Federal Acquisition Certification for Program/Project Managers (FAC-P/PM)

The Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers is the government's own credentialing system for the federal employees who manage major acquisitions and programs on the government side of the contracting relationship. Established by OMB Memorandum M-07-24 and updated through subsequent FAI guidance, FAC-P/PM applies to government program managers, project managers, and other acquisition professionals who are responsible for defining requirements, overseeing contractor performance, and managing program cost, schedule, and technical performance on behalf of the federal government.

What is FAC-P/PM?

FAC-P/PM has three levels: Entry, Mid, and Senior. Each level requires a combination of education, training hours from FAI-approved sources, and documented experience managing programs of increasing complexity and dollar value. The Senior level, for instance, requires a minimum of four years of program management experience, completion of specific core and elective courses, and often alignment with DoD Acquisition Professional Development Program requirements for defense agencies.

The certification is significant to contractors because FAC-P/PM is the credential held by many of the government program managers and contracting officer's representatives who oversee contractor performance. Solicitations for program management support services, acquisition support, and PMO support roles increasingly list FAC-P/PM as a required or preferred qualification for contractor key personnel who will be working alongside or in support of government program offices. In this context, FAC-P/PM functions like PMP but signals specific knowledge of federal acquisition processes, regulations, and governance rather than general project management methodology.

The Federal Acquisition Institute publishes the FAC-P/PM curriculum and coordinates certification across civilian agencies. Defense agencies follow closely aligned but separately administered requirements through the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) framework, which includes the Program Management career field with its own certification levels that parallel FAC-P/PM.

Why it matters for contractors

For government IT and acquisition support contractors who place staff in program management support roles within federal agencies, FAC-P/PM certification is increasingly a differentiator and sometimes a requirement. Agencies that run their program management offices with a mix of government and contractor staff often prefer contractor project managers who understand the federal acquisition lifecycle from the government perspective, not just the contractor perspective. FAC-P/PM training covers EVMS, acquisition planning, source selection, and contract oversight - all directly relevant to supporting an agency program office.

Contractors should also understand FAC-P/PM as context for the government counterparts they work with. A contracting officer's representative who holds FAC-P/PM Senior level has significant training in contractor oversight, performance assessment, and reporting requirements. Knowing this level of sophistication exists on the government side helps contractors calibrate the quality and rigor of their own program management documentation and reporting.

Example

A management consulting firm pursuing an acquisition support contract with a large civilian agency notes that the solicitation requires the proposed program management support lead to hold either a PMP or FAC-P/PM Mid-level certification. The firm proposes a consultant who holds both, plus eight years of experience working in federal agency program offices. In the oral presentation, the firm's proposed lead discusses the government's EVMS reporting requirements from a government perspective, drawing on FAC-P/PM training in acquisition program management. The technical panel evaluates this person as the strongest proposed key personnel candidate among all offerors, contributing to the firm's best-value award.