The Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) and the micro-purchase threshold are the two dollar figures that determine which procurement method a federal agency — or an institution spending federal award funds — must use for a given purchase. As of October 1, 2025, the general SAT is $350,000 and the general micro-purchase threshold is $15,000, both raised from prior levels by a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) inflation adjustment. This page carries the current figures, the rules that attach at each tier, and how those figures apply to research institutions receiving federal grant or contract funds under 2 CFR 200. It is reviewed and refreshed at least annually, since these thresholds move periodically.
Last verified: August 16, 2026, against the FAR threshold table and 2 CFR 200.1. Because these figures are inflation-adjusted on a recurring cycle, confirm the current number directly against FAR 2.101 on acquisition.gov or 2 CFR 200.1 before relying on any dollar amount here for a live procurement decision.
What Is the Simplified Acquisition Threshold?
The Simplified Acquisition Threshold is the dollar ceiling below which a purchase can use streamlined, less formal acquisition procedures instead of full, formally advertised competition (sealed bidding or a competitive request-for-proposals process). It is defined at FAR 2.101 and governs how federal agencies buy directly, as the purchasing party, under FAR Part 13. The term and figure are adopted by reference into the Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR 200.1, which is how the same number reaches non-federal entities — universities, hospitals, and other organizations spending federal grant and cooperative-agreement funds.
What Is the Micro-Purchase Threshold?
The micro-purchase threshold is a lower dollar ceiling, sitting beneath the SAT, below which a purchase generally requires no competitive quotes at all — only a determination that the price is reasonable. It exists to keep genuinely small, low-risk purchases (lab supplies, minor equipment, small services) from carrying the administrative burden of even informal competition. Like the SAT, it is set in the FAR and adopted by 2 CFR 200 for federal-award recipients.
Current Thresholds at a Glance
These are the general figures that apply to most civilian procurement and to most non-federal entities spending federal award funds under 2 CFR 200.320. FAR 2.101 also defines separate, higher SAT figures for procurements in support of a contingency operation, humanitarian or peacekeeping operation, or a response to a nuclear/biological/chemical/radiological attack — those special-case figures are not covered on this page; check FAR 2.101 directly if that situation applies.
| Tier | Dollar range | What’s generally required |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-purchase | Up to $15,000 | No competitive quotes required; price must be considered reasonable. Purchases should be distributed equitably among qualified suppliers where practicable. |
| Simplified acquisition / small purchase | $15,000.01 – $350,000 | Price or rate quotes from an adequate number of qualified sources (informal competition, not formally advertised). |
| Above the Simplified Acquisition Threshold | Over $350,000 | Formal, formally advertised competition: sealed bidding or a competitive proposal (RFP) process, with a documented cost or price analysis. |
| Noncompetitive / sole source | Any dollar amount | Permitted only in limited circumstances regardless of price: a genuine single source, a public emergency, express written authorization from the federal awarding agency, or inadequate competition after a solicitation. See Sole Source vs. Single Source. |
Documentation and Competition Requirements by Tier
Under 2 CFR 200.320, the method of competition a purchase requires follows directly from which tier it falls into:
- Micro-purchases need no competitive quotes, but the buyer must still be able to show the price was reasonable, and should rotate purchases among qualified suppliers to the extent practicable rather than defaulting to the same vendor every time.
- Simplified acquisition / small purchases need price or rate quotes from an adequate number of qualified sources — informal, but documented.
- Purchases above the SAT require sealed bids or a competitive proposal process, plus an independent cost or price analysis performed before quotes or proposals are received (2 CFR 200.324). Construction and facility-improvement contracts above the SAT also generally require bonding: a 5% bid guarantee, a 100% performance bond, and a 100% payment bond, absent an agency determination accepting the entity’s own bonding policy (2 CFR 200.326).
- Sole-source procurement is a documentation-heavy exception path, not a dollar-based tier — it requires a written justification regardless of amount. See Sole-Source Justification Letter: Format, Required Elements, and a Worked Example.
For the full breakdown of all five procurement methods and every subsection of 2 CFR 200 Subpart D, see 2 CFR 200 Procurement Standards: §§200.317–200.327 Explained. This page focuses specifically on the dollar figures themselves and how they move.
Federal Threshold vs. Institutional Threshold: Two Different Things
It is worth being precise about which entity a given threshold governs, because the SAT and micro-purchase threshold get invoked in two related but distinct contexts:
- The FAR figures govern federal agencies buying directly as the contracting party (FAR Part 13, simplified acquisition procedures).
- The same dollar figures govern non-federal entities — research institutions, hospitals, nonprofits — spending federal grant or cooperative-agreement funds, because 2 CFR 200.1 adopts the FAR’s dollar amounts by cross-reference and 2 CFR 200.320 builds the same below-threshold/at-or-above-threshold logic into the procurement methods a recipient must follow.
An institution’s own internal procurement policy is a third, separate layer on top of both. 2 CFR 200.318 requires every non-federal entity to maintain documented procurement procedures that conform to the standards in Subpart D — but those internal procedures are where an institution can, and often does, apply its own dollar breakpoints for internal approval routing, purchase-order requirements, or P-Card limits. See Government Purchase Card (GPC): Rules, Limits, and Prohibited Items and the related guide on P-Card compliance under federal awards for how that plays out for card-based purchasing specifically.
Can an Institution Set a Lower Internal Threshold?
Yes. Nothing in the FAR or 2 CFR 200 prevents a non-federal entity from adopting internal procurement thresholds that are more conservative than the federal figures — for example, requiring competitive quotes starting at $5,000 even though the federal micro-purchase threshold is $15,000, or requiring a purchase order and departmental sign-off below the level federal rules would technically permit informal handling. Institutions commonly do this for internal control, audit-readiness, or budget-approval reasons unrelated to the federal floor. What an institution cannot do is go the other direction: apply a threshold looser than the federal figure to purchases charged to a federal award, since 2 CFR 200.318–200.327 sets the floor those purchases must meet regardless of how permissive an institution’s own general (non-federally-funded) purchasing policy might be.
Self-Certifying a Higher Micro-Purchase Threshold
2 CFR 200.320 also allows a non-federal entity to self-certify a micro-purchase threshold higher than the general $15,000 figure, up to $50,000 per year, through documented internal risk-assessment procedures (for example, an internal control framework covering training, and monitoring of purchasing activity). Raising the self-certified threshold above $50,000 requires approval from the entity’s cognizant federal agency for indirect costs. This is a separate mechanism from the general inflation adjustment covered above: the $15,000 figure is the baseline everyone starts from, and self-certification is an opt-in institutional step, not an automatic increase.
The Pending OMB 2 CFR 200 Rewrite — What It Could Change
OMB published a proposed rule on May 29, 2026 (“Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance,” Federal Register document 2026-10817, docket OMB-2026-0034) that would substantially rewrite 2 CFR Part 200, the Uniform Guidance that has governed federal grants and cooperative agreements since 2013. The public comment period closed July 13, 2026. As of this page’s last-verified date, OMB has not published a final rule, and the procurement provisions discussed on this page reflect the currently effective text of 2 CFR 200 Subpart D, not the proposed rewrite. Do not assume any specific change from the proposal is final until a final rule is published in the Federal Register. See CASRAI’s tracking post, OMB Proposed 2 CFR 200 Rewrite: Current Status, for the latest on timing and scope, and re-check this page’s “last verified” date before relying on it once a final rule is published.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current simplified acquisition threshold for 2026?
The general Simplified Acquisition Threshold is $350,000, effective October 1, 2025 (raised from $250,000 by a FAR inflation adjustment published in the Federal Register). This is the figure in effect through 2026 unless a new adjustment or the pending OMB 2 CFR 200 rewrite changes it — check FAR 2.101 directly before treating it as unchanged.
What is the current micro-purchase threshold for 2026?
The general micro-purchase threshold is $15,000, effective the same date as the SAT increase above (raised from $10,000). Non-federal entities may self-certify a higher micro-purchase threshold, up to $50,000, through documented internal procedures.
How often do these thresholds change?
The FAR Council is required, under 41 U.S.C. 1908, to periodically review and adjust many acquisition-related dollar thresholds for inflation. In practice these figures have moved roughly every few years rather than on a fixed annual schedule — treat any specific figure as something to reconfirm, not as permanently fixed.
Do these thresholds apply to purchases not charged to a federal award?
No. The FAR thresholds directly govern federal agencies as buyers; the 2 CFR 200 figures govern non-federal entities specifically for purchases charged to federal grants, cooperative agreements, or other federal financial assistance. An institution’s purchases funded from non-federal sources (tuition, state funds, private gifts) are governed by that institution’s own procurement policy, not these federal thresholds — though many institutions choose to apply the same or a more conservative threshold structure institution-wide for consistency.
Is the micro-purchase threshold the same for construction contracts?
FAR 2.101 and 2 CFR 200.1 both set a separate, higher micro-purchase threshold specifically for acquisitions of construction subject to the Davis-Bacon Act. That figure is not covered on this page; check FAR 2.101 directly if you are procuring construction services.
Related Reading
- Dictionary: Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)
- 2 CFR 200 Procurement Standards: §§200.317–200.327 Explained
- Federal Procurement for Research Institutions: The Full Decision Sequence
- Sole-Source Justification Letter: Format, Required Elements, and a Worked Example
- Government Purchase Card (GPC): Rules, Limits, and Prohibited Items
- Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE): What It Is and How to Build One
- OMB Proposed 2 CFR 200 Rewrite: Current Status
