Careers

Experiences

Industries

Offices

Our Firm

Pages

Our People

Updates

Practices

Warner Norcross + Judd LLP is a corporate law firm with over 230 attorneys serving clients in nine offices throughout Michigan. Among the largest law firms in Michigan, Warner works in virtually all areas of business law.

Michigan Law Firm - Warner Norcross + Judd LLP

A recently made public Department of War Secretary Memorandum (Memo) dated Jan. 16, 2026, orders a line-by-line review of all small business 8(a) sole-source and set-aside contracts with over $20 million in contract awards. The Memo follows the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Dec. 2025 decision to audit the financial records from the last three years of all 4,300 8(a) Business Development Program participants.

core/paragraph

Ensure the awards are consistent with warfighter priorities.

core/list-item

Ensure every small business that receives a sole-source or set-aside contract is following the contract requirements and limitations on subcontracting.

core/list

The deadline for completion of the review is Feb. 28, 2026.

Two outcomes are expected from this line-by-line review. Contracts determined not critical to the Department’s warfighting capabilities will be terminated for convenience; those in violation of limitations on subcontracting rules will be sent to the Department’s inspector general and SBA for review and, “where deemed necessary by such offices, for referral to the DOJ.”

In light of this action, small business contractors with set-aside contracts valued at more than $20 million, as well as 8(a) small businesses with sole-source and set-aside contracts of the same value, should begin to:

Identify all active contract awards subject to the Department’s contract review.

Ensure contracts comply with the limitations on subcontracting.

Determine whether the contractor has an obligation to file a mandatory disclosure under the FAR/DFARS where non-compliance with the limitations on subcontracting is found.

Our Aerospace, Defense and Government Services industry group is here to assist companies with these SBA requests. Please reach out to Mike Stone, Adam Bruski, Aida Dismondy, Bill Warners or your Warner attorney.

Aerospace and Defense

Government and DoD Contracting

Partner

Michael A. “Mike” Stone

Senior Counsel

Adam D. Bruski

Aida Dismondy

Staff Attorney

Bill Warners

Regulatory and Compliance

Department of War Issues Line-by-Line Review of 8(a) Contracts — Are You Compliant with 8(a) Requirements?

Warner Norcross + Judd LLP is responsible for the contents of our advertising and this website. Please read our full <a href="/privacy-policy/" aria-label="see privacy policy">privacy policy</a> available on our website. If you have any questions or comments about our website or our Privacy Policy please contact us at <a href="mailto:info@wnj.com">info@wnj.com</a> or 616.752.2000. 

Department of War Issues Line-by-Line Review of 8(a) Contracts — Are You Compliant with 8(a) Requirements?

professionals