How to Fill Out and Submit DD Form 1664: Blocks, ASSIST, and Use

To fill out DD Form 1664, complete all eleven numbered blocks following the format and content rules in MIL-STD-963C, then submit the finished Data Item Description through the ASSIST portal for review and registration. The form itself is short. The work is in writing Block 3 and Block 10 tightly enough that a contractor knows exactly what to deliver, and in confirming no existing DID already covers the same data product.¹

Where to Get the Blank Form

Blank DD Form 1664 templates are available through the Executive Services Directorate at esd.whs.mil, which hosts the official library of DoD forms, and through internal DoD portals. Before drafting your own, pull a few registered DIDs in your functional area from ASSIST Quick Search at quicksearch.dla.mil (no login required) and study how other preparing activities structured their Block 3, Block 7, and Block 10 entries. The form’s edition line reads “DD Form 1664, APR 89,” but the content rules you must follow are in the current MIL-STD-963C, dated September 2014.²

Completing the Eleven Blocks

Block 1: Title

Give the data product a clear, specific name in plain language. Not a project name, not an acronym on its own. MIL-STD-963C requires “a meaningful name to describe the data product covered by the DID.”² A DID covering transition planning for deliverable software, for example, carries the title “Software Transition Plan (STrP).”³

Block 2: Identification Number

You don’t choose this number yourself. For repetitive-use DIDs, ASSIST’s automated numbering module generates it in the format DI-IPSC-81429: “DI” for Data Item, four characters identifying the standardization area, and a numeric suffix.² One-time DIDs use a different structure assigned by the approval authority: the prefix “OT,” a dash, two digits for the fiscal year, another dash, and five digits.

Block 3: Description/Purpose

Explain what the data product is and why the government needs it. Cover the resources involved, the scope of the deliverable, and the intended use. One registered DID states its purpose as identifying “the hardware, software, and other resources needed for life cycle support of deliverable software” and outlining “the developer’s plans for transitioning deliverable items to the support agency.”³ Keep it specific enough that a contractor reading it understands both what to produce and why.

Block 4: Approval Date

Enter the date the DID was approved, formatted as YYYYMMDD.

Block 5: Office of Primary Responsibility

Enter the code for the DoD technical activity that owns the DID. The OPR is accountable for the technical accuracy of the content, fields inquiries, and handles future revisions. Activity codes come from SD-1, the DoD Activity Address Directory.

Block 6a and 6b: DTIC and GIDEP Applicability

Indicate whether copies of the delivered data must also be submitted to the Defense Technical Information Center (6a) or the Government-Industry Data Exchange Program (6b).

Block 7: Application/Interrelationship

Block 7 places the DID in context. Identify any DIDs it supersedes or cancels, reference related DIDs that might be used alongside it, and flag any overlap with existing standards. This is also where you specify how the deliverable data should be formatted: whether the Contract Data Requirements List should direct delivery on paper or electronic media, and whether a particular electronic format (ASCII, a specified word processor) applies.³ If another DID already captures the same data, Block 7 is where you note it; unresolved duplication is a common reason submissions get returned.

Block 8: Approval Limitation

List any restrictions on the DID’s use. For a one-time DID, this block identifies the specific solicitation or contract number it applies to.

Block 9a and 9b: Applicable Forms and AMSC Number

Block 9a lists any forms the contractor must complete as part of producing the deliverable. Block 9b holds the Acquisition Method Suffix Code number, which ASSIST assigns alongside the DID identification number.

Block 10: Preparation Instructions

This is the operational core of the DID and where careless drafting causes the most damage. Block 10 spells out how the contractor organizes and produces the deliverable: section headings, required data elements, acceptable formats, and level of detail. MIL-STD-963C requires that data format and content requirements be “clearly stated” in this block.² Any reference documents cited in Block 10 must be listed by full identification.

Write Block 10 with tailoring in mind. If a requirement only applies to certain contract types, structure it so acquisition personnel can cleanly remove it in the CDRL without rewriting the surrounding text. If the DID permits automated tools or non-traditional delivery formats such as a CASE tool repository, state that in Block 10’s general instructions. A common opening line reads: “Use of automated techniques is encouraged. The term ‘document’ in this DID means a collection of data regardless of its medium.”³

Block 11: Distribution Statement

Enter the authorized distribution statement governing public release or restricted access.

Submitting the DID Through ASSIST

Completed DD Form 1664 submissions go through the Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System (ASSIST), the central DoD database for standardization documents.⁴ Browsing existing DIDs through ASSIST Quick Search requires no account, but submitting a new DID for approval requires access to the restricted ASSIST portal, which you must register for in advance.

The preparing activity reviews the submission for alignment with program needs and compliance with MIL-STD-963C. Reviewers check for duplication against existing standards, block formatting errors, missing fields, and vague preparation instructions. Any of those will send the submission back. Approval timelines vary with complexity and generally run from several weeks to a few months.

Once approved, the DID receives active registration status and is listed in the Acquisition Management Systems and Data Requirements Control List (AMSDL), assigned to the functional area that best describes its intended use.⁵ From that point, program managers and contracting officers across DoD can select it for inclusion in solicitations and active contracts.

How the DID Gets Used After Registration

A registered DID does not, by itself, obligate any contractor to do anything. It becomes contractually binding only when it is referenced on DD Form 1423-1, the Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL), which names a specific deliverable, points to the DID that defines it, and ties both to a task in the statement of work.⁶ The DID is the recipe; the CDRL is the purchase order.

Tailoring instructions also live on the CDRL rather than on the DD Form 1664. MIL-STD-963C defines tailoring as “the process by which the contract requirements for a specific acquisition are evaluated to determine the extent to which each individual requirement is necessary and cost-effective,” and it requires that “DID content shall be tailored to ensure that only the minimum essential data are required for each contract.”² Block 16 of the CDRL is where acquisition personnel state which portions of a referenced DID apply and which do not. That is why your Block 10 needs to be modular: the cleaner your structure, the easier the eventual tailoring.

1
Defense Logistics Agency. MIL-STD-963 – Data Item Descriptions (DIDs)
2
Defense Logistics Agency. MIL-STD-963C – Data Item Descriptions (DIDs)
3
Defense Logistics Agency. Data Item Description
4
Acquisition.GOV. 48 CFR 52.211-2 – Availability of Defense Specifications, Standards, and Data Item Descriptions in the Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System (ASSIST) Website
5
Defense Technical Information Center. Acquisition Management System and Data Requirements Control List
6
Department of Defense (Acquisition). DD Form 1423-1 Contract Data Requirements List