How long can a GSA Schedule BPA run? The rules after the FAR overhaul
BPA rules moved from FAR 8.405-3 to GSAR 538.71. How long a BPA can run, why your Schedule contract must outlast it, and what Refresh 34 could change.
The short answer: under GSA’s current rules, each blanket purchase agreement (BPA) sets its own ordering period, including any options. The old FAR limits on BPA length aren’t in GSA’s new text. The rule that matters most hasn’t changed: a BPA can run past your current Schedule contract period only if your contract’s remaining options would cover the whole BPA.
Where the BPA rules live now
For years, Schedule BPA rules sat in FAR 8.405-3. The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul moved Schedule ordering into GSA’s own rules:
GSA class deviation and Refresh 30: GSA put new ordering procedures, including BPAs, into GSAR Subpart 538.71 and the MAS solicitation.
September 22, 2026: GSA published a proposed rule to make them permanent, with BPAs in GSAR 538.7104-1. Comments are due October 22, 2026.
If you see a BPA article or solicitation that cites FAR 8.405-3, it’s describing the old rules.
How long a BPA can run
The old FAR rules:
multiple-award BPAs “generally should not exceed five years,” though they could to meet program needs; and
single-award BPAs were limited to one year plus up to four one-year options.
GSA’s new text: each BPA must state its ordering period, including any options or award terms. The proposed 538.7104-1 doesn’t repeat the old five-year language or the single-award limit. Agencies still decide the length for each requirement, and many will keep using familiar terms.
What else to know:
Annual review stays. The agency reviews the BPA each year, or before exercising an option or award term, and writes down whether it’s still the best value, whether more discounts are available, and whether your Schedule contract is still in effect.
Less senior sign-off for big single-award BPAs. The extra approval large single-award BPAs used to need is gone.
Small-business reserves. Agencies can reserve one or more BPAs in a multiple-award set for small businesses.
Your Schedule contract has to outlast the BPA
This is the rule that decides whether you can bid. A BPA’s ordering period can extend past your current Schedule contract period only if your contract has option periods that, if GSA exercises them, would cover the BPA’s whole ordering period, including its options and award terms.
Example under today’s rules: MAS contracts run up to 20 years (a 5-year base plus three 5-year options). A firm in year 12 has about 8 years left. An agency seeking a 10-year BPA would need coverage the firm’s contract can’t give, so the firm couldn’t qualify on that contract.
What Refresh 34 could change: GSA’s draft for Refresh 34, expected in November 2026, removes the 20-year limit on MAS contracts, tied to the option clause 552.238-116. If that’s final, long-running contracts may be able to show coverage for longer BPAs. Until the final text is out, plan on today’s rule.
Before you bid on a long BPA
Check your contract dates in eMod: your current period end and how many option periods remain.
Compare them with the BPA’s full ordering period, including every option and award term in the solicitation.
If you’re short, ask early. Raise it with your Contracting Officer, and watch Refresh 34’s final text on the 20-year limit.
Read the BPA’s own ordering procedures. Under the new rules, orders follow the procedures written into each BPA.
Keep your Schedule clean: mass modifications accepted, TDR reports filed and pricing current, so nothing holds up an option when it’s due.
Knowing what your contract can support before you bid is part of what AcqVerity is built for: a step-by-step tool for preparing your own GSA contract changes. We’re opening a small early-access group; join the list at AcqVerity.com.
This guide is general information from public sources as of October 2026, including a GSA proposed rule and GSA’s draft Refresh 34 notice. It is not legal or contracting advice. Your contract terms, the ordering agency, GSA and your Contracting Officer decide. AcqVerity Technologies LLC is not affiliated with GSA.