Contract line item number (CLIN)

CLINs live in Section B of a solicitation in the uniform contract format, the supplies or services and prices section. FAR subpart 4.10 sets the rules: each line item is a separately identifiable item with its own unit of measure, quantity, unit price and amount, numbered with four digits (0001, 0002 and so on). Sublines (SLINs) split a CLIN further and add two characters, as in 0001AA.

Many solicitations number CLINs by period, so the base year uses the 0001 series and each of the option years has its own series (1001, 2001 ...). Labor, travel, materials and other direct costs often sit on separate CLINs with different contract types: a firm-fixed-price labor CLIN beside a cost-reimbursable travel CLIN is common.

Price exactly the CLINs the solicitation lists, in its order and units. A price that adds lines, merges lines or leaves one blank is hard to evaluate and can be found nonresponsive or unacceptable. The cost volume narrative should explain how each CLIN was built, and the technical volume should describe work that matches what the CLINs buy.

Read every amendment for CLIN changes: a new optional CLIN, a changed quantity or a split line changes the price sheet, and the price sheet is where small errors cost the most.