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Desk reference

Contractor team arrangements, joint ventures, and prime–sub structures

Terms for the legal structures behind “the team”: who submits, who signs, who holds with the Government, and who remains responsible for performance.

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Contractor team arrangement (FAR 9.601)

A contractor team arrangement under FAR 9.601 is one of two forms: (1) a partnership or that itself acts as the potential , or (2) a potential prime that teams with companies that will act as its for a specified contract or acquisition program. A Contractor Team Arrangement is a different model: each CTA member holds its own Schedule contract and acts as a prime for the portion it performs; the CTA lead does not turn the other members into its subcontractors. Name the structure — as offeror, prime with named subs, or CTA — before assigning workshare, proposal access, or eligibility claims. Identify who submits the offer and who signs the award instrument, and map privity: Government↔prime (or each MAS CTA member) versus prime↔sub only.

Watch for

Don’t treat “team” as a branding choice. A lead that alone submits, signs, and bears prime risk is not a JV because the slide says so. An is not itself one of the FAR 9.601 forms, and a MAS CTA is not a prime/sub team. If shared prime-level governance, liability, accounting, and proposal responsibilities are missing, the structure is prime/sub — not a JV.

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Prime contractor performance responsibility

In a FAR 9.6 prime/sub team, the Government’s right to hold the prime fully responsible for performance is preserved regardless of the team arrangement. Naming or evaluating a subcontractor does not create a Government–subcontractor contract; the prime manages that relationship through its subcontract. Accountability stays with the prime even when a named specialist performs the largest share of the work.

Watch for

does not shift to whichever teammate performs the largest labor percentage, and agency evaluation of a sub does not create shared contractual accountability with the Government.

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