Required federal clauses, checked before the contract goes out.
Specset (formerly Specbook AI) is AI document control for construction. On federally funded work, upload the clause list your program requires, such as FTA’s third party contract provisions, the provisions in Form FHWA-1273, or the 2 CFR 200 appendix II list, and Specset checks the agreement, the general and supplementary conditions, and the Division 00 and 01 specifications against it. Each row cites the paragraph where the clause appears or marks it as not found. Specset does not decide which clauses apply or give legal advice. Your counsel and contracting officer decide what goes in.
Where required clauses go missing.
Each problem below comes from a federal regulation, agency guidance, a federal audit guide, or a federal review finding. Each answer says what Specset does with the contract documents before the contract goes out.
- 01
Required clauses are left out of the contract
Missing FTA clauses is one of the top 10 deficiencies FTA reported from its FY2023 triennial reviews. In a 2026 audit of IIJA-funded federal facility and equipment contracts, the DOT Inspector General found five of the nine reviewed were missing Buy American-related clauses.
Source: FTA FY2023 Triennial Reviews, Top 10 Deficiencies ↗Source: DOT OIG FI2026025 (Apr. 20, 2026) ↗How Specset helps: Upload the clause list your program requires, and Specset checks the agreement, the general and supplementary conditions, and the Division 00 and 01 specifications against it before the contract goes out. Each row cites the paragraph where the clause appears or marks it as not found. Your counsel and contracting officer decide what goes in.
- 02
Which clauses apply depends on the contract
FTA’s Third Party Contract Provisions Matrix lists the clauses and certifications a recipient or subrecipient must include in contracts under an FTA award, and sets thresholds by contract value and type, including all contracts, contracts over $10,000 and over $150,000, and contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold, with added clauses for construction. Under 2 CFR 200 appendix II, for example, all contracts in excess of $10,000 must address termination for cause and for convenience.
How Specset helps: Your checklist keeps the thresholds and conditions your program sets, and your reviewer marks the rows that apply to the contract. Specset works every applicable row against the contract documents and cites what it finds, so a clause the contract needs is not left to memory.
- 03
The form became optional. The provisions did not
FHWA’s June 25, 2026 revision of Form FHWA-1273 says the requirement to physically incorporate the form into Federal-aid contracts was eliminated effective June 10, 2026, and that contracting agencies remain responsible for the provisions it cites.
How Specset helps: When the provisions are written into the contract instead of attached as the form, a checklist built from the form’s sections, from nondiscrimination and Davis-Bacon through debarment and lobbying certifications, is checked against the contract text, with each section cited where it appears or marked as not found.
- 04
Domestic preference provisions have to reach every agreement
Under 2 CFR 184.4, the Build America, Buy America preference must be included in all subawards, contracts, and purchase orders for the work performed or products supplied under the federal award. The 2025 OMB Compliance Supplement tells auditors to test whether the domestic preference provisions were included in each sampled agreement for infrastructure projects.
How Specset helps: Run the checklist on the agreement, the conditions, and the subcontracts and purchase orders in the project record. Each result cites the paragraph where the domestic preference provision appears or marks it as not found, so a missing provision shows up before the document is signed, not when an auditor samples it.
- 05
The requirements change between versions
FTA’s matrix notes that later versions of the Master Agreement might vary in their requirements or numbering, so a recipient should review the version incorporated into its award.
How Specset helps: Upload the checklist for the version in your award, and run it again when the checklist or the contract changes. Spec revisions and addenda stay in the revision history, with an audit trail of what governs now.
The lists teams check against.
Programs publish their own required provisions. Specset checks the contract against whichever list you upload.
FTA-funded contracts. FTA’s Third Party Contract Provisions Matrix outlines the clauses and certifications recipients and subrecipients must include in third-party contracts, with the threshold for each.
Federal-aid highway contracts. Form FHWA-1273 collects the required contract provisions for Federal-aid construction contracts, including nondiscrimination, Davis-Bacon and related acts, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards, subletting, safety, false statements, Clean Air and Water, debarment, lobbying, and U.S.-flag vessels.
Any federal award. 2 CFR 200 appendix II lists the provisions all contracts under a federal award must contain, as applicable, in addition to any the agency or the recipient requires.
Specset does not maintain or interpret these lists. Your team chooses the list, and Specset shows where the contract meets each row.
Clause check workflows on one record.
The contract, the conditions, and the specifications stay in one project record. Every check reads the same conformed text.
- 01
Check the contract against the required federal clauses
Upload your program’s clause checklist and Specset works the agreement, conditions, Division 00 and 01 specifications, and any subcontracts and purchase orders in the record row by row, citing where each clause appears.
- 02
Save the checklist as a skill
Write your program’s clause check down once as a custom skill, and agents run it with full coverage on every contract.
- 03
Return the checklist in your format
Upload the checklist document or spreadsheet your agency uses, and Specset’s agents complete it with every value cited. Your reviewer checks it before it goes out.
- 04
Hand the reviewer the decision log
Specset logs who confirmed, edited, or dismissed each finding, and when. Extract that log onto the template or format your auditor or the agency asks for.
Who this is for.
Teams that write, review, or answer for the federal provisions in a construction contract.
Recipients and procurement teams
Transit agencies, State DOTs, cities, counties, and airport sponsors put the federal provisions into the contracts they award. Specset checks each contract against the list the program requires before it goes out.
CM and owner’s rep firms
The firms that assemble the bid documents for an owner check the front end before advertisement. Specset cites where each required clause appears in the conditions and Division 00 and 01.
Contractors
Prime contractors carry federal provisions down to subcontracts and purchase orders. Specset checks the documents your team uploads against the same list.
What stays with your counsel and contracting officer.
Specset shows where each required clause is, or that it is not there. The decisions stay with people.
- Specset does not give legal advice or decide which clauses apply to a contract.
- Specset does not write or approve clause language. Your counsel does.
- Specset does not maintain the program’s clause list. Your team uploads the version in your award.
- Specset does not make or verify the certifications a contractor signs, such as debarment or lobbying certifications.
Public sources for this page.
Regulation, agency guidance, audit guide, and review facts above come from these publications.
- FTA FY2023 Triennial Reviews, Top 10 Deficiencies
- Missing FTA clauses is one of the top 10 findings listed.
- DOT OIG FI2026025, Buy American (Apr. 20, 2026)
- Five of nine IIJA-funded federal facility and equipment contracts reviewed were missing Buy American-related clauses.
- FTA Third Party Contract Provisions Matrix
- Clauses and certifications recipients must include in third-party contracts, with thresholds by contract value and type. Points recipients to the Master Agreement version in their award.
- 2 CFR 200 appendix II
- Provisions all contracts under a federal award must contain, as applicable.
- Form FHWA-1273 (revised June 25, 2026)
- Physical incorporation no longer required as of June 10, 2026. The provisions still apply.
- 2 CFR 184.4
- The Build America, Buy America preference must be included in all subawards, contracts, and purchase orders under the award.
- 2025 OMB Compliance Supplement
- Auditors test whether domestic preference provisions were included in each sampled infrastructure agreement.
What teams ask about federal contract clauses.
01What federal clauses have to be in an FTA-funded construction contract?
FTA publishes a Third Party Contract Provisions Matrix as a compliance aid. It lists the clauses and certifications recipients and subrecipients must include in third-party contracts, with thresholds by contract value and type and added clauses for construction, and points recipients to the Master Agreement version in their award. Upload that list and Specset checks your contract documents against it, row by row.
02Is Form FHWA-1273 still required in Federal-aid contracts?
FHWA’s June 25, 2026 revision of the form says the requirement to physically incorporate it was eliminated effective June 10, 2026. Contracting agencies remain responsible for the provisions it cites, and can still require the form in subcontracts. Specset checks the contract text against those provisions either way.
03Can Specset check our contract against our own clause checklist?
Yes. Upload the checklist your program uses, as a document or a spreadsheet, and Specset checks the agreement, the general and supplementary conditions, and the Division 00 and 01 specifications against it. Each row cites the paragraph where the clause appears or marks it as not found.
04Does Specset decide which clauses apply?
No. Thresholds and conditions come from your program, your award, and your counsel. Your reviewer marks the rows that apply, and Specset shows where each one appears in the contract.
05What contract documents does Specset check?
The documents in the project record: the agreement and its amendments, the general and supplementary conditions, and the Division 00 and 01 specifications. Subcontracts and purchase orders uploaded to the record can be checked against the same list.
Send one contract and your clause list.
Bring the agreement, the general and supplementary conditions, the Division 00 and 01 sections, and the clause list your program requires. Specset returns the list with a citation or a not-found mark on every row. Your counsel decides what goes in.