Kingsfield · Research · Government Contracts

On what grounds may a contractor be debarred from federal contracting?

Published 2026-06-23 · U.S. federal law

A debarring official may debar a contractor for a conviction or civil judgment for offenses such as contract fraud, or for a willful failure to perform or a history of unsatisfactory performance on prior contracts.

The answer

The grounds for debarment

48 CFR 9.406-2 authorizes debarment for a conviction or civil judgment for offenses including fraud or a criminal offense connected with obtaining or performing a public contract, embezzlement, theft, or making false statements, and for a willful failure to perform or a history of failure to perform on one or more contracts.

Seriousness and present responsibility

Debarment rests on the seriousness of the contractor's acts or omissions and is imposed in the Government's interest, not for punishment. The cause must be established by a preponderance of the evidence where the action is not based on a conviction or civil judgment.

The judged input

What the AI drafted

Submitted to the judge

This is an excerpt from a draft government-contracts compliance memo — the kind of work product a lawyer generates with a legal-AI drafting tool, then has to stand behind. Kingsfield does not write it; it rules on the citations the model put in it. This draft cites two authorities; one of them is wrong.

AI draft excerpt — government-contracts compliance memo

Following the Company's recent civil judgment for submitting false statements on a federal contract, it now faces a real risk of suspension and debarment, which would bar future awards. Under 48 CFR 9.406-2, a debarring official may debar a contractor based on a conviction or civil judgment for fraud or false statements connected with a public contract, or for a willful or repeated failure to perform. We advise that the specific causes that justify a debarment action are enumerated at 48 CFR 9.406-4.

The judge ruled on every citation as the draft used it — it accepted 48 CFR 9.406-2 and rejected 48 CFR 9.406-4. Here is why.

The verdict

How Kingsfield ruled

Ruled 2026-06-23

Each citation in the draft above was submitted to the Kingsfield judge and ruled against the primary-law corpus — Accept, Reject, or Inconclusive, per citation. These are live verdicts, not editorial. Each card shows the claim the draft made and the verbatim authority the verdict was rendered against.

Accept48 CFR 9.406-2

The draft claimed: A debarring official may debar a contractor for a conviction of or civil judgment for fraud or a criminal offense connected with a public contract, false statements, or similar offenses, and for a willful failure to perform or a history of failure to perform on government contracts.

“The suspending and debarring official may debar—”

Cite found; proposition supported by the cited text.

Reject48 CFR 9.406-4

The draft claimed: Section 9.406-4 enumerates the causes for which a debarring official may debar a contractor from federal contracting.

Cite found, but the cited text does not support the claim. 48 CFR 9.406-4 governs the period and scope of debarment (how long a debarment lasts); the causes for debarment are listed at 48 CFR 9.406-2. Regenerate with the correct authority.

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Kingsfield rules on every citation, quote, and proposition your AI produces, against the primary law we cover. Accept, Reject, or Inconclusive, per citation, with a signed Audit Capsule.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The draft shown is an illustration of a typical AI answer; verdicts reflect the cited authority in the Kingsfield corpus as of the ruling date shown above.