(Revised January 2014)

(a) Contracting officers shall obtain Business Clearance approval prior to entering into negotiations or discussions. The appropriate Business Clearance approval authority shall approve pre-negotiation objectives. Negotiation objectives shall be documented in Business Clearance Memorandum (BCM) for non-competitive actions and actions using non-formal source selection procedures.

(b) Business Clearance documentation shall include the appropriate documents listed in the Review Package Contents Checklist at 5601-1.1 in accordance with Attachment 5601-1 on competitive acquisitions.