{ "$schema": "https://sourceory.com/facts", "name": "Sourceory", "url": "https://sourceory.com", "description": "Sourceory determines whether a project's bill of materials meets the Build America, Buy America (BABA) domestic-content standards for the funding agency, line by line: iron and steel, manufactured products at the 55 percent component-cost threshold, and construction materials. Every verdict cites the OMB or agency source behind it, and where we hold no guidance for an agency we say so rather than reporting a pass. The free calculator runs entirely in your browser, so bill-of-materials data is never transmitted. The same engine is a single-key JSON API and an MCP server, so estimating and bid software, and autonomous compliance agents, can run a determination mid-task.", "disclaimer": "Compliance guidance derived from cited OMB and agency sources, not legal advice or a binding determination by any funding agency. waiver_eligible and insufficient_data are never a pass.", "rulesetGeneratedAt": "2026-08-02T00:00:00Z", "sources": { "governing": "OMB M-24-02 (Build America, Buy America implementation guidance)", "openapi": "https://sourceory.com/api/openapi", "api": "https://sourceory.com/api/v1", "mcp": "https://sourceory.com/api/mcp", "thresholds": "https://sourceory.com/api/v1/thresholds", "waivers": "https://sourceory.com/api/v1/waivers" }, "answers": [ { "question": "How is BABA domestic content calculated?", "answer": "By cost, not quantity. For manufactured products, domestic content is the acquisition cost of US-made components (including their shipping, sales tax and duties) as a share of the total cost of all components. Labour and factory overhead are excluded from that ratio. Iron, steel and construction materials use an all-manufacturing-in-the-US test instead of a percentage." }, { "question": "What is the 55% domestic content threshold?", "answer": "Under Build America, Buy America, a manufactured product is domestic when its US component cost is GREATER THAN 55% of total component cost and its final assembly occurred in the United States. Exactly 55.0% does not pass. The 55% figure is the OMB government-wide baseline; individual agencies may set a higher standard, and an agency may apply it on a phased schedule, so the project's obligation date decides which standard binds it." }, { "question": "How do iron & steel and construction materials differ from manufactured products?", "answer": "Iron & steel must be produced in the US through all manufacturing processes from the initial melting stage onward (the melt-and-pour rule) - a 100% all-US test, not a percentage. Construction materials must have all manufacturing occur in the US. Only manufactured products use the 55% component-cost percentage." }, { "question": "What BABA waiver categories exist?", "answer": "The recognised waiver categories are public interest, non-availability, and unreasonable cost, plus de minimis and small-grants exceptions where an agency provides them. A waiver must be applied for and granted by the funding agency; it is never automatic, and matching a category is not the same as being compliant." }, { "question": "Which agencies enforce BABA?", "answer": "BABA applies across federal financial assistance for infrastructure. Sourceory currently holds the cited standards for OMB Made in America Office, FHWA, EPA State Revolving Funds, USDA Rural Development. Where an agency's specific guidance is not held, the engine returns insufficient_data rather than reporting a pass." } ], "thresholds": [ { "agency": "omb", "agencyName": "OMB Made in America Office", "category": "iron_steel", "test": "all_us", "thresholdPct": null, "effectiveDate": "2022-05-14", "statement": "All iron and steel used in the project must be produced in the United States, meaning all manufacturing processes from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings occurred in the United States.", "source": "OMB M-24-02, Implementation of the Build America, Buy America Provisions", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "agency": "omb", "agencyName": "OMB Made in America Office", "category": "manufactured_product", "test": "percent", "thresholdPct": 55, "effectiveDate": "2022-05-14", "statement": "A manufactured product must be manufactured in the United States, and the cost of its components that are mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States must be greater than 55 percent of the total cost of all components.", "source": "OMB M-24-02, Implementation of the Build America, Buy America Provisions", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "agency": "omb", "agencyName": "OMB Made in America Office", "category": "construction_material", "test": "all_us", "thresholdPct": null, "effectiveDate": "2022-05-14", "statement": "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 Provisions", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "agency": "fhwa", "agencyName": "FHWA", "category": "iron_steel", "test": "all_us", "thresholdPct": null, "effectiveDate": "2022-05-14", "statement": "All iron and steel used in the project must be produced in the United States, meaning all manufacturing processes from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings occurred in the United States.", "source": "OMB M-24-02 government-wide baseline, applied by FHWA", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "agency": "fhwa", "agencyName": "FHWA", "category": "manufactured_product", "test": "assembly_us", "thresholdPct": null, "effectiveDate": "2025-10-01", "statement": "A manufactured product permanently incorporated into the project must be manufactured in the United States (the final assembly requirement). The 55 percent domestic component-cost test does not apply to projects obligated before October 1, 2026.", "source": "FHWA Q&As on the Buy America Final Rule for Manufactured Products (89 FR, final rule published January 14, 2025)", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/pdfs/Manuf_Products_QA_FINAL_RULE_Doc1.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "agency": "fhwa", "agencyName": "FHWA", "category": "construction_material", "test": "all_us", "thresholdPct": null, "effectiveDate": "2022-05-14", "statement": "All manufacturing processes for the construction material must have occurred in the United States, per the OMB-defined construction materials list.", "source": "OMB M-24-02 government-wide baseline, applied by FHWA", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "agency": "epa-srf", "agencyName": "EPA State Revolving Funds", "category": "iron_steel", "test": "all_us", "thresholdPct": null, "effectiveDate": "2022-05-14", "statement": "All iron and steel used in the project must be produced in the United States, meaning all manufacturing processes from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings occurred in the United States. This aligns with the pre-existing SRF American Iron and Steel requirement.", "source": "OMB M-24-02 government-wide baseline; EPA SRF American Iron and Steel requirement", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "agency": "epa-srf", "agencyName": "EPA State Revolving Funds", "category": "manufactured_product", "test": "percent", "thresholdPct": 55, "effectiveDate": "2022-05-14", "statement": "A manufactured product must be manufactured in the United States, and the cost of its US-made components must be greater than 55 percent of the total cost of all components.", "source": "OMB M-24-02 government-wide baseline, applied by EPA SRF programs", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "agency": "epa-srf", "agencyName": "EPA State Revolving Funds", "category": "construction_material", "test": "all_us", "thresholdPct": null, "effectiveDate": "2022-05-14", "statement": "All manufacturing processes for the construction material must have occurred in the United States, per the OMB-defined construction materials list.", "source": "OMB M-24-02 government-wide baseline, applied by EPA SRF programs", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "agency": "usda-rd", "agencyName": "USDA Rural Development", "category": "iron_steel", "test": "all_us", "thresholdPct": null, "effectiveDate": "2022-05-14", "statement": "All iron and steel used in the project must be produced in the United States, meaning all manufacturing processes from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings occurred in the United States.", "source": "OMB M-24-02 government-wide baseline, applied by USDA Rural Development", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "agency": "usda-rd", "agencyName": "USDA Rural Development", "category": "manufactured_product", "test": "percent", "thresholdPct": 55, "effectiveDate": "2022-05-14", "statement": "A manufactured product must be manufactured in the United States, and the cost of its US-made components must be greater than 55 percent of the total cost of all components.", "source": "OMB M-24-02 government-wide baseline, applied by USDA Rural Development", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "agency": "usda-rd", "agencyName": "USDA Rural Development", "category": "construction_material", "test": "all_us", "thresholdPct": null, "effectiveDate": "2022-05-14", "statement": "All manufacturing processes for the construction material must have occurred in the United States, per the OMB-defined construction materials list.", "source": "OMB M-24-02 government-wide baseline, applied by USDA Rural Development", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" } ], "waivers": [ { "slug": "public_interest", "name": "Public Interest Waiver", "description": "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.", "quantitativeTest": null, "appliesWhen": "The head of the Federal agency finds that applying the domestic content preference would be inconsistent with the public interest.", "source": "OMB M-24-02, Section 70914(b) of BABA and 2 CFR 184.7", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "slug": "nonavailability", "name": "Nonavailability Waiver", "description": "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.", "quantitativeTest": null, "appliesWhen": "Domestic products are not produced in sufficient and reasonably available quantities or of a satisfactory quality.", "source": "OMB M-24-02, Section 70914(b) of BABA and 2 CFR 184.7", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "slug": "unreasonable_cost", "name": "Unreasonable Cost Waiver", "description": "A waiver granted when including US-produced materials would increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.", "quantitativeTest": "Domestic preference would increase overall project cost by more than 25 percent", "appliesWhen": "The inclusion of domestically produced materials will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.", "source": "OMB M-24-02, Section 70914(b) of BABA and 2 CFR 184.7", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "slug": "de_minimis", "name": "De Minimis Waiver", "description": "A 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.", "quantitativeTest": "Cumulative cost of non-domestic components is 5% or less of total material cost", "appliesWhen": "Non-domestic content cumulatively falls at or below the de minimis threshold (example: 5 percent of applicable project costs, capped at $1,000,000).", "source": "OMB M-24-02, general applicability public interest waiver examples", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" }, { "slug": "small_grants", "name": "Small Grants Waiver", "description": "A 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.", "quantitativeTest": "Total Federal award does not exceed the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (currently $250,000)", "appliesWhen": "The total Federal award is at or below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold and is not expected to exceed it over the life of the award.", "source": "OMB M-24-02, general applicability public interest waiver examples", "sourceUrl": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/M-24-02-Buy-America-Implementation-Guidance-Update.pdf", "confidence": "verified" } ] }