What is CPARS (Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System)?
The federal government's official system for rating contractor performance on completed contracts, used by agencies to inform future award decisions.
CPARS is managed by the Department of Defense but used across all federal agencies to evaluate contractor performance. After contract completion — or at annual intervals for multi-year contracts — the contracting officer rates the contractor on a 5-point scale: Exceptional, Very Good, Satisfactory, Marginal, and Unsatisfactory.
Ratings cover quality of product or service, schedule adherence, cost control, management effectiveness, and small business subcontracting compliance. These evaluations are stored in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) and are referenced by source selection officials when evaluating proposals for new contracts.
CPARS ratings are not public. Only government source selection teams and the rated contractor can view them. Contractors can access their own evaluations at cpars.gov with an active SAM.gov registration and MPIN. Contractors have the right to review and submit written comments on every evaluation before it is finalized.
Related Terms
Past Performance
A contractor's record of performing on previous contracts, used by agencies as a key evaluation factor in awarding new contracts.
FAPIIS (Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System)A federal database that tracks contractor integrity issues including terminations for cause, suspensions, debarments, and other serious performance failures.
SAM.govThe System for Award Management — the official U.S. government website where businesses register to bid on federal contracts and where agencies post opportunities.