Exchange/Sale of Personal Property

Exchange/Sale is an authority provided by 40 U.S. Code § 503. It allows agencies to exchange or sell non-excess, non-surplus personal property and apply the exchange allowance or sales proceeds towards the acquisition of similar personal property. Using the exchange/sale authority reduces the cost of replacement personal property.

Agencies should consider using the exchange/sale authority before considering other disposal options. Exchange/sale may apply when agencies plan to acquire similar products and other requirements of the authority are satisfied. Agencies should not use the exchange/sale authority if the exchange allowance or estimated sales proceeds for the personal property will be unreasonably low.

The regulations on exchange/sale are contained in the Federal Management Regulation (FMR) at 41 CFR Part 102-39. Information on requesting deviations to those regulations can be found on the Deviation Requests page. Guidance on the financial accounting for exchange/sale items may be found in FMR Bulletin B-48 [PDF - 79 KB].

Please view GSA’s Exchange/Sale [PDF - 123 KB] slipsheet for more information on the Exchange/Sale program.