What is a CDRL? DD Form 1423 explained

A Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL) identifies the data a contractor must deliver under a contract. Defense contracts use DD Form 1423 to list those requirements, including delivery instructions. (DFARS 215.470)

Start with the completed form in your solicitation or contract. Read the referenced documents, delivery dates, recipients, and remarks together. A report title alone does not describe the full obligation.

What is a CDRL used for?

A CDRL turns a data requirement into a defined contract deliverable. The Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) requires DD Form 1423 in solicitations when contracts require data delivery. It also directs contracting officers to identify data already delivered, or owed, under another government contract. (DFARS 215.470(b)-(c))

For technical data, the contract should identify content, quantity, format, delivery location, schedule, and acceptance criteria. Each deliverable should have its own line item or exhibit entry wherever practicable. (DFARS 227.7103-2(c))

Treat that entry as a package of requirements. Use its delivery details as acceptance-checklist inputs.

These references describe the codified DFARS text displaying the May 7, 2026 change. Under DoD's Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul (RFO) deviation 2026-O0036, effective February 1, 2026, the delivery guidance is at PGI 227.7103-18(e), and the corresponding rights clause and assertion provision are 252.227-7989 and 252.227-7992. (DoD Part 27 deviation) Check the version applicable to your solicitation before using a clause reference. (RFO FAQs)

How to read DD Form 1423 blocks

Read the identifier, authority, schedule, and remarks before estimating the work. Read any continuation pages too. (DD Form 1423-1 instructions)

Block 9 concerns the marking on the data. Block 14 identifies delivery recipients. Read both; they answer different questions.

Build a calendar entry from the complete requirement. Record the triggering event beside any relative deadline. Keep the as-of date separate from the submission date.

CDRL vs DID vs SOW

The CDRL schedules delivery, the Data Item Description (DID) defines the product, and the Statement of Work (SOW) tasks the work. A DID must not itself task testing or other work. (MIL-STD-963C, sections 3.6, 3.10, and 4.3.1)

The form instructions place the content-and-format authority in Block 4 and the task reference in Block 5. Block 4 can also reference a specification or standard. Do not assume every authority entry is a DID. (DD Form 1423-1 instructions)

For example, separate a task to conduct testing from the requirement to deliver its results. Ask these questions:

1. Which task requires the test?
2. Which document defines the report's content?
3. When must the report arrive?
4. Who reviews it, and what makes it acceptable?

Use the MIL-STD-963 and DID guide for DID structure and tailoring. For drawing sets and related engineering deliverables, see technical data packages.

How to find the referenced DID

Use the Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System (ASSIST) Quick Search to locate the referenced document. The public search offers document identifiers, document numbers, text terms, and status filters. (ASSIST Quick Search)

Copy the identifier from the contract before searching. Save the matching document and compare its revision against the contract reference.

The ASSIST record for MIL-STD-963 identifies that standard as the format-and-content authority for preparing DIDs. The record also separates the base revision from validation notices. (MIL-STD-963 record)

Use that distinction when checking any referenced document. Record the revision required by the contract and the latest published revision separately. If they differ, ask the contracting officer which text governs the deliverable.

Do not silently replace the contract's reference with a newer download. Put the difference in your question log, with both identifiers.

How to respond to a CDRL

Build a delivery checklist before pricing or preparing the data. The contract should supply the format, schedule, acceptance criteria, and destination needed for that checklist. (DFARS 227.7103-2(c))

1. Inventory every item. Create a row for each identifier, including recurring submissions.
2. Collect the references. Keep the relevant work paragraph, authority document, and remarks beside that row.
3. Assign an owner. Name who prepares the data and who checks the finished package.
4. Work backward from delivery. Allow time for internal review, corrections, and required draft submissions.
5. Record unresolved questions. Quote the conflicting entries and request a written clarification.
6. Check the outgoing package. Compare the files, markings, recipients, and delivery method against the requirement.
7. Keep the receipt. Retain the submitted version, transmission evidence, government comments, and acceptance record.

For recurring reports, use a separate status for each reporting period. A single completed checkbox beside the report title is too coarse.

A useful tracker includes requirement ID, reporting period, due date, owner, file version, submission evidence, and review status. Keep the tracker short enough that the delivery team actually maintains it.

How CDRL pricing and data rights differ

The estimated data price addresses producing or developing the listed data, not selling rights in that data. The DFARS Procedures, Guidance, and Information (PGI) warns against using estimates for contract pricing without further analysis. (PGI 215.470)

Separate preparation effort, additional formatting, recurring updates, and delivery effort in your estimate. State assumptions about frequency and review cycles so the price can be evaluated.

Data rights require a separate review. The codified DFARS 252.227-7013, dated August 2025, addresses government licenses in covered technical data. A delivery requirement alone does not establish that every delivered item carries unlimited rights. (DFARS 252.227-7013)

When DFARS 252.227-7017 applies, identify asserted restrictions with the offer, including relevant subcontractor assertions. The prescribed table asks for the data, assertion basis, rights category, and asserting party. (DFARS 252.227-7017(c)-(d))

Compare that table with the deliverable list before submission. Resolve gaps with the people responsible for contracting and data rights.

What to do next

• Read every CDRL entry with its authority document and work reference.
• Put first and recurring submissions on the delivery calendar.
• Resolve ambiguous remarks, dates, and formats before estimating effort.
• Check data-rights assertions separately from distribution markings.
• Assign an owner and retain delivery and acceptance evidence.

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Questions people ask

What is a CDRL?

A Contract Data Requirements List identifies data deliverables required under a contract. DFARS 215.470 directs the use of DD Form 1423 in solicitations when data must be delivered. Read each item with its authority document, work reference, schedule, recipients, and remarks.

What is the difference between a CDRL and a DID?

The CDRL records the contract's data delivery requirement. A Data Item Description defines the data product's content, format, and intended use. MIL-STD-963C also separates data preparation instructions from work tasks, which belong in the Statement of Work.

Which DD Form 1423 block gives the first submission date?

Block 12 gives the first submission requirement. Block 13 covers subsequent submissions, while Block 10 gives frequency. The form instructions also allow clarification in Block 16. Read those entries together before converting a relative deadline into a calendar date.

Does a CDRL give the government unlimited data rights?

No. A delivery requirement and the government's license rights are separate questions. The codified DFARS 252.227-7013 covers technical-data rights; DoD RFO deviation 2026-O0036 uses 252.227-7989 and assertion provision 252.227-7992. When DFARS 252.227-7017 applies, the offeror identifies proposed restrictions, including relevant subcontractor assertions, in a signed attachment to the offer.

Sources

1. 1215.470 Estimated data prices. · Department of Defense, Acquisition.gov
2. 2227.7103-2 Acquisition of technical data. · Department of Defense, Acquisition.gov
3. 3FAR Overhaul - FAQs · General Services Administration
4. 4DoD Class Deviation 2026-O0036, RFO Part 27 and DFARS Part 227 · Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy
5. 5MIL-STD-963, Data Item Descriptions (DIDs), with Revision C (ASSIST-QuickSearch Document Details) · Department of Defense
6. 6DD Form 1423-1, Contract Data Requirements List (1 Data Item), February 2001, with Instructions for Completing DD Form 1423 · Washington Headquarters Services, DoD Forms Management Program
7. 7ASSIST-QuickSearch Basic Search · Defense Logistics Agency
8. 8PGI 215.470 Estimated data prices. · Department of Defense, Acquisition.gov
9. 9252.227-7013 Rights in Technical Data - Other Than Commercial Products and Commercial Services. · Department of Defense, Acquisition.gov
10. 10252.227-7017 Identification and Assertion of Use, Release, or Disclosure Restrictions. · Department of Defense, Acquisition.gov

Where this shows up in our work

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