A Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) is a comprehensive summary of a Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) Acquisition Category (ACAT) I program that is required for periodic submission to Congress by the Secretary of Defense. It’s mandated by Title 10 USC § 2432 “Selected Acquisition Reports”.

Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) Database

The following website contains a collection of SAR submitted to Congress.

• Website: Washington Headquarter Service – Selective Acquisition Reports

Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) Content

The SAR includes the status of the total program cost, schedule, and performance, as well as program unit cost and unit cost breach information. It also includes a full life-cycle cost analysis of the program ad all its increments.

Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) Submission

The SAR for the quarter ending December 31 is the annual SAR. The Program Manager (PM) will submit the annual SAR within 60 days after the President transmits the following fiscal year’s budget to Congress. Annual SARs will reflect the President’s Budget and supporting documentation. The annual SAR is mandatory for all Acquisition Category (ACAT) I programs.

The PM will submit quarterly exception SARs for the quarters ending March 31, June 30, and September 30 not later than 45 days after the quarter ends. Quarterly SARs are reported on an exception basis, as follows: [1]

• The current estimate exceeds the Program Acquisition Unit Cost (PAUC) objective or the Average Procurement Unit Cost (APUC) objective of the currently approved Acquisition Program Baseline (APB) in base-year dollars by 15 percent or more;
• The current estimate includes a 6-month or greater delay, for any schedule parameter, that occurred since the current estimate reported in the previous SAR;
• Milestone B or Milestone C approval occurs within the reportable quarter.
• Quarterly exception SARs will report the current estimate of the program for cost, schedule, and performance.

Pre-Milestone B projects may submit Research, Development Test & Evaluation (RDT&E)-only reports, excluding procurement, military construction, and acquisition-related operations and maintenance costs. DoD Components should notify the Under Secretary of Defense (USD) Acquisition Technology & Logistics (AT&L) with names of the projects for which they intend to submit RDT&E-only SARs 30 days before the reporting quarter ends. USD(AT&L) should also notify Congress 15 days before reports are due. [1]

Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) Waivers

The Secretary of Defense may waive the requirement for submission of a SAR for a program for a fiscal year if: [1]

• The program has not entered the Engineering, Manufacturing & Development (EMD) Phase;
• A reasonable cost estimate has not been established for the program; and
• The system configuration for the program is not well-defined

Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) Termination

The Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics) will consider terminating reporting of SAR data when 90 percent of expected production deliveries or planned acquisition expenditures have been made, or when the program is no longer considered an ACAT I program in accordance with section 2432 of tile 10, United States Code.

AcqLinks and References:

• Modernized Selective Acquisition Report (SAR) Preparation and Review Guidance – Nov 2023
• Website: 10 USC § 2432 -“Selected Acquisition Reports”
• Example: F-35 Selected Acquisition Report – Dec 11
• Website: Washington Headquarters Service – Selective Acquisition Reports

Updated: 1/8/2024

Rank: G1.2