Which FAR Part 23 applies to a biobased purchase?

The question

A contracting officer, a purchase cardholder or a prime contractor's buyer wants to cite the federal preference for biobased products in a solicitation, a contract file or a capability statement. Which section of FAR Part 23 is it?

The short answer

It depends on the agency buying.

Agencies that adopted the revised Part 23 (31 on the acquisition.gov deviation guide as of September 23, 2026, including the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, GSA and USDA): there is no 23.107-2. A biobased product that meets USDA's content requirements is a "sustainable product" (23.101). Agencies "must procure sustainable products to the maximum extent practicable" (23.102(a)), and each agency runs a biobased program (23.107(a)(2)).
Agencies that did not adopt it: the codified FAR 23.107-2, "Biobased products," applies. Its authority paragraph still points at 7 CFR part 3201, which USDA removed on January 8, 2025, so cite 7 CFR part 4270 beside it.
In both texts the provision and clause keep their numbers: 52.223-1, Biobased Product Certification, and 52.223-2, Reporting of Biobased Products Under Service and Construction Contracts.

The citations

The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) publishes model text for each FAR part, which agencies adopt by class deviation. The Part 23 text was issued on September 30, 2025. GSA's and USDA's deviations took effect on November 3, 2025, VA's on November 5, 2025, and DoD's on February 1, 2026 (DoD reissued it as Revision 1 on August 5, 2026). The Code of Federal Regulations still prints the old Part 23.

What you are citing	Codified FAR	Revised Part 23 (RFO)
Where biobased products sit	23.107-2, "Biobased products"	"Sustainable product," 23.101, paragraph (3)
Buy to the maximum extent practicable	23.107-2(e)(1)	23.102(a)
When it is not practicable (schedule, performance, price)	23.103(a)(1)	23.102(a)(1)–(3)
Justification in the contract file	23.104(a)	23.103(b)
Specify biobased content	23.107-2(e)(2)	23.107(b)(2)
The $10,000 test	23.107-2(c)(1): the product's price exceeds $10,000, or $10,000 or more was paid in the preceding fiscal year for that product or functionally equivalent ones	23.107(a)(2): the agency's program covers a product it buys $10,000 or more of in a fiscal year
General sustainable-products clause	52.223-23, prescribed at 23.109(a)	52.223-23, prescribed at 23.108(a)
Biobased provision and clause	52.223-1 and 52.223-2 (prescribed at 23.109(c))	52.223-1 and 52.223-2 (prescribed at 23.108(c))
USDA's rule	Printed as 7 CFR part 3201; now 7 CFR part 4270	7 CFR Part 4270
Same number, different section	23.103 "Policy"; 23.104 "General procedures"	23.103 "Procedures"; 23.104 "Priorities"

Two numbers that get mixed up

$15,000 is the micro-purchase threshold for supplies (FAR 2.101, raised from $10,000 on October 1, 2025, by 90 FR 41872). For services covered by the Service Contract Labor Standards, it is $2,500.
$10,000 is the biobased test, set in the statute (7 U.S.C. 8102(a)(3)(E)). USDA's rule counts it per product and agency-wide: it "applies to Federal Agencies as a whole rather than to agency subgroups such as regional offices or subagencies of a larger Federal department or agency" (7 CFR 4270.3(a)(1)).

Worked example. A cardholder buys $12,000 of floor cleaner in one order. That is a supply purchase under $15,000, so it is a micro-purchase. It is still covered by the biobased preference:

Codified FAR: 13.201(f) says "The procurement requirements in subpart 23.1 apply to purchases at or below the micro-purchase threshold." 23.107-2 applies because the product's price exceeds $10,000.
Revised Part 23: the policy in 23.102(a) has no dollar floor. The $10,000 in 23.107(a)(2) decides whether the agency's program covers the product, and this order alone puts the agency past it for the year.

What the micro-purchase changes is the paperwork: it needs no provisions or clauses (codified 13.201(d); RFO 12.401(b)). The cardholder meets the preference by choosing a product in USDA's Floor Cleaners category with at least 77 percent biobased content, or by documenting why that wasn't practicable.

Cleaners can carry a second rule. At DoD, DFARS 223.471 (Class Deviation 2026-O0018, Revision 1) requires EPA Safer Choice-certified cleaning products to the maximum extent practicable; under the codified FAR, Safer Choice is part of the sustainable-products definition (2.101) and products meeting more than one program come first (23.104(c)(2)).

Split the $12,000 across four floor cleaners at $3,000 each and the codified price test fails; coverage then turns on whether the agency paid $10,000 or more in the preceding fiscal year for that product or functionally equivalent ones (23.107-2(c)(1)(ii)). The revised 23.102(a) applies either way.

Two things to check before you cite

FAR 23.103 is not the biobased section in either text. Codified 23.103 is the general policy for all sustainable products; RFO 23.103 is "Procedures". Cite 23.107-2, or 23.102 and 23.107.
The codified text points at a removed rule. 23.107-2(a)(1) still reads "as implemented at 7 CFR part 3201", and other codified text, including the 2.101 definitions and clause 52.223-2 itself, cites part 3201 too. USDA replaced it with part 4270 (89 FR 97459, effective January 8, 2025).

Model language you can copy

For a solicitation or statement of work at an agency on the revised Part 23:

"Floor cleaners furnished under this [order/contract] shall be biobased products in the USDA-designated product category Floor Cleaners and shall meet USDA's minimum biobased content for that category ([77] percent, BioPreferred Register, read [date]), in accordance with FAR 23.102(a) and 23.107(b)(2) (RFO Part 23 class deviation)."

At an agency on the codified text, cite "FAR 23.107-2(e) and 7 CFR part 4270" instead.

For the contract file, when a biobased product is not practicable:

"A biobased product in the USDA-designated [category] category was not procured for [line item] because it [could not be acquired competitively within a reasonable performance schedule / did not meet reasonable performance requirements / was not available at a reasonable price]. [Evidence: quotes, dates, specification.] Justification under FAR 23.103(b) (RFO Part 23) [or FAR 23.104(a)]."

For a supplier answering a sources-sought notice:

"[Firm] can furnish products in the USDA-designated [category] category that meet USDA's minimum biobased content. We request that the agency specify USDA-designated biobased products under FAR 23.102(a) and 23.107(b)(2) [or FAR 23.107-2(e)] where practicable."

Replace the bracketed fields, and claim only the biobased content the product's certification or test data supports.

What to do

Find the buying agency in the acquisition.gov FAR Part Deviation Guide and open its Part 23 row.
If it adopted the revised Part 23, cite 23.102(a) and 23.107. If not, cite 23.107-2 with 7 CFR part 4270 beside it.
If you cannot confirm which text applies, name both: "FAR 23.107-2, or 23.102 and 23.107 under the RFO Part 23 class deviation."
Name the BioPreferred category and its minimum biobased content, with the date you read the Register.
Put 52.223-23 (Sustainable Products) in solicitations and contracts unless a justification or exception covers the whole acquisition (RFO 23.108(a); codified 23.109(a)). Put 52.223-1 in solicitations that require biobased products in a USDA-designated category or include 52.223-2, and 52.223-2 in service and construction contracts unless they will not involve such products. Card micro-purchases carry none of them.
When a biobased product isn't practicable, put the justification in the contract file.

Verified: September 23, 2026, against the sources below.