DFARS 225.7003-3(b)(2)(i)(D)(1): should the COTS fastener exception also list components, as the statute and clause do?

DFARS 225.7003-3(b)(2)(i)(D)(1) treats commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) fasteners as excepted when they are incorporated into “COTS end items, subsystems, or assemblies”. Clause 252.225-7009(c)(2)(i)(D)(1) and 10 U.S.C. 4863(h)(2)(D)(i) also list components. For example, a separate subcontract supplies COTS fasteners containing specialty metal for a COTS component that will enter a non-COTS end item. One reading applies the narrower list in Part 225 to that acquisition. The other reads Part 225 in line with the statute and the clause.

Consequence

No contract with a different result under the two texts has been established.

Proposed correction

Please consider whether Part 225 should also list components, as the statute and clause already do.

Jurisdiction

United States — federal

Act

Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (48 CFR chapter 2) and Class Deviation 2026-O0041, Revision 1

Place

DFARS 225.7003-3(b)(2)(i)(D)(1)

Record

Question of reading or data

Class

Question of reading or data

Where it arose

The text of the act

Arxo's conclusion

Confirmed

Official text

Unchanged at last check

Last checked

2026-10-29

Evidence

Pair of quotations. Quotations are verbatim from the official material; translations are ours and marked.

The fasteners are incorporated into COTS end items, subsystems, or assemblies;

The fasteners are incorporated into COTS end items, subsystems, assemblies, or components;

incorporated into commercially available off-the-shelf end items, subsystems, assemblies, or components

How to check it without Arxo's tools

1. Open eCFR 48 CFR part 225 (currency through 2026-10-27) and find 48 CFR 225.7003-3(b)(2)(i)(D)(1). Compare the text with the quotation above. A copy is kept in this register: 26bcbb8e4346b399-ecfr-48-225-2026-10-27.xml (SHA-256 26bcbb8e4346b399acd9786340b03a6505db0d74f48ecf0062338d85c547453b, copy of the official file).
2. Open eCFR 48 CFR part 252 (currency through 2026-10-27) and find 48 CFR 252.225-7009(c)(2)(i)(D)(1). Compare the text with the quotation above. A copy is kept in this register: 931f2c8a0276b5a3-ecfr-48-252-2026-10-27.xml (SHA-256 931f2c8a0276b5a3a06498a79187b268df5ccf2ac9701201e6efda9b59ea1bd4, copy of the official file).
3. Open 10 U.S.C. (Armed Forces), OLRC release point 119-124 and find 10 U.S.C. 4863(h)(2)(D)(i). Compare the text with the quotation above. A copy is kept in this register: 3a0a8808decb5adf-usc10-119-124.zip (SHA-256 3a0a8808decb5adf4469e23373a921cf23df1a38c460a56811ed3442ea9a6aa8, copy of the official file).
4. The finding holds if the quoted passages read as shown and the comparison gives the result stated at the top of this page. If it does not, write to us with the record ID.

How this finding was made

AI agents read the official texts and compared the provisions, clauses and preambles; they also drafted this record. A person at Arxo approved the report before it was sent.

Responsible institutions

• Department of Defense, Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy — author of the DFARS and the class deviation

Reported to

Responses

No response recorded.

History

1. 2026-10-29Confirmed by Arxo
2. 2026-10-29Reported to Department of Defense, Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy (e-mail)
3. 2026-10-31Entered in the register

Cite this record

Arxo Law, Arxo Findings Register, ARXO-2026-0243, https://arxo.io/findings/ARXO-2026-0243/ (status as of 2026-10-29). Data: ARXO-2026-0243.json.