# US federal contracts, purchase orders included, may be signed on the government's behalf only by warranted contracting officers

Page: https://flyvolo.ai/en/changes/ev-19950926-procurement-specialist-9
Date: 1995-09-26 · Stage: Constraint
Can this record move a task judgement? yes
Occupation: https://flyvolo.ai/en/careers/procurement-specialist

## Scope

United States, federal procurement. The regulation says contracts may be entered into and signed on behalf of the government only by contracting officers, and its definitions count orders such as purchase orders as contracts. It reserves the binding signature, not the matching of invoices or the paperwork around an order; agencies' 2025-26 overhaul deviations were not checked.

## Source

- U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo) — Code of Federal Regulations, Title 48, 2025 edition, §1.601 'General' (Federal Acquisition Regulation; [60 FR 49721, Sept. 26, 1995]) — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2025-title48-vol1/pdf/CFR-2025-title48-vol1-sec1-601.pdf (primary source)

## What this means

In US federal buying, raising an order is a signature only an authorised person can give, however much of the paperwork is automated.

## What it does not show yet

Federal government only; only the signature is reserved, not invoice matching.

## How to verify it yourself

Open 48 CFR 1.601 (2025 edition on govinfo) and find "signed on behalf of the Government only by contracting officers".


More: https://flyvolo.ai/llms.txt