U.S. DoD Updates Acquisition Thresholds: Key Facts for Canadian Suppliers

As of October 1, 2025, U.S. government acquisition thresholds, including those for micro-purchase and simplified acquisition, have increased to reflect inflation. Here is how they impact purchases from Canada made by the U.S. DoD under the DPSA.

A new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule increases several important acquisition-related thresholds, including the micro-purchase threshold and the simplified acquisition threshold, for any contracts with the U.S. government. The rule takes effect October 1, 2025.

New threshold for Canadian contracts with U.S. DoD

Under DFARS 225.87, U.S. DoD contracts with Canadian suppliers that exceed the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT), now set at USD $350,000, must be awarded through CCC using its U.S. DoD Prime Contractor services.

Threshold Type	Previous Amount	New Amount	Description	Impact on Canadian Businesses
Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)	USD $250,000	USD $350,000	Higher threshold above which U.S. DoD requires Canadian businesses to work with CCC.	Canadian businesses must use CCC for all U.S. DoD contracts over USD $350,000.

The new simplified acquisition threshold means that Canadian companies can work directly with the U.S. DoD for contracts below the $350,000 USD threshold. This may require Canadian companies to comply with standard U.S. DoD procurement regulations, including providing cost and pricing data.

CCC still can support contracts below SAT, if requested by U.S. DoD.

Canadian businesses who work with CCC have the following benefits:

Help navigating complex procurement process – Using our years of experience, we answer your questions about U.S DoD and their procurement process. We also assist with any contract disputes.
Equal footing status – As a Canadian company, your proposal to the U.S. DoD carries the same weight as one submitted by a U.S. firm.
Price certification – Working with Public Services and Procurement Canada, we certify that your price is fair and reasonable to U.S. DoD, which eliminates the need to present cost and pricing data that conforms with U.S. accounting standards.

For U.S. military buying commands, working with CCC for acquisitions from Canada provides the following benefits:

Guarantee of contract performance – When sourced through CCC, the Government of Canada provides a sovereign assurance of contract performance.
Get assurance of value for money – Working with Public Services and procurement Canada, CCC conducts a cost and price analysis to ensure the Canadian supplier’s price is fair and reasonable and in accordance with Government of Canada Cost and Profit Policy.
Reduce contract administration effort – CCC provides price verification, coordinates assist audits and serves as the point of contact for U.S. DoD contracting officials and DCMA North America.
Contractual provisions give same data rights – S. DoD receives the same rights for data and information related to production that would be normally obtained from a U.S. supplier.

Increased threshold for micro-purchases

Micro-purchases are routine, small-value transactions used by U.S. government buyers – including U.S. DoD – to quickly procure products and services. One of the biggest advantages of micro-purchases is that they allow businesses to enter the government marketplace with minimal barriers.

The new micro-purchase threshold is USD $15,000.

Neither the Buy American Act nor trade agreement provisions apply to micro-purchases by U.S. DoD and all Federal civilian agencies. This means, U.S. government buyers can consider Canadian offers (under USD $15,0000) of products and services on an equal basis to offers from U.S.-based suppliers.

Threshold Type	Previous Amount	New Amount	Description	Impact on Canadian Businesses
Micro-Purchase Threshold (MPT)	USD $10,000	USD $15,000	Threshold for purchases made without formal competition, often on purchase cards.	Slightly increases opportunities for low-value, credit card purchases.

Other U.S. acquisition thresholds

Aside from the simplified acquisition threshold, here are some other acquisition thresholds and how they may impact Canadian businesses when doing business with U.S. DoD.

Threshold Type	Previous Amount	New Amount	Description	Impact on Canadian Businesses
Justifications for Other Than Full & Open Competition (FAR 6.304)	$750K → $15M → $75M → $100M	$900K → $20M → $90M → $150M	Approval thresholds for non-competitive contracts.	U.S. DoD uses FAR 6.304 but supplements it with DFARS 206.3 and PGI 206.3 for internal procedures. The higher thresholds for U.S. DoD are now aligned with the inflation-adjusted FAR thresholds as of October 1, 2025. Whether sole source of through competition, Canadian businesses are required to contract through CCC for any U.S. DoD contracts above the USD $350,000 simplified acquisition threshold.
Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Products/Services (FAR 13.500(a))	$7.5M	$9M	Ceiling for simplified commercial acquisition methods.	U.S. DoD is aligning its DFARS thresholds with the updated FAR thresholds. Regardless of acquisition procedures, Canadian businesses are required to contract through CCC for any U.S. DoD contracts above the USD $350,000 simplified acquisition threshold.
Cost or Pricing Data Threshold (FAR 15.403-4)	$2M	$2.5M	Determines when cost or pricing data must be submitted.	No impact to Canadian companies that contract through CCC. Contracts to the U.S. DoD through CCC do not have to submit cost or pricing data since U.S. DoD, DFARS 215.403-1(c)(4 )(C) waives this requirement.

A full list of the threshold changes can be found on acquisition.gov.

Connect with CCC

CCC has spent decades working closely with U.S. DoD to connect U.S. military needs with Canadian solutions.

Let us know if you’re a Canadian company looking to sell to the U.S. DoD and we’ll get you onboard so your business can get the support you need.

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This post was last updated on November 14, 2025.