Also known as: Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System
The U.S. government's official database of contractor performance report cards, used to award future contracts.
Per FAR 42.1503, "Agencies shall prepare and submit all past performance evaluations electronically in CPARS" — the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System, the government-wide system used to document how well a contractor performed on a contract or order. Each evaluation factor "shall be rated in accordance with a five scale rating system (i.e., exceptional, very good, satisfactory, marginal, and unsatisfactory)" across factors such as technical quality (quality of product or service), cost control, schedule/timeliness, and management or business relations. Contractors "shall be afforded up to 14 calendar days from the date of notification" of the evaluation to submit comments, rebutting statements, or additional information, and agencies use the past performance information in CPARS that is "within three years (six for construction and architect-engineer contracts) of the completion of performance." For a defense or space startup, your CPARS ratings become part of a "past performance" record that source-selection officials pull up when deciding whether to award you future work.
Source: FAR 42.1503 (Acquisition.gov)
Yes. When an agency posts an evaluation, you are notified and have up to 14 calendar days to submit comments or a rebutting statement, which is recorded alongside the rating. Evaluations are used by source-selection officials for up to three years.
Definitions are educational and may be modified by your specific policy language, endorsements, and state rules. For regulatory guidance, refer to the California Department of Insurance or the NAIC.
Last updated: July 2026.