescribed: amending invitations for bids (FAR 14.208), modifying contracts (FAR 42.1203(h), 43.301, 49.602-5 and elsewhere), and, as the same section says, it “may also be used to amend solicitations for negotiated contracts, as specified in 15.210.” For the negotiated-procurement side, see the guide to FAR Part 15 contracting by negotiation.

When SF 30 is required

FAR 43.301(a)(1), as published on acquisition.gov and checked on 2026-10-29 (FAC 2026-01, effective 2026-03-13), says the SF 30 “shall” be used, except for the optional uses described below and actions processed under FAR Part 15, for six kinds of action:

1. Any amendment to a solicitation.
2. Change orders issued under the Changes clause of the contract.
3. Any other unilateral modification issued under a contract clause that authorizes it without the consent of the contractor.
4. Administrative changes, such as correcting typographical mistakes, changing the paying office, or changing accounting and appropriation data.
5. Supplemental agreements (see FAR 43.103).
6. Removal, reinstatement, or addition of funds to a contract.

Note the Part 15 exception: actions processed under Part 15 fall outside this paragraph, and FAR 53.243 separately points to FAR 15.210 for amending negotiated solicitations.

When use is optional

FAR 43.301(a)(2) makes the SF 30 optional for three situations: modifications that change the price of petroleum contracts through economic price adjustment, termination notices, and purchase order modifications under FAR 13.302-3. In those cases the contracting officer may use the form but is not required to.

Use	Status under FAR 43.301	Source paragraph
Solicitation amendments	Required (outside Part 15 processing)	43.301(a)(1)(i)
Change orders under the Changes clause	Required	43.301(a)(1)(ii)
Other unilateral modifications authorized by a clause	Required	43.301(a)(1)(iii)
Administrative changes	Required	43.301(a)(1)(iv)
Supplemental agreements	Required	43.301(a)(1)(v)
Removing, reinstating or adding funds	Required	43.301(a)(1)(vi)
Economic price adjustment of petroleum contracts	Optional	43.301(a)(2)
Termination notices	Optional	43.301(a)(2)
Purchase order modifications (13.302-3)	Optional	43.301(a)(2)

Unilateral versus bilateral modifications

FAR 43.103, checked on 2026-10-29, defines the two types by who signs. A bilateral modification, called a supplemental agreement, “signed by the contractor and the contracting officer”. It is used for negotiated price adjustments after a change order, finalizing letter contracts, and other agreed changes. A unilateral modification “is a contract modification that is signed only by the contracting officer.” It is used for administrative changes, change orders, termination notices, and changes under clauses such as Property, Options, and Suspension of Work.

Putting FAR 43.103 beside FAR 43.301(a)(1), the form covers both kinds: items (ii) through (iv) of the required list (change orders, other clause-authorized unilateral modifications, and administrative changes) fall on the unilateral side, while item (v), supplemental agreements, is the bilateral one. The SF 30 is therefore not a signal of whether the contractor agreed; the modification’s type and the contract clause it rests on determine that.

Rules worth knowing before you read a modification

• Anticipated price changes. FAR 43.301(a)(3) says that if a change is anticipated to change price, the estimated amount “shall not be shown on copies of SF 30 furnished to the contractor.”
• Continuation sheets. FAR 43.301(b) allows Optional Form 336 (Continuation Sheet), or a blank sheet of paper, to continue a modification.
• Termination effective date. FAR 53.243 revises the instruction for Item 3 (effective date). For a modification confirming a notice of termination for convenience, the effective date is the same as the effective date of the initial notice. For a modification confirming the contracting officer’s previous letter determination, it is the same as that letter’s effective date.

How the form is used, step by step

1. The contracting officer identifies the action (for example, an administrative correction, a change order, or a solicitation amendment) and checks it against the FAR 43.301(a)(1) list to see whether the form is required.
2. If the action is a supplemental agreement, the contractor signs as well; if it is a unilateral modification, only the contracting officer signs (FAR 43.103).
3. If the modification needs more space than the form gives, the contracting officer can attach an OF 336 or a blank sheet.
4. For an anticipated price change, the contracting officer keeps the estimated amount off the contractor’s copy.

The FAR text does not prescribe block-by-block completion instructions on the pages cited here, so this guide does not reproduce them. Consult the form’s own instructions and your agency’s supplements for field-level rules.

Related forms and rules

Related item	Relationship to SF 30 (per FAR text)	CASRAI guide
SF 33, Solicitation, Offer and Award	A separate solicitation, offer and award form; SF 30 is the form used to amend solicitations	SF 33 guide
FAR Part 15	Negotiated procurements; FAR 53.243 points to FAR 15.210 for amending negotiated solicitations with SF 30	FAR Part 15 guide
OF 336, Continuation Sheet	May continue a modification (FAR 43.301(b))	None
SF 1449, commercial products and services solicitation/contract	A separate standard form, covered in its own guide	SF 1449 guide

If you work in a research office and are trying to tell contracts from grants, see federal contracts versus grants for university research. For funding actions on cost-type contracts, the guide to limitation of cost and funds notices covers a related topic.

FAQ

What does SF 30 stand for?

SF 30 is Standard Form 30, “Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract.” GSA lists it as form number SF30, revision date 11/2016.

Does every contract modification need an SF 30?

No. FAR 43.301(a)(1) requires it for six kinds of action, except for actions processed under Part 15, and FAR 43.301(a)(2) makes it optional for petroleum price adjustments, termination notices, and purchase order modifications under FAR 13.302-3.

Is an SF 30 always signed by the contractor?

No. Under FAR 43.103 a unilateral modification is signed only by the contracting officer, while a supplemental agreement is signed by both parties.

Can SF 30 amend a solicitation?

Yes. FAR 53.243 prescribes it for amending invitations for bids and says it may also be used to amend solicitations for negotiated contracts as specified in FAR 15.210.

Is SF 30 a grant form?

No. It is prescribed in the FAR (48 CFR), which governs federal acquisition contracts.

Sources

• GSA Forms Library, “Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract” (SF30), https://www.gsa.gov/forms-library/amendment-solicitationmodification-contract, checked 2026-10-29, as described on the official page on that date.
• FAR 43.301, Use of forms, https://www.acquisition.gov/far/43.301, FAC 2026-01, checked 2026-10-29.
• FAR 43.103, Types of contract modifications, https://www.acquisition.gov/far/43.103, checked 2026-10-29.
• FAR 53.243, Contract modifications (SF 30), https://www.acquisition.gov/far/53.243, checked 2026-10-29.