A stop-work order can halt a contractor's performance on a negotiated federal supply, research and development, or service contract without terminating it outright, and the government's obligations once that order issues are laid out in FAR Subpart 42.13. Contractors who receive one often assume the stoppage simply lapses on its own once the clock runs out. It doesn't work that way, and knowing what actually governs the stoppage — and what the government still has to do before it ends — determines whether the pause resolves cleanly or turns into a costly dispute over money the government never has to pay.
Background
FAR Subpart 42.13 and its companion clause, FAR 52.242-15 (Stop-Work Order), give a contracting officer the power to order a contractor to stop all or part of the work called for under a contract, for a stated period, when doing so serves the government's interest. The clause is written into negotiated fixed-price or cost-reimbursement contracts and solicitations covering supplies, services, or R&D. It is not a standard feature of every federal contract; it has to be inserted, and a contracting officer cannot issue the order casually. Issuance requires approval above the contracting officer's own level, a deliberate check meant to keep the tool reserved for situations that genuinely warrant halting performance rather than routine schedule friction.
The order typically surfaces when the government needs to pause work while it resolves a design problem, a funding issue, a legal question, or some other circumstance that makes continued performance wasteful or premature. Because the contractor keeps incurring costs — payroll, facilities, subcontractor commitments — while barred from doing the work it was hired to do, the clause builds in obligations for the government to act, not just a license to let the order sit.
Key Details
FAR Subpart 42.13, the policy section, sets no fixed maximum duration for a stoppage on its own. The clause text actually inserted into the contract, FAR 52.242-15, states a default period: the contracting officer may order the contractor to stop work "for a period of 90 days after the order is delivered to the Contractor, and for any further period to which the parties may agree." That 90-day figure is the clause's built-in starting point, not an absolute ceiling — going beyond it requires the parties to agree, which is a different mechanism than a contracting officer simply stretching a deadline unilaterally. The obligation that actually protects the contractor sits in the policy language: the government must act, one way or another, before the stated period runs out.
FAR Subpart 42.13 requires that "as soon as feasible after a stop-work order is issued, but before its expiration, the contracting officer shall" take one of three actions: terminate the contract, cancel the stop-work order, or extend the period of the stop-work order. That third option is the one contractors need to watch closely. Extending a stop-work order past its originally stated period is not something the government can do unilaterally — FAR Subpart 42.13 permits an extension only "if it is necessary and if the contractor agrees," and requires the extension "be by a supplemental agreement." A contracting officer who wants more time must negotiate it, not simply issue a follow-on memo.
FAR 52.242-15 also answers what happens when the order ends, whether by cancellation or by the stated period simply running out: the contractor must resume work. The clause states that once a stop-work order "is canceled or the period of the order or any extension thereof expires, the Contractor shall resume work" — resumption is not optional and does not wait on a separate government notice. That same clause is also where the cost-recovery mechanism lives, not a separate provision. If the stoppage increased the contractor's cost or the time needed to perform, the contracting officer must make "an equitable adjustment in the delivery schedule or contract price, or both," provided the contractor asserts that right within 30 days after the stoppage ends — though the contracting officer may still act on a later claim, any time before final payment. The clause does not address profit either way.
None of this authority is exercised at the working level without oversight. Because issuing the order requires approval above the contracting officer, and extending it requires the contractor's signature on a supplemental agreement, neither side can unilaterally control how long a contract sits idle. The contracting officer must affirmatively decide the contract's direction before the order's stated period runs out.
What It Means for Contractors
The first thing to do on receiving a stop-work order is read the stated expiration date, not just the fact that work has stopped. That date is the operative deadline — it tells you when the contracting officer must terminate, cancel, or come back asking for a consensual extension. Track it on your own calendar independent of anything the government sends, because the clause puts the burden of timely action on the contracting officer, and assuming the government will proactively follow up before the deadline means trusting a process that depends on someone else's workload.
If the contracting officer asks for more time beyond the original period, treat that request as a negotiation, not a formality. Because an extension requires a supplemental agreement, the contractor has leverage at that moment — this is the point to raise cost impacts, staffing retention issues, or subcontractor exposure tied to the delay, and to get commitments in writing before signing on to additional idle time.
Do not assume the cost-recovery claim happens automatically once work resumes. FAR 52.242-15 gives the contractor only 30 days after the stoppage ends to assert the right to an equitable adjustment in delivery schedule or contract price — miss that window, and recovery depends on the contracting officer's discretion, not a guarantee. Track allowable costs incurred during the stoppage — idle labor, retained facilities, unavoidable subcontractor payments — and put the adjustment request in writing well inside the 30-day window.
Finally, know what to do if the stated period simply expires without the contracting officer terminating, canceling, or extending it. FAR 52.242-15 already answers this: expiration itself triggers the obligation to resume work, whether or not a formal notice arrives. The order has lapsed, not left the contract in limbo. Document the missed deadline in writing, both to preserve the equitable-adjustment claim and to flag that the contracting officer failed to act as FAR Subpart 42.13 requires — but don't wait for a separate green light before going back to work.
