Glossary / Management, Personnel
Contracting OfficerCO
A Contracting Officer (CO or KO) is the government official legally authorized to bind the United States in contract. Authority is granted by a written warrant (SF 1402) up to a specified dollar limit. No one else in the government can commit appropriated funds or change contract terms: not the program manager, not the COR, not the end user. COs divide into procuring contracting officers (PCOs, who award the contract), administrative contracting officers (ACOs, who manage performance), and termination contracting officers (TCOs, who close out terminated work).
Why it matters to your pipeline
Every promise, modification, or direction that matters must come from the CO in writing. Verbal instructions from a COR or technical lead are not binding, and performing outside the scope of the contract on verbal direction creates unpaid work. Experienced contractors route every substantive question through the CO and keep a written record. This protects against cost growth, disputes, and adverse CPARS.
When this term shows up in an opening GovSmith finds for you, your vCM explains what it means for that pursuit and does whatever it calls for. You decide; we do the work.
Example
A COR tells the contractor to add an additional deliverable. The contractor politely replies that it will gladly do so once the CO modifies the contract. Two weeks later, a $65K modification is issued, funded, and executed. Had the contractor simply performed, the hours would have been unrecoverable.
Find out what applies to you
Some terms will matter to your business right away and some won’t for years. A vCM can tell you which are which.