Published 2026 | TIKC NewsWire
Here is one of the fairest tools you have as a contractor. When the government changes the work, delays you, or hands you a surprise, you can ask to be made whole through a request for equitable adjustment, usually called an REA. Used honestly, it is exactly how a fair system should work: the government changed the deal, so it pays for the change. The danger is in the temptation to pad. When you inflate the number, roll in costs that were really your own mistakes, or claim delay you caused yourself, a legitimate request becomes a false claim.
What an REA is for
An REA is your request for more time or money when something the government did, or a change it directed, increased your cost or pushed your schedule. A new requirement, a late government approval, a design change, these are real impacts, and you are entitled to recover the real, added cost they caused. The key words are real and added. An REA is meant to cover what the change actually cost you, nothing more. Built that way, it is not just legal, it is smart business.
Where it turns into a false claim
The trouble starts when the number stops matching reality. You add a cushion because you expect the government to negotiate down. You fold in rework that was your own crew’s mistake and blame it on the change. You claim weeks of delay when the change really cost you days. Each of those makes the REA overstate what you are truly owed, and since you certify larger claims as accurate, that overstatement becomes a false statement. A padded REA is cousin to defective pricing, because both rest on cost figures that are not what you represent them to be.
When an REA becomes a certified claim
There is an extra line to respect. Once a dispute formalizes into a claim above a dollar threshold, you must certify it under the Contract Disputes Act, swearing the amount is accurate and you believe the government owes it. That certification raises the stakes on every number inside it. A cushion you thought was just negotiating room becomes a sworn figure you cannot back up. Build the claim from real, documented cost, and that certification is easy. Build it from hope, and it is a trap.
What to do now
- Tie every dollar to the change. Claim only costs the government’s change or delay actually caused.
- Do not pad to negotiate. Submit your true number, not an inflated one you expect to be bargained down.
- Separate your own mistakes. Do not fold rework or delay you caused into the government’s change.
- Document the impact. Keep records that show how the change drove the added cost and time.
- Certify only what you can prove. On a certified claim, swear to a number your records fully support.
Asking to be paid for a change the government made is your right, and you should use it with confidence. Just keep the ask honest. Tie every dollar to the real impact, leave your own mistakes out of it, and your REA stays a fair recovery instead of becoming the evidence against you. Brick by brick.
FAQ
What is a request for equitable adjustment?
An REA is your request for added time or money when a government change, delay, or action increased your cost or pushed your schedule. You can recover the real, added impact.
When does an REA become fraud?
When you inflate the number, roll in costs from your own mistakes, or claim delay you caused. That makes the REA overstate what you are owed, which can be a false claim.
Is adding a negotiating cushion okay?
No. Padding to leave room for negotiation makes your certified number inaccurate. Submit your true, supportable figure.
What changes when it becomes a certified claim?
Above a dollar threshold, you must certify the claim under the Contract Disputes Act as accurate. Every number must then be one your records fully support.
Sources
Federal Acquisition Regulation. (2026). Subpart 43.2, Changes, and 52.243 Changes clauses.
Contract Disputes Act, 41 U.S.C. 7103. Claim certification requirements. (2026).
This article is general information, not legal advice.
About the Author
TIKC Staff Writer
Team Integrity Knowledge Center is a GovCon education and consulting platform helping small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses win and keep federal and state contracts with plain-English guidance. Build, grow, scale, brick by brick. Contact
