Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals    

Attention

The best way to communicate with the Board is by email at asbca.recorder@mail.mil or by telephone at 703-681-8502. Except for Rule 4 file documents, documents that are 10 Megabytes or less in size should be emailed to the Board's Recorder at asbca.recorder@mail.mil. Please review the document filing guidance at 'Rules and Guidance' for more information.   

Welcome

 Welcome to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) website.  The ASBCA is a neutral, independent forum which has been in existence for over fifty years.  Its primary function is to hear and decide post-award contract disputes between government contractors and the Department of Defense; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the Central Intelligence Agency, as appropriate; and other entities with whom the ASBCA has entered into agreements to provide services.  The ASBCA functions under the Contract Disputes Act (41 U.S.C. §§ 7101-7109), its Charter, or other remedy-granting provisions.  The majority of matters on the ASBCA's docket involve appeals by contractors from government contracting officers' final decisions or failures to issue decisions.  

 An appeal will be processed pursuant to the ASBCA's Rules.  The Rules allow a contractor to represent itself without a lawyer and the Rules have provisions for the accelerated processing of small dollar amount claims, which can be as much as $150,000 in the case of a qualifying small business.  Most hearings, if required, will be held by a single Administrative Judge, either at the ASBCA’s offices in Falls Church, Virginia, or, if appropriate, in a location more convenient to the parties.  Most decisions are made by a panel of three Judges, as the ASBCA functions in a collegial manner.

 As a matter of judicial philosophy, the ASBCA encourages parties to attempt to negotiate a resolution of their dispute.  In conjunction with that philosophy, the ASBCA has developed a highly successful, award-winning, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program.  If the parties make a joint request to the Chairman to use the ASBCA's mediation services, and the parties and the ASBCA agree the dispute is suitable for mediation, the Chairman will provide a Judge to assist the parties in developing an appropriate binding or non-binding ADR process.  The ASBCA has sample ADR forms available online for guidance.

 In addition to mediating appeals on its docket, the ASBCA has, in appropriate cases, mediated disputes prior to the formal filing of a claim, prior to the issuance of a contracting officer’s final decision and prior to the filing of an appeal.  The ASBCA has provided its services to various agencies and forums, including mediating matters pending before Federal courts.