DPAS Rated Orders: A Guide for Buyers and Suppliers

Updated October 13, 2026

The short answer for buyers and suppliers

A rated order is a prime contract, subcontract or purchase order placed in support of an approved program under the Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS), 15 CFR Part 700. It carries a priority rating such as DO-A1 or DX-A2, and the rating travels with the order down every tier of the supply chain.

• Buyers who hold a rated prime or subcontract must place rated orders with their own suppliers for what they need to fill it, and must write those orders with every element 700.12 requires.
• Suppliers must accept a rated order unless a listed reason applies, give it preference over unrated work, answer in writing or electronically within a fixed number of working days, and pass the rating on to their own vendors.

Government contracts usually bring the rating in through FAR 52.211-15, Defense Priority and Allocation Requirements (Apr 2008), which the FAR prescribes at 11.604(b). This page summarizes the regulation for working buyers. It is not legal advice; your contracts team and contracting officer decide how it applies to a given order.

DO versus DX: what each rating changes

There are only two priority levels. DX outranks DO, and DO outranks every unrated order. Orders at the same level are equal with each other, so a DO-A1 is not ahead of a DO-A7.

A working day is any day the recipient of the order is open for business (700.8), so the clock follows the supplier's calendar, not the buyer's. When orders at the same level compete, delivery dates decide the sequence; if dates tie, the order received first goes first (700.14(c)). A Commerce Directive outranks any DX, DO or unrated order as the Directive states (700.11(a)(3)).

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Program identification symbols

The two letters after DO or DX name the approved program. The symbol tells you what the order supports; it does not add priority (700.11(b)). These are the defense symbols most aerospace buyers see, from Schedule I to Part 700.

Schedule I also lists symbols for Canadian and other foreign military programs, energy programs, homeland security programs (N1 to N8) and health, food and transportation programs. Copy the symbol exactly as it appears on the order you received.

The four elements every rated order must contain

An order is only a valid rated order if it contains all four elements in 15 CFR 700.12(a). Missing one is the most common reason a supplier treats a "rated" order as unrated.

The statement listed in 700.12(a)(4) reads: "This is a rated order certified for national defense use and you are required to follow all the provisions of the Defense Priorities and Allocations System regulation (15 CFR part 700)." Note that FAR 52.211-15 (Apr 2008) uses different wording, "certified for national defense, emergency preparedness, and energy program use." When you write your own rated order to a supplier, use the 700.12 text, since that is the element the regulation lists.

Orders placed for emergency preparedness that need expedited action add a second statement under 700.12(b) with a response time limit. Under 700.13(d)(2) that limit can be no shorter than 6 hours after receipt where the hazard has occurred, or 12 hours where it is imminent.

Acceptance and rejection: the rules and the clock

The default is mandatory acceptance. Under 700.13(a) a supplier must accept every rated order it receives and fill it regardless of other accepted rated or unrated orders, and may not charge higher prices or impose terms different from comparable unrated orders.

When the supplier must reject

• It cannot meet the required delivery date. It must not accept that date and must tell the customer the earliest date it can deliver. A conflict with previously accepted lower rated or unrated orders is not a reason; that work gets moved instead.
• The date would interfere with previously accepted orders of equal or higher precedence, as in the table above.
• Several equal rated orders arrive the same day and cannot all be filled: accept the earliest delivery dates and offer the others the earliest dates possible.

When the supplier may reject

• The customer will not meet regular terms of sale or payment.
• The supplier does not supply the item or perform the service.
• The item is produced only for the supplier's own use and has not been sold in the past two years.
• The customer, other than the U.S. Government, makes the item or performs the service itself.
• Accepting would violate other Commerce orders or regulations under the Defense Production Act or Selective Service Act.

Optional rejections must be applied without discriminating among customers. Every acceptance or rejection goes back in writing or electronically, with reasons for any rejection. If a supplier later sees that it will miss an accepted date, 700.13(d)(3) requires it to notify the customer immediately with the reasons and a new date; a verbal notice must be confirmed in writing or electronically within one working day.

Flowing the rating down to sub-tiers

A rating is not a courtesy that stops at the first supplier. Section 700.15 says a person must use rated orders with suppliers to obtain the items and services needed to fill a rated order, using the customer's rating and all four 700.12 elements, so the rating carries through the whole supply chain.

Section 700.17 sets what must be bought on rated orders and how:

• Must be rated: items physically incorporated into the delivered product, containers and packaging, services other than employment contracts, and MRO (which uses symbol H7).
• Combined orders: DX and DO quantities can share an order if each level is identified separately; mixed program symbols on one order use H1.
• Rated and unrated on one PO: allowed if the rated quantities are clearly identified. The supplier owes preference only to the rated portion.
• Minimum buys: a rated order may cover the minimum commercially procurable quantity even if that exceeds the need.
• Small orders: no rating is required on an order below the greater of $125,000 or one half of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, provided delivery can be obtained in time without it (700.17(f)).

Section 700.18 limits what a rating can buy. It may not be used to get delivery earlier than needed, a larger quantity than needed (beyond a minimum procurable quantity), items before the person has received a rated order, plant improvement or construction, or production equipment without specific authority. A machine tool bought to make a rated part is therefore not covered by the part's rating; production equipment for DoD programs goes through form DD 691 under 700.51(c).

Changes, cancellations and trouble

Under 700.16, an unrated order amended to rated, or a DO raised to DX, gets preference from the date the supplier receives the change. An amendment that significantly alters the supplier's production or delivery schedule counts as a new rated order on receipt, which restarts the acceptance clock. A change of ship to address, a reduced quantity, a minor size or design change before production starts, or a change both parties agree to is not a new rated order. If the items are no longer needed, cancel the supplier orders or their ratings and tell every affected supplier promptly.

When a rated order cannot be filled on time, the regulation provides special priorities assistance (Subpart H). The request goes on Form BIS-999; for orders from a Delegate Agency it is sought through the contract administration officer. Typical grounds are difficulty getting delivery by the required date, an inability to locate a supplier, or conflicts between rated orders. Under 700.53 the request must be timely, show an urgent need and show a reasonable effort to resolve the problem first. Assistance is not given for a price advantage, earlier delivery than needed or a competitive advantage (700.54).

Willful violation of the priorities provisions is a crime under 700.74, punishable as the Defense Production Act and Selective Service Act provide. Keep the rated order, the acceptance and every schedule notice in the order file.

What to put on the PO or RFQ

Write the rated order so the supplier can check all four elements in under a minute, and so it can copy them onto its own sub-tier orders. A buyer using this list can say "line 4" to a supplier and be understood.

On the RFQ, tell suppliers the resulting order will be rated and at which level, so they quote a date they can accept under 700.13 rather than one they will have to reject later. Our RFQ builder and need date planner help set a real date per line, and the RFQ checklist covers the rest of the package. Ratings sit next to the quality clauses on the PO; see supplier quality clauses.

How a sourcing partner handles rated orders

A sourcing partner that receives your rated order is itself a supplier under Part 700, with the same acceptance duty and the same duty to extend the rating. Here is how we handle one.

1. Check the four elements on receipt. If one is missing we ask you for a corrected order rather than guessing, because the acceptance clock and every sub-tier order depend on it.
2. Confirm dates with the suppliers before accepting. We ask the machine shop, material source and process vendors whether your date is achievable, and if it is not, we give you the earliest date with the reason, as 700.13(b) requires.
3. Place rated orders at every tier. Each supplier order carries your rating, the delivery date that supports yours, the 700.12 statement and an authorized signature, including orders for certified material and outside processes.
4. Track the response windows. We log receipt dates and each supplier's written acceptance, and tell you immediately if a supplier reports a delay.
5. Keep rated and unrated quantities separate when you add spares or development units to the same job.
6. Return the file. Supplier acceptances and schedule notices go into the order record with the certificate package.

Rated work often also carries export controls, DFARS clauses and CUI. Program facts such as the rating can go on the quote form; controlled technical data cannot, and follows the steps on controlled programs. For shipments abroad on the same program, see export shipping and Incoterms. The general lead time effects of a rating are covered in lead times and delivery, and how primes buy is covered on the defense contractors page.

Send a rated requirement

Request a quote and enter the rating with its program symbol, the required date per line and any quantities that are unrated. We match the job to qualified suppliers, place properly rated orders at each tier, track the acceptance windows and deliver with a certificate package. A person replies within 1 business day, and an NDA comes before any files; see confidentiality.

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Part, quantity and date are enough to start. Drawings and the mutual NDA follow by reply, and controlled programs never send technical data through this site.

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Questions

Related

• Export Shipping and Incoterms for Aerospace Parts
• What Drives Aerospace Lead Time and How to Shorten It
• What Prime Supplier Quality Clauses Require
• Material Certs, Specialty Metals and Lot Traceability

Sources

• eCFR, 15 CFR Part 700, Defense Priorities and Allocations System
• eCFR, 15 CFR 700.11, Priority ratings
• eCFR, 15 CFR 700.12, Elements of a rated order
• eCFR, 15 CFR 700.13, Acceptance and rejection of rated orders
• eCFR, 15 CFR 700.15 to 700.18, Extension, changes, use and limitations of rated orders
• eCFR, Schedule I to Part 700, Approved programs and program identification symbols
• eCFR, 15 CFR Part 700 Subpart H, Special priorities assistance
• eCFR, 15 CFR 700.74, Violations, penalties and remedies
• Acquisition.gov, FAR 52.211-15 Defense Priority and Allocation Requirements