Where Industry and Security Intersect
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Under Title I of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA), as amended, the President is authorized to require preferential acceptance and performance of contracts or orders (other than contracts of employment) supporting certain approved national defense and energy programs, and to allocate materials, services, and facilities in such a manner as to promote these approved programs. The DPA’s definition of “national defense” has been amended to include emergency preparedness activities conducted pursuant to Title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) and critical infrastructure protection and restoration. Additional priorities authority is found in Section 18 of the Selective Service Act of 1948, in 10 U.S.C. 2538, and in 50 U.S.C. 82.
The Department of Commerce is delegated authority, through Executive Order 12919, to implement these priorities and allocations provisions for industrial resources. The Bureau of Industry and Security’s Office of Strategic Industries and Economic Security (SIES) administers this authority through the Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) regulation (15 CFR Part 700). The purpose of the DPAS is to (1) assure the timely availability of industrial resources to meet current national defense and emergency preparedness program requirements; and (2) provide an operating system to support rapid industrial response in a national emergency.
Commerce has delegated authority to the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Homeland Security, and to the General Services Administration, to place, in accordance with the DPAS regulation and the requirements of the Defense Production Act and Executive Order 12919, priority ratings on contracts or orders necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense. Commerce may also authorize other government agencies, foreign governments, owners and operators of critical infrastructure, or companies to place priority ratings on contracts or orders on a case-by-case basis. Such requests must first be determined as necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense by the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, or Energy.
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DPAS Regulation and Form BIS-999 (Request for Special Priorities Assistance)
Click Here for a copy of the DPAS regulation published on the U.S. Government Printing Office’s Web site
BIS published technical corrections to the DPAS in the Federal Register on January 29, 2007. Click here to download a copy of the final rule. HTML | PDF
BIS published technical corrections to the DPAS in the Federal Register on January 2, 2008. Click here to download a copy of the final rule. HTML | PDF
Click Here to Download Form BIS-999 (formerly BXA-999) Request for Special Priorities Assistance
List of Programs Authorized to Use “DX” DPAS Priority Rating Updated November 7, 2007
Click Here for a list of programs authorized by the Department of Defense to use the “DX” DPAS priority rating (Highest National Defense Urgency). Note: No DPAS user may change the priority rating designation of a contract or order from the lower "DO" priority rating to the higher "DX" priority rating, regardless of the urgency of the requirement, without express written authorization from the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, or from the Department of Commerce, acting on behalf of the Department of Defense. If you are unable to read the document, please call (202) 482-3634 for more information.
Department of Defense DPAS Information
Click Here to Download a Copy of the Department of Defense’s Priorities and Allocations Manual (DoD 4400.1-M). If you are unable to read the document, please call (202) 482-3634 for more information.
Click Here for Information on the Department of Defense’s Security of Supply Arrangements with the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Italy.
Visit the Following Department of Defense Web Sites for Additional DPAS Information:
Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Industrial Policy)
U.S. Air Force Special Priorities Assistance
Defense Contract Management Agency
Commerce DPAS Points of Contact
To obtain additional information on the DPAS, please call (202) 482-3634, email DPAS@bis.doc.gov, or FAX (202) 482-5650.
Liam McMenamin, DPAS Officer, telephone (202) 482-3634; FAX (202) 482-5650
David Newsom, DPAS Officer, telephone (202) 482-7417; FAX (202) 482-5650