DD Form 254 (Contract Security Classification Specification)

The form conveys security classification guidance to contractors and subcontractors who need access to Confidential, Secret, or Top Secret information. It operates inside the National Industrial Security Program established by Executive Order 12829 (January 1993) and implemented by the NISPOM at 32 CFR part 117, and it travels with FAR clause 52.204-2. DoD uses it on its own contracts; nondefense agencies with DoD industrial security services agreements use it on theirs.

FAR 4.403 directs the contracting officer to review every proposed solicitation for potential classified access, and the contracting officer or an authorized agency representative approves the form. Each performance location appears with its own CAGE code. Primes issue a tailored DD Form 254 to every cleared subcontractor, so classification guidance follows the work down the chain.

The blocks drive cost and eligibility as much as handling. The form determines whether a subcontractor needs a facility clearance or safeguarding capability; an over-scoped 254 makes companies carry clearances the work never uses, and a vague one leaves them guessing at what the government meant.