8(a) STARS III — GSA (Small business 8(a) set-aside GWAC)

Summary

GSA's page for 8(a) STARS III describes a Best in Class governmentwide acquisition contract set aside for small businesses in the 8(a) program, open to federal agencies with a ceiling of $50B. The ordering period runs July 2, 2021 to July 1, 2029, for IT services such as data management, IT security/cybersecurity and software development; the primary NAICS code is 541512. Agencies may award task orders on a sole source basis at or under the competitive threshold, which the page puts at $5.5M over the life of a task order; a sole source order to an Alaskan Native Corporation or Tribally Owned vendor needs justification and approval above $30M for civilian agencies and $150M for defense agencies. All 8(a) STARS III contracts provide for an annual price escalation of 2.06%. The page was last updated Sep 18, 2026.

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8(a) STARS III

Did you know? Our GWACs allow ordering agencies to utilize Blanket Purchase Agreements. Please review the GWAC BPA Toolkit [DOCX - 1 MB] for more information.

8(a) STARS III basics

Eligible users

Federal agencies

Ceiling

$50B

Contract type

Small business 8(a) set-aside GWAC

Task order types

Fixed price, time and materials, labor-hour, hybrid

Ordering period

July 2, 2021 to July 1, 2029. Task orders awarded prior to July 2, 2026 may continue performance through July 1, 2031. Task orders awarded from July 2, 2026 to July 1, 2029 may perform through July 1, 2034.

NAICS

Primary NAICS 541512; other in-scope NAICS include 541511, 541513, 541519 and 518210

Scope

“We needed an expedited award to a small business. 8(a) STARS III accomplished this with great rates!”

— Agency customer

Our Best in Class 8(a) STARS III Governmentwide Acquisition Contract provides flexible access to IT services and customized IT services-based solutions from a large, diverse pool of 8(a) industry partners.

8(a) STARS III supports requirements inside and outside of the continental United States:

- Data management
- Information and communications technology
- IT operations and maintenance
- IT security/cybersecurity
- Software development
- Systems design

IT services-based solutions may include work that on its own might not be considered IT, provided the work is integral and necessary to the IT-services-based solution. That work is characterized as “Ancillary Support,” and can include can include non-IT services/labor as well as IT equipment (server racks, mounts, etc.) and software.

Please review section C (especially C.3) of the 8(a) STARS III Contract [PDF - 710 KB] for a complete discussion of ancillary support, contract scope, pricing, applicable Federal Acquisition Regulations and more.

Free scope compatibility reviews

Did you know we offer free scope compatibility reviews ? This unique benefit of working with GSA can help reduce the risk of protest and improve acquisition outcomes.

Features and benefits

8(a) STARS III:

- Expands capabilities for emerging technologies.
- Allows sole source orders up to the 8(a) competitive threshold.
- Features limited protestability
- Offers access to expert guidance, free scope review services, and market research.

News, events, and training

All members of the acquisition team are encouraged to attend 8(a) STARS III Delegation of Procurement Authority training. DPA training is required for contracting officers prior to placing task orders on the contract, and is available in several formats including live webinars or a review of the contract ordering guide [DOCX - 4 MB] .

Order through 8(a) STARS III

- Learn how to use our GWACs , including completing required DPA training.
- Read the 8(a) STARS III Ordering Guide [DOCX - 4 MB] , which defines roles and responsibilities for the ordering process and provides instructions for using 8(a) STARS III ( subject to change ).
- Upon award or modification of an 8(a) STARS III GWAC task order, COs are required to submit an award/modification form [DOCX - 121 KB] with supporting documentation (i.e. SF1449, SF30, SOW, PWS) to s3@GSA.gov .
- GSA provides guidance on establishing blanket purchase agreements in the GWAC BPA Toolkit [DOCX - 1 MB] .
- Issue task orders directly using your agency’s contracting personnel, or work with Assisted Acquisition Services for additional support.
- Agencies may award task orders at or under the competitive threshold on a sole source basis per Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637 and FAR 19.8 ). The current sole source threshold is $5.5M over the life of a task order. FAR 19.808-1 and 13 CFR 124.506(b)(2) address additional provisions for Alaskan Native Corporation, Native Hawaiian Owned, or Tribally Owned vendors. The contracting officer must justify and seek appropriate approval of a sole source order to an ANC or TO vendor if it exceeds: $30M threshold for civilian agencies to an ANC or TO vendor. $150M threshold for defense agencies to an ANC, NHO or TO vendor. Per section G.13 of the 8(a) STARS III contract, offer and acceptance is required for each sole source order in accordance with FAR 19.804-6. Use the SBA Offer Letter [DOCX - 19 KB] template when drafting your sole-source offer for Small Business Administration review. The list of SBA District Offices provides email and phone contacts.

Need IT products and services for state and local governments ? Try Multiple Award Schedule ’s IT Category .

Industry partners

The 8(a) STARS III Industry Partner Spreadsheet [XLSX - 47 KB] provides contact information for each contract holder. Alternatively, you may email all of the industry partners using stars3awardees@gsa.gov .

All contract holders must be provided a fair opportunity to be considered for all orders in accordance with FAR 16.5, unless an exception applies. We recommend issuing solicitations through eBuy to meet fair opportunity requirements. Exceptions may include an urgent need, only one capable awardee, a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, or most commonly used under 8(a) STARS III: expressly authorized by statute. The full list of exceptions is in FAR 16.5.

Pricing

Refer to FAR 15.4 and apply the proposal analysis techniques from FAR 15.404-1 befitting the acquisition plan for your order. If you provide for adequate price competition for competed orders, generally you do not need any more price or cost detail to determine pricing resulting from a competition from comparable offerors for the same requirements to be fair and reasonable.

Use our self-service 8(a) STARS III Pricing Tool to quickly perform market research to make better business decisions:

- View maximum labor hour ceiling rates for 8(a) STARS III industry partners.
- Filter search results by scope or scope sub-area, industry partner, labor category, work site (government or contractor), and contract year.
- Select price statistics.
- Download results to Excel and save/print.

The maximum hourly labor rates in the 8(a) STARS III Pricing Tool:

- Include all direct and indirect costs (e.g. profit, fringe benefits, salary, indirect rates) for work performed in the continental United States and non-foreign work areas. See section B.12 of the contract for pricing work in foreign work areas.
- Apply to work which includes U.S. Government personnel or facility security clearances up to the Secret level.
- Apply only to time and materials and labor-hour orders.
- Do not include the contract access fee. A separate CAF CLIN is required per section B.8 of the contract.

Labor rates

The description for each 8(a) STARS III labor category are in attachment J-2 of the contract [PDF - 710 KB] ; locality differentials for work performed outside the Washington-Baltimore- Arlington, D.C.-MD-VA-WV-PA area are in attachment J-3. All 8(a) STARS III contracts provide for an annual price escalation of 2.06%; so awarded labor rates beyond contract year 5 can be calculated using that rate. Before exercising the Master Contract option, the Government will calculate and apply an updated annual escalation rate for contract years 6 through 13 as allowed by section B.13 of the master contract. Labor rates published in the 8(a) STARS III Pricing Tool will be updated accordingly. Agency contracting officers are not required to perform re-determinations or apply escalated rates retroactively to task orders awarded before July 1, 2026 unless the terms and conditions of the task order specifically provide for such retroactive actions.

The Department of State’s quarterly reports can help you price work performed outside the US , including cost of living, per diem rate maximums, quarters allowances, hardship differentials, and danger pay allowances.

Subcontracting opportunities

While 8(a) STARS III is fully awarded, we encourage companies to consider subcontracting arrangements with any of our 8(a) STARS III Industry Partners [XLSX - 47 KB] .

Acquisition.gov features Agency Procurement Recurring Forecasts which may assist in identifying future opportunities.

Acquisition resources

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