DPAS Rating: DO and DX Orders, Acceptance, and Penalties

A DPAS rating is a priority stamp the federal government places on a contract or purchase order that legally requires you to fill it ahead of your unrated commercial work. The system runs under the Defense Production Act of 1950 and is administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the Department of Commerce under 15 CFR Part 700.¹ If an order arrives carrying one, you have obligations around acceptance, scheduling, and supply chain flow-down, and the penalties for ignoring them are criminal, not just contractual.

What DO and DX Mean

There are two rating levels. DO is the standard priority and covers most defense and emergency preparedness work. DX is the higher rating, reserved for programs of the highest national priority and approved by the Secretary of Defense or a designated official.¹

The hierarchy is simple. Any rated order outranks any unrated commercial order when necessary to meet the delivery date. DX outranks DO. Within a level, all DO orders sit equal to each other and all DX orders sit equal to each other. So a DO order can push commercial deliveries off your schedule, and a DX order can push a DO order.

Every rating comes paired with a program identification symbol showing the end use — A1 for aircraft, A2 for missiles, A7 for electronics and communications equipment, N1 for federal emergency preparedness, and so on. The full list appears as Schedule I to 15 CFR Part 700.²

How to Tell a Rated Order Is Valid

Not every government purchase order counts. A contract only carries enforceable DPAS priority if it includes four elements:

The priority rating (DO or DX) together with the program identification symbol.
A specific delivery date. “Immediately” or “as soon as possible” does not qualify.
An authorized signature, written on paper contracts or digital on electronic ones.
A certification statement substantially reading: “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).”²

Miss any one of those and the order is not a valid rated order, and DPAS obligations do not attach. If the paperwork looks incomplete but you suspect the customer meant to rate the order, contact them before you treat it as commercial.

Accepting or Rejecting the Order

Acceptance is the default. If a rated order comes in for something you actually make or supply, you are required by law to accept it, no matter how full your book already is. You also cannot charge more or impose different terms than you would for a comparable unrated order.³

The clock is short. You have 15 working days to accept or reject a DO order in writing, and 10 working days for a DX order. A rejection has to state the reasons.

Rejection is only allowed on narrow grounds:

The buyer will not meet your regularly established terms of sale or payment.
You do not supply the item or perform the service.
The item is one you produce solely for internal use and have not sold externally in the past two years. If you have sold some, you must accept rated orders up to that quantity.
The buyer, other than the U.S. Government, already manufactures the same item or performs the same service.
Accepting would conflict with another Commerce regulation or action issued under the Defense Production Act.³

Being busy is not on that list. Neither is preferring a more profitable commercial job or wanting to avoid the paperwork.

Scheduling Production Once You Accept

After acceptance, you have to schedule materials, labor, and everything else needed to hit the delivery date. You only need to bump existing work if the rated order would otherwise miss its deadline.⁴ The order on the shop floor is DX first, DO second, unrated commercial last. If a DX order needs materials already committed to a DO order, the DX order wins.

When Two Rated Orders Compete

If you hold two orders at the same rating level fighting for the same capacity, schedule by delivery date, not receipt date — the one due first gets built first. If both share a delivery date, then the tie goes to whichever you received earlier.⁴ If that still does not resolve the conflict, ask BIS for Special Priorities Assistance rather than deciding on your own. Your customer can also file for assistance if they disagree with how you rescheduled things.

If You Realize You Will Be Late

Once you have accepted, if you learn you cannot hit the delivery date, notify the customer immediately with the reason and a revised date. Verbal notice is fine in the moment, but you must confirm it in writing or electronically within one working day.³

Passing the Rating to Your Suppliers

The priority does not stop at your door. Any purchase order you place for materials or subcontracted work needed to fill a rated order has to carry the same rating, the same program symbol, a delivery date, and the certification statement.⁵ Flow-down applies at every tier, not just the first. A raw material supplier three levels below the prime is bound by the same acceptance and scheduling rules the prime is.

If you are on the receiving end and a rated order comes down from a prime or an upstream supplier, you can verify the rating. Contact the contracting officer on the original contract, or submit a Special Priorities Assistance request to BIS — verifying a rating is one of the listed reasons for filing.⁶

When to Ask BIS for Help

Special Priorities Assistance (SPA) is the formal channel when you cannot resolve a DPAS problem yourself. Common uses include expediting a rated order, resolving conflicts between competing rated orders, locating an alternative supplier, and verifying a rating’s validity.⁶

You file Form BIS-999, sent to the contracting officer on the contract or directly to BIS at DPAS@bis.doc.gov. BIS can also be reached at 202-482-3634. One boundary worth knowing: SPA only covers items produced inside the United States. DPAS does not reach beyond U.S. borders.⁷

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Willfully violating the Defense Production Act or its regulations is a federal crime. The penalty is a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both.⁸

Administrative exposure runs alongside the criminal side. BIS can issue subpoenas, demand records, and authorize on-site inspections. Refuse access and the government can seek compulsory process in court, including ex parte inspection warrants, or an injunction to force compliance or halt an ongoing violation.¹

1
eCFR. 15 CFR Part 700 – Defense Priorities and Allocations System
2
eCFR. 15 CFR 700.12 – Elements of a Rated Order
3
eCFR. 15 CFR 700.13 – Acceptance and Rejection of Rated Orders
4
eCFR. 15 CFR 700.14 – Preferential Scheduling
5
eCFR. 15 CFR 700.15 – Extension of Priority Ratings
6
Defense Contract Management Agency. Defense Priorities and Allocations System
7
Bureau of Industry and Security. Guidance for Requesting Special Priorities Assistance – How to Complete Form BIS-999
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 4513 – Penalties