I.  Background

DoD, GSA, and NASA published a proposed rule in the Federal Register at 76 FR 79609 on December 22, 2011, to implement the removal of FIPS 161. FIPS 161 is being removed based on the notice posted in the Federal Register at 73 FR 51276 on September 2, 2008, by the Department of Commerce. This FIPS requirement was withdrawn by the Secretary of Commerce because it was obsolete and had not been updated to adopt current voluntary industry standards, Federal specifications, Federal data standards, or current good practices for information security. The withdrawal of this standard created a gap in the FAR. This final rule closes that gap by clarifying the use of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) X12 as the valid standard to use for computer-generated forms. FAR 53.105 is being amended; it will continue allowing agencies and the public to generate standard and optional forms on their computers.