---
kind: "section"
citation: "48 C.F.R. § 46.202-4"
title: "48"
number: "46.202-4"
heading: "Higher-level contract quality requirements."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/48/46.202-4"
---

# §46.202-4. Higher-level contract quality requirements.

- (a) Agencies shall establish procedures for determining when higher-level contract quality requirements are necessary, for determining the risk (both the likelihood and the impact) of nonconformance, and for advising the contracting officer about which higher-level standards should be applied and included in the solicitation and contract. Requiring compliance with higher-level quality standards is necessary in solicitations and contracts for complex or critical items (see 46.203) or when the technical requirements of the contract require—
  - (1) Control of such things as design, work operations, in-process controls, testing, and inspection; or
  - (2) Attention to such factors as organization, planning, work instructions, documentation control, and advanced metrology.
- (b) Examples of higher-level quality standards include overarching quality management system standards such as ISO 9001, ASQ/ANSI E4, ASME NQA-1, SAE AS9100, SAE AS9003, and ISO/TS 16949, and product or process specific quality standards such as SAE AS5553.

## Notes

### Amendments

[79 FR 70347, Nov. 25, 2014, as amended at 80 FR 4994, Jan. 29, 2015]

### Authority

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. chapter 4 and 10 U.S.C. chapter 137 legacy provisions (see 10 U.S.C. 3016); and 51 U.S.C. 20113.

### Source

Source: 48 FR 42415, Sept. 19, 1983, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[79 FR 70347, Nov. 25, 2014, as amended at 80 FR 4994, Jan. 29, 2015]