In accordance with SBA regulations the 8(a) Sole Source Award Program allows federal agencies to waive the government mandated “competition” rule for requirements that can be performed by two or more eligible firms, by negotiating directly with a particular 8(a) firm. This is the only Federal program nationwide that allows this type of sole source award. For an 8(a) sole source (also called “direct negotiation”) valued under $6.5M, there is no Justification & Approval (J&A) required. J&As are a formal document which detail the authority, rationale, and other information supporting an instance of contracting without using full-and-open competition. For more information on this refer to statute 6.303-2(d).