Methodology
How a determination is computed, and where the ruleset runs out
This is a trust page, not a sales page. The three standards, the 55 percent test math, the waiver categories, and how the confidence flag on every value actually works.
The three standards
A single project mixes all three, and each line is tested for what it is
Build America, Buy America (IIJA sections 70901-70927) applies a different standard depending on what the component is. The engine picks the standard from the material category, never a blanket rule.
Iron & steel
All manufacturing in the US
All iron and steel used in the project must be produced in the United States, meaning every manufacturing process from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings occurred in the US. There is no percentage: it is all-or-nothing.
Manufactured product
Made in US and > 55% US component cost
A manufactured product must be manufactured in the United States and the cost of its components that were mined, produced or manufactured in the US must be greater than 55 percent of the total cost of all components (OMB M-24-02). The engine computes domesticComponentCost / cost and compares it to the 55 percent threshold.
Construction material
All manufacturing in the US
All manufacturing processes for the construction material must have occurred in the United States. OMB defines the covered materials, which include non-ferrous metals, plastic and polymer-based products, glass, fiber optic cable, optical fiber, lumber, drywall, and engineered wood.
Source:OMB M-24-02, Implementation of the Build America, Buy America ProvisionsVerified
The math
Working the 55 percent manufactured-products test
domesticContentPct = domesticComponentCost / cost * 100
A control panel, total component cost $40,000, US-made component cost $18,000:
18000 / 40000 = 45.0% < 55% → non-compliant
Raise US-made component cost to $24,000:
24000 / 40000 = 60.0% > 55% → compliant
A manufactured product that is not made in the US fails regardless of component cost. A product with no domesticComponentCost supplied is insufficient data, because we cannot compute a percentage we were not given. Both are distinct from a clean pass.
Waiver categories
The recognised waivers, and their objective test where one exists
A non-compliant line may match a recognised waiver category. That is not compliance: a waiver must be applied for and granted before award. These are read straight from the ruleset.
Public Interest Waiver
A waiver granted when applying the Buy America preference would be inconsistent with the public interest. It may be project-specific or issued as a general applicability waiver, and must be construed to maximize use of US-made goods.
Source:OMB M-24-02, Section 70914(b) of BABA and 2 CFR 184.7Verified
Nonavailability Waiver
A waiver granted when the required iron, steel, manufactured products, or construction materials are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities or of a satisfactory quality.
Source:OMB M-24-02, Section 70914(b) of BABA and 2 CFR 184.7Verified
Unreasonable Cost Waiver
Objective testA waiver granted when including US-produced materials would increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.
Domestic preference would increase overall project cost by more than 25 percent
Source:OMB M-24-02, Section 70914(b) of BABA and 2 CFR 184.7Verified
De Minimis Waiver
Objective testA general applicability public interest waiver that agencies may adopt for infrastructure purchases below a de minimis threshold. OMB gives the example of five percent of applicable project costs up to a maximum of $1,000,000, where applicable project costs are the material costs subject to the Buy America preference.
Cumulative cost of non-domestic components is 5% or less of total material cost
Source:OMB M-24-02, general applicability public interest waiver examplesVerified
Small Grants Waiver
Objective testA public interest waiver agencies may consider for awards at or below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold. OMB notes the SAT is currently $250,000, and the award, inclusive of other funding sources, is not anticipated to exceed the SAT over the life of the award.
Total Federal award does not exceed the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (currently $250,000)
Source:OMB M-24-02, general applicability public interest waiver examplesVerified
Confidence
What verified and Unverified mean
What the confidence flag means
- Verified
- Read directly off the published OMB or funding-agency page cited alongside it.
- Unverified
- Not confirmed on an official source. Shown for reference only, never presented as a checked fact.
A third case is not a confidence level at all: when we hold no guidance for a funding agency, the verdict is insufficient data, never a pass. See methodology.
Coverage is a subset, and we say so
BABA covers more than 60 federal financial-assistance programs. We ship the OMB government-wide baseline plus 3 funding agencies and 5 waiver categories, 12 agency-by-category thresholds in all. Where an agency is not loaded, a determination returns insufficient data rather than assuming its standard matches another agency's.
Agencies loaded today
- OMB Made in America Office · Government-wide BABA baseline (OMB M-24-02)Verified
- FHWA · Federal-aid highway programVerified
- EPA State Revolving Funds · Clean Water SRF and Drinking Water SRFUnverified
- USDA Rural Development · Rural Development infrastructure programsUnverified
Effective dates travel with the rule
Every standard carries an effective date and the exact page it was read from. The loaded ruleset was generated 2026-08-02. A determination is a projection of that cited data plus deterministic arithmetic, so identical input always yields an identical verdict.
Guidance, not an agency determination
We report public BABA rules and cite the source of each. This is administrative compliance guidance, not legal advice and not an official agency determination or waiver. Confirm against the funding agency's current guidance and your grant terms before certifying.
FAQ
Coverage and confidence questions
What does "verified" mean on a value?
We read that exact value directly off the cited OMB or funding-agency page ourselves. It is not a guess, and it is not carried over from a secondary source we did not check.
What does "Unverified" mean?
We could not confirm the value on an official source. It renders as Unverified rather than as a plain fact, and it should be treated as a starting point to check, not something to certify on. There is no third, in-between confidence tier: a value is either verified against the cited source, or it is not.
Why does a verdict ever say insufficient data instead of compliant?
Our cross-agency ruleset is a curated subset of the more than 60 covered BABA programs. When we hold no agency or no standard for the input, or the bill of materials does not supply a fact the test needs, the honest answer is insufficient data, not a pass. Reporting a pass we did not earn would let a certification go out on a green light we never actually gave.
Is waiver-eligible the same as compliant?
No. A waiver-eligible line fails the domestic-content standard on its face but matches a recognised waiver category. A waiver must still be applied for and granted by the funding agency before award. Until then the line is not compliant, and the engine renders it distinctly from a clean verdict.
How current is the ruleset?
Every threshold and waiver carries an effective date and the source it was read from. The loaded ruleset was generated 2026-08-02. BABA guidance is updated by OMB and by each agency, so confirm against the funding agency's current guidance and your grant terms before certifying.
Sourceory provides Build America, Buy America compliance guidance based on published OMB and agency sources. It is not legal advice and not an official agency determination or waiver. BABA guidance and waivers are updated over time and are fact-specific. Always confirm against the funding agency's current guidance and your grant terms before certifying compliance or applying for a waiver.
See it applied to a real bill of materials
The free calculator shows the citation and the threshold behind every verdict.