How it works
The exact logic behind every verdict
This page describes what the engine actually checks, in the order it checks it. Where BABA draws a hard line, like the 55 percent component-cost test, we show the exact line rather than a rounded-off summary.
The flow
Running a bill of materials
Four steps, run in this order, every time.
- 1
Pick the funding agency
The determination runs against one funding agency's ruleset. If we do not hold that agency, every line comes back insufficient data with the loaded agencies named, rather than borrowing another agency's standard.
- 2
Classify each line by material
Every bill-of-materials line carries a material category: iron and steel, manufactured product, or construction material. The category selects the standard, because BABA tests each material differently. A line the agency has no loaded standard for is insufficient data.
- 3
Apply the governing standard
Iron and steel and construction materials are tested on allManufacturingInUS: true is compliant, false is non-compliant. A manufactured product is tested on made-in-US and domesticComponentCost / cost against the 55 percent threshold. A non-compliant line that matches a recognised waiver category is returned waiver-eligible.
- 4
Aggregate the project
The engine sums total material cost and a cost-weighted domestic-content share across the whole bill of materials, and counts each verdict. compliantOverall is true only when every line is compliant: one waiver-eligible or insufficient-data line is enough to hold the whole project back from a clean result.
Verdicts
Four outcomes, and only one of them is a pass
Every line returns exactly one of these. Waiver-eligible and insufficient data are rendered distinctly from compliant, on purpose, because treating either as a pass is the single most damaging thing this tool could do.
| Verdict | Means | Is it a pass |
|---|---|---|
| Compliantcompliant | Checked against the governing standard and it is met. | A pass. For a manufactured product this means made in the US and at or above the threshold. |
| Non-compliantnon_compliant | Checked and the standard is not met on the facts supplied, with no recognised waiver in reach. | Not a pass. The remedy names what must change: source a domestic equivalent, or raise US component cost. |
| Waiver-eligiblewaiver_eligible | Fails the standard on its face, but the facts match a recognised waiver category. | Not a pass. A waiver must be applied for and granted by the funding agency before award. |
| Insufficient datainsufficient_data | The supplied facts, or the loaded ruleset, cannot reach a verdict for this line. | Not a pass. Absence of guidance is never treated as compliance. |
Two test shapes
All-manufacturing-in-US, or a component-cost percentage
The standard for a line is one of two shapes. The engine never applies a percentage where the standard is all-or-nothing, or vice versa.
All manufacturing in the US
Iron & steel and Construction material
A boolean, not a percentage. allManufacturingInUS true is compliant; false is non-compliant, or waiver-eligible when a recognised waiver applies; not supplied is insufficient data. For iron and steel, every process from initial melting through coating must be domestic.
Component-cost percentage
Manufactured product
Two gates. The product must be made in the US, and domesticComponentCost / cost must exceed 55 percent. The engine returns the computed percentage against the threshold on every finding, so a near-miss reads as a number to move, not a flat rejection.
A project's compliantOverall is true only when every line is compliant. One waiver-eligible or insufficient-data line holds the whole determination back from a clean result, so the aggregate can never overstate the parts.
Determinism
Why the same input always returns the same verdict
There is no model in the request path. A determination is a projection of a cited OMB or agency dataset plus deterministic arithmetic, which is exactly what lets the same engine power the free browser calculator, the metered JSON API and the MCP tool without any of them disagreeing. Every verdict records the citation and the threshold it was checked against, and that record is what a paid plan saves for the bid file.
FAQ
Mechanism questions
How is a manufactured product judged?
Two conditions, both required. The product must be manufactured in the United States, and the cost of its US-made components must be greater than 55 percent of total component cost. The engine computes domesticComponentCost / cost as a percentage and compares it to the threshold. A product not made in the US fails regardless of component cost, because component cost alone cannot cure a foreign final assembly.
How are iron, steel and construction materials judged?
On an all-manufacturing-in-US test, not a percentage. For iron and steel that means every process from initial melting through coating occurred in the US. For construction materials it means every manufacturing process occurred in the US. The line supplies allManufacturingInUS as true or false; if it is not supplied, the verdict is insufficient data rather than a guess.
What makes a line waiver-eligible instead of non-compliant?
A line that fails its standard is checked against the waiver categories the agency recognises. A very small foreign share can point at de minimis; nonavailability and unreasonable cost are fact-specific and named for any non-compliant line so the bidder can see the escape hatches. Waiver-eligible is never treated as compliant: the summary states plainly that a waiver must be applied for and granted.
Why does a line ever say insufficient data instead of compliant?
Because the loaded ruleset holds no standard for that agency or material, or the bill of materials did not supply a fact the test needs, such as domesticComponentCost for a manufactured product. Reporting a pass we did not earn would let a certification go out on a green light we never actually gave. See the methodology page for our real coverage.
NoticeSourceory 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.
Try it on a real bill of materials
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