Commercial solutions openings, explained

A commercial solutions opening (CSO) is a general solicitation that the Department of Defense (DoD) uses to buy commercial technology, with proposals selected competitively after expert review. The authority is 10 U.S.C. 3458, and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) sets the procedures in subpart 212.70. Use of a CSO counts as use of competitive procedures under chapter 221 of title 10, and awards are fixed-price and treated as commercial. The term has a second use. The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) calls its solicitation for prototype other transactions a CSO, under a different statute.

From a 2016 pilot to permanent law

Section 879 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, approved December 23, 2016, created the "defense commercial solutions opening pilot program." The pilot required fixed-price awards, required a written determination from a senior acquisition official for any award over $100,000,000, and was set to expire on September 30, 2022.

Section 803 of the FY2022 NDAA, enacted December 27, 2021, made the authority permanent as 10 U.S.C. 2380c, renumbered 3458, and repealed the pilot. The DFARS final rule that implemented it, DFARS Case 2022-D006, took effect August 17, 2023. The rule reports that during the pilot, FY2018 to FY2022, DoD awarded 120 contracts from CSOs, and 82 of them, or 68 percent, went to 72 unique small entities.

Section 813 of the FY2024 NDAA, printed as a note to section 3458, requires DoD to use the authority at least four times each fiscal year for the mission needs of a geographic combatant command, until September 30, 2027.

What the statute says now

The 2024 edition of section 3458 let DoD acquire "innovative" commercial products and commercial services after peer review of proposals. Innovative meant a technology, process, or method new as of proposal submission, or a new application of an existing one.

Section 1823 of the FY2026 NDAA, approved December 18, 2025, rewrote subsection (a). A CSO may now be used to acquire commercial products, commercial services, or nondevelopmental items, after a "peer review, technical review, or operational review" as appropriate. The section struck the definition of innovative.

Section 1823 also added a subsection (c) on follow-on production. For an item acquired through a CSO, DoD may enter a follow-on production contract, including a sole source contract subject to the approval requirements of section 3204(e), or a follow-on production contract or transaction as defined in section 4022.

Two rules carried through: awards are fixed-price, and the items are treated as commercial.

Where the $100 million line sits

The statute and the regulation now differ on dollar value.

• Statute before section 1823. Section 3458(c)(1) barred a contract or agreement over $100,000,000 without a written determination from the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment or the relevant service acquisition executive.
• Statute after section 1823. That paragraph is gone. A notice duty stays: within 45 days after awarding a contract over $100,000,000 under the authority, DoD notifies the congressional defense committees of the item, the requirement or capability gap, the amount, and the contractor.
• Regulation. DFARS 212.7003, posted under DFARS Change 5/7/2026, still directs contracting officers to obtain senior procurement executive approval for a CSO award over $100 million. DoD class deviation 2026-O0028, which contracting officers use in place of the codified DFARS part 212 from February 1, 2026, keeps the same rule, and its Procedures, Guidance, and Information (PGI) text lists five elements for the written determination. Both texts still use the word "innovative."

How a DFARS 212.70 CSO runs

DFARS 212.7002 allows a CSO only to obtain innovative solutions or potential capabilities, to close capability gaps or provide potential technological advancements, and when meaningful proposals with varying technical or scientific approaches can be reasonably anticipated. Section 212.7004 sets the procedure:

• The CSO states the agency's interest, the technical data needed, the evaluation factors, the period for accepting proposals, and instructions.
• Technical merit and importance to agency programs are the primary factors. Price is evaluated at a minimum to find it fair and reasonable.
• The contracting officer publicizes the CSO through the Governmentwide point of entry and publishes the notice at least annually.
• A subject-matter expert peer review produces a written report on each proposal. Proposals need not be compared with each other, because they do not answer a common statement of work.

CSOs and other transactions

DIU's CSO HQ0845-20-S-C001, Amendment 0001, effective March 13, 2026, defines its CSO as DIU's method for using the prototype authority in 10 U.S.C. 4022. The document states that this process is distinct from the defense CSO in DFARS Class Deviation 2022-O0007. Awards are prototype other transaction agreements, not contracts under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The process has three phases: a solution brief, a pitch, and a full written proposal. After a successful prototype, the government and company may negotiate a follow-on production contract or agreement without further competition, under section 4022(f).

The Army uses both. A December 9, 2025 story from Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground describes the Army Open Solicitation, first released in May 2025, as a continuously open vehicle that draws on authorities such as CSOs and other transactions. The story reports 53 submissions to its Active Capability Gaps pathway, resulting in three awards, with the first such award made within 16 days from request for proposal to contract award.

What to check

• Does the solicitation rest on 10 U.S.C. 3458 and DFARS subpart 212.70, or on the prototype authority in 10 U.S.C. 4022, as DIU's CSO does?
• Which text of section 3458 does a document quote: the 2024 edition, limited to innovative items and peer review, or the text as amended on December 18, 2025?
• For an award over $100 million, is senior procurement executive approval on file under DFARS 212.7003, and were the congressional defense committees notified within 45 days?
• Does the CSO state its evaluation factors and the period for accepting proposals, as DFARS 212.7004 requires?
• Does a follow-on production award cite section 3458(c), or section 4022(f) for a prototype agreement?

Sources

1. 1United States Code, 2024 Edition, Title 10, Section 3458 - Authority to acquire innovative commercial products and commercial services using general solicitation competitive procedures · U.S. Government Publishing Office
2. 2Public Law 119-60, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 · U.S. Government Publishing Office (approved December 18, 2025)
3. 3Public Law 114-328, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 · U.S. Government Publishing Office (approved December 23, 2016)
4. 4Subpart 212.70 - Defense Commercial Solutions Opening · Acquisition.gov (DFARS Change 5/7/2026)
5. 5Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Defense Commercial Solutions Opening (DFARS Case 2022-D006) · Federal Register, 88 FR 55937 (final rule effective August 17, 2023)
6. 6Class Deviation - Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul Part 12, Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS) Part 212 (DARS Tracking Number 2026-O0028) · Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment (effective February 1, 2026)
7. 7Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) HQ0845-20-S-C001 and HQ0034-20-9-DIU, Amendment 0001 · Defense Innovation Unit (effective March 13, 2026)
8. 8Army Open Solicitation: A New Pathway for Innovation · U.S. Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground (December 9, 2025)

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