Making IT happen
ACQ, CONUS, FAR, IDIQ, J&A, MOU, RFP, come again?
If there’s one thing the federal government loves, it’s a jumbled alphabet soup of acronyms and lingo. If you’ve ever tried reading through IRS tax forms or government contracts and thought to yourself, “What does all of this mean?”, then you know what we’re talking about. You may have experienced this firsthand when you started a new job working with the Federal Government and wondered what language your coworkers were speaking. Don’t worry - we were confused when we started too!
Government lingo is like a different language and if you want to be successful in the Federal space, learning it is key to communicating clearly and effectively.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of consistency across government agencies; the important acronyms can sometimes vary between Department of Defense (DOD), civilian agencies and intelligence agencies.
But wait! Before you panic, we’re here to help! We’ll explain the difference between acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms, as well as who uses them, so it is easier to familiarize yourself with the important terms the government uses on a daily basis.
Let’s start with the basics.
Federal abbreviations are shortened words or phrases that are spoken as the full word/words used specifically by government agencies or individuals working with them.
We use abbreviations all the time in our daily lives without thinking twice. For example, you usually shorten Drive to Dr. when writing your address or Mister to Mr. when you’re writing a formal email. In a lot of cases, it’s the same for the federal government. Easiest example, “Govt.” for “Government”, or “Dir.” for “Director”.
Federal acronyms are a type of abbreviation that simplifies long organization names or ideas by spelling out another word. For example, SEWP (Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement) is pronounced as the word “Soup”, or NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).
Now, Federal initialisms are tricky because they may seem like an acronym on the surface, but they’re spoken differently. An initialism takes the first letter of words or phrases and abbreviates them, but does NOT pronounce them as a word, instead, enunciating each letter, like “D-O-D”, “F-B-I”, “D-O-J”, etc.
Now that you understand the difference between abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms, it’s time to start learning the lingo.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the abbreviations that you should definitely know as you’re launching into your federal sales career. Much like learning a language, you’ll start to pick up government lingo as you work around people who use it consistently. However, if you ever find yourself completely lost in a meeting, the following list will help.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y
A | |
8(a) | Disadvantaged Business Program |
AAR | After Action Report |
ACC | Army Contracting Command |
ACAT | Acquisition Category |
ACO | Administrative Contracting Officer |
ACQ | Acquisition |
ACS | Assistant Chief of Staff |
ACWP | Actual Cost of Work Performed |
ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act |
ADPE | Automated Data Processing Equipment |
AI | Action Item |
ALIN | Agreement Line Item Number |
APL | Approved Products List |
ANS | American National Standard |
ANSI | American National Standards Institute |
ARO | After Receipt of Order |
AVBS | Automated Best Value System |
B | |
B/L | Bill of Lading |
B&P | Bid and Proposal |
BAC | Budgeted Cost at Completion |
BAFO | Best and Final Offer |
BAT | Best Available Technology |
BD | Business Development |
BDO | Blanket Delivery Order |
BIOS | Basic Input/output System |
BMM | Business Matchmaking |
BOA | Basic Ordering Agreement |
BOM | Bill of Materials |
BOS | Business Opportunity Specialist |
BPA | Blanket Purchase Agreement |
C | |
CA | Cooperative Agreement |
CAC | Common Access Card |
CAD | Computer Assisted Design |
CAGE | Commercial and Government Entity |
CAL | Client Across License |
CAO | Congressional Affairs Office |
CAS | Cost Accounting Standards |
CBI | Confidential Business Information |
CBO | Congressional Budget Office |
CCDR | Contract Cost Data Report |
CCR | Central Contractor Registration |
CDD | Contract Delivery Date |
CDRL | Contract Data Requirements List |
CEA | Cost Effective Analysis |
CFR | Code of Federal Regulations |
CFSR | Contract Funds Status Report |
CICA | Competition in Contracting Act |
CID | Commercial Item Description |
CIO | Chief Information Officer |
CLIN | Contract Line Item Number |
COI | Conflict of Interest |
CM | Configuration Management |
CMM | Capability Maturity Model |
CMMI | Capability Maturity Model-Integrated |
CMO | Contract Management Office |
CMT | Contract Management Team |
CO | Contracting Officer |
COB | Close of Business |
CONUS | Continental United States |
COR | Contracting Officer Representative |
COTR | Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative |
COTS | Commercial Off-the-Shelf |
CPAF | Cost Plus Award Fee |
CPARS | Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System |
CPFF | Cost Plus Fixed Fee |
CPIF | Cost Plus Incentive Fee |
CPN | Contract Payment Notice |
CPR | Cost Performance Report |
CPU | Central Processing Unit |
CRADA | Cooperative Research and Development Agreement |
CTA | Contractor Teaming Agreement |
CUI | Confidential Unclassified Information |
CY | Calendar Year |
D | |
DACA | Days After Contract Award |
DAR | Data at Rest |
DARO | Days After Receipt of Order |
DARPA | Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency |
DCAA | Defense Contract Audit Agency |
DCMA | Defense Contract Management Agency |
DD254 | Department of Defense Contract Security Classification Specification Form |
DEL | Delivery |
DFARS | Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement |
DHS | Department of Homeland Security |
DI | Document Identifier |
DIC | Document Identifier Code |
DID | Data Item Description |
DISR | DOD IT Standards Registry |
DLA | Defense Logistics Agency |
DLH | Direct Labor Hour |
DOC | Department of Commerce |
DOD | Department of Defense |
DODD | Department of Defense Directive |
DODI | Department of Defense Initiative |
DOE | Department of Energy |
DOI | Department of the Interior |
DOJ | Department of Justice |
DOL | Department of Labor |
DOS | Department of State |
DOT | Department of Transportation |
DUNS | Data Universal Numbering System |
DVD | Direct Vendor Delivery |
DZ | Dozen |
E | |
EA | Each |
EB | Electronic Business |
EC | Electronic Commerce |
EDD | Estimated Delivery Date |
EDI | Electronic Data Interchange |
EDOP | Expedited Delivery Order Process |
EEO | Equal Employment Opportunity |
EDWOSB | Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business |
EFT | Electronic Funds Transfer |
ELA | Enterprise License Agreement |
EO | Executive Order |
EOM | End of Month |
EPEAT | Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool |
ETA | Estimated Time of Arrival |
ETC | Estimate to Complete |
EULA | End User License Agreement |
F | |
FAQ | Frequently Asked Question |
FAR | Federal Acquisition Regulation |
FAS | Federal Acquisition Service |
FASA | Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act |
FBO | Fed Biz Opps (Federal Business Opportunities) |
FFP | Firm Fixed Price |
FFRDC | Federally Funded Research and Development Center |
FIPS | Federal Information Processing Standards |
FISMA | Federal Information Security Management Act |
FLSA | Fair Labor Standards Act |
FMS | Foreign Military Sales |
FMV | Fair Market Value |
FOIA | Freedom of Information Act |
FPDS | Federal Procurement Data System |
FPI | Fixed Price Incentive |
FPL | Federal Procurement List |
FSC | Federal Supply Classification |
FSN | Federal Stock Number |
FSS | Federal Supply Schedules |
FTE | Full Time Equivalent |
FY | Fiscal Year |
FYI | For Your Information |
G | |
G&A | General and Administrative |
GAA | General Agency Agreement |
GAO | Government Accountability Office |
GBL | Government Bill of Lading |
GFE | Government Furnished Equipment |
GFM | Government Furnished Materials |
GFP | Government-Furnished Property |
GOCO | Government Owned, Contractor Operated |
GPO | Government Printing Office |
GSA | General Services Administration |
GSARS | General Services Acquisition Regulation Supplement |
GWAC | Government-wide Acquisition Contract |
H | |
HBCUs | Historically Black Colleges and Universities |
HCA | Head of Contracting Activity |
HQ | Headquarters |
HR | Human Resources |
HUB | Historically Underutilized Business (i.e. HUBzone) |
I | |
IA | Information Assurance |
IAW | In Accordance With |
IDIQ | Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity |
IFB | Invitation for Bid |
IFF | Industrial Funding Fee |
IG | Inspector General |
IQC | Indefinite Quantity Contract |
ISO | International Standards Organization |
ISSA | Inter/Intra Service Support Agreement |
IV&V | Independent Validation and Verification |
IT | Information Technology |
J | |
J&A | Justification and Approval |
K | |
KM | Knowledge Management |
KO | Contracting Officer (Used instead of CO by the DOD) |
KSC | Kennedy Space Center |
L | |
LAN | Local Area Network |
LOA | Letter of Offer and Acceptance |
LOA | Letter of Authorization |
LOB | Line of Business |
LOC | Library of Congress |
LOE | Level of Effort |
LOP | Letter of Procurement |
LOS | Letter of Supply |
LPTA | Lowest-Price Technically Acceptable |
LT | Lot |
M | |
M&IE | Meals and Incidental Expense |
MBDC | Minority Business Development Center |
MBE | Minority Business Entrepreneur |
MILSPEC | Military Specification |
MIL-STD | Military Standard |
MIPR | Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request |
MMR | Market Research Request |
MOA | Memorandum of Agreement |
MOU | Memorandum of Understanding |
N | |
NAICS | North American Industry Classification System |
NARA | National Archives and Records Administration |
NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
NASFARS | National Aeronautics Space Administration FAR Supplement |
NDI | Non-Developmental Item |
NIIN | National Item Identification Number |
NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology |
NLT | No Later Than |
NTE | Not to Exceed |
O | |
O/A | On or About |
OCONUS | Outside the Continental United States |
OCR | Optical Character Recognition |
OFPP | Office of Federal Procurement Policy |
OMB | Office of Management and Budget |
OPM | Office of Personnel Management |
OSDBU | Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization |
OSHA | Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
OWBO | Office of Women’s Business Ownership |
P | |
P/N | Part Number |
PAR | Payroll, Accounting and Reporting System |
PCO | Procuring Contracting Officer |
PCR | Procurement Center Representative |
PEO | Program Executive Officer |
PES | Professional Engineering Services |
PID | Procurement Item Description |
PIN | Personal Identification Number |
PIV | Personal Identity Verification |
PK | Package |
PL | Public Law |
PM | Project/Program Manager |
PMO | Program Management Office |
PMP | Program Management Plan |
PO | Purchase Order |
POA&M | Plan of Action and Milestones |
POC | Point of Contact |
PPIRS | Past Performance Information Retrieval System |
PR | Pair; Peer Review(s); Purchase Request |
PRDA | Program Research and Development Announcement |
PWS | Performance Work Statement |
Q | |
QA | Quality Assurance |
QAB | Quality Assurance Program |
QASP | Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan |
QBL | Qualified Bidders List |
QC | Quality Control |
QMS | Quality Management System |
QPL | Qualified Products List |
R | |
R&D | Research and Development |
RD&D | Research, Development and Demonstration |
RDD | Required Delivery Date |
RDDTE | Research, Development, Demonstration, Testing and Evaluation |
RFB | Request for Bid |
RFI | Request for Information |
RFID | Radio Frequency Identification |
RFP | Request for Proposal |
RFQ | Request for Quotation |
ROM | Rough Order of Magnitude |
S | |
SADBUS | Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Specialist |
SAM | System for Award Management |
SAT | Simplified Acquisition Threshold |
SB | Small Business |
SBA | Small Business Administration |
SBAC | Small Business Advisory Committee |
SBDC | Small Business Development Center |
SBIC | Small Business Investment Company |
SBIR | Small Business Innovation Research |
SBSA | Small Business Set Aside |
SDB | Small Disadvantaged Business |
SDV | Service Disabled Veteran |
SDVOSB | Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business |
SEC | Securities and Exchange Commission |
SEWP | Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement (i.e. NASA SEWP V Contract Vehicle) |
SF | Standard Form |
SIC | Standard Industrial Classification Codes |
SIN | Special Item Number |
SKU | Stock Keeping Unit |
SOO | Statement of Objectives |
SOP | Standard Operating Procedure |
SOW | Statement of Work |
SSA | Source Selection Authority |
SSA | Social Security Administration |
SSN | Social Security Number |
STTR | Small Business Technology Transfer Program |
T | |
T&M | Time and Materials |
TA | Teaming Agreement |
TBA | To be Announced |
TCO | Termination Contracting Officer |
TD | Technology Development |
T for C | Termination for Convenience |
T for D | Termination for Default |
TIN | Taxpayer Identification Number |
TINA | Truth in Negotiations Act |
TIPS | Technical Information Packages |
TQM | Total Quality Management |
TTN | Technology Transfer Network |
U | |
U/I | Unit of Issue |
UCC | Universal Commercial Code |
UEL | Unlimited Enterprise License |
UPC | Universal Product Code |
USC | United States Code |
USG | United States Government |
V | |
V&V | Verification and Validation |
VAR | Value Added Reseller |
VC | Venture Capital(ist) |
VOSB | Veteran Owned Small Business |
VSC | Vendor Support Center |
W | |
WAWF | Wide Area Work Flow |
WBC | Women’s Business Centers |
WBE | Women’s Business Enterprise |
WBS | Work Breakdown Structure |
WOSB | Woman-Owned Small Business |
X | |
XO | Executive Officer |
Y | |
YOB | Year of Birth |
YR | Year |
YTD | Year to Date |
Don’t have time to read the full list now? Download our handy PDF for quick, offline access to see the full list. It’s the cheat sheet you’ve always wanted but never knew you needed.
We also recommend checking out GovSpeaks Guide to U.S. Government Acronyms & Abbreviations.
The next time you find yourself in a meeting with acronyms flying across the table, instead of ducking and taking cover, you’ll be able to jump right in and contribute to the conversation!