Field Guide
DFARS Technical Data Delivery Clauses
The Short Answer
Delivery Has Its Own Clauses
Our guide to technical data rights covers the license categories, assertions, and markings. This page covers what sits around them in a Department of Defense contract: deferred delivery (252.227-7026), deferred ordering (252.227-7027), withholding of payment (252.227-7030), the warranty of data (252.246-7001), and a few related clauses and provisions.
For a publications team the common thread is timing and exposure. A manual can be a deliverable that is not due yet, data you never listed can still be ordered, a late or wrongly marked deliverable can stop money, and acceptance does not end the warranty. The clause dates below are the dates printed in the eCFR text as of 2 November 2026. Your contract may carry an older date or an alternate, so read its text.
The Clauses
Eight Clauses at a Glance
| Clause | Date | What it does | For a publications deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 252.227-7026Deferred Delivery of Technical Data or Computer Software | APR 1988 | Lets the government require delivery of data the contract identifies as "deferred delivery" for up to two years after it accepts all the non-data items, or after termination, whichever is later. | A manual or data set can be a named deliverable that is not due yet. You owe it on request, so keep the source, the build, and the people. |
| 252.227-7027Deferred Ordering of Technical Data or Computer Software | APR 1988 | Lets the government order data generated in performing the contract or a subcontract, during performance or for three years after it accepts all the non-data items or terminates. The contractor is paid to convert, reproduce, and deliver it. | Nothing on the CDRL says the data is coming, and it can still be ordered. Anything you generate may become a deliverable, so file it so it can be produced in the prescribed form. |
| 252.227-7030Technical Data, Withholding of Payment | MAR 2000 | Lets the contracting officer withhold 10 percent of the total contract price or amount (or less, if the contract says so) while specified data is late or deficient, including data with restrictive markings that are not on the list of asserted restrictions. | A late manual or a wrongly marked page can hold back payment on the whole contract, not only on the line item. Marking errors count as deficiencies. |
| 252.246-7001Warranty of Data (Basic and Alternate I) | MAR 2014 | The contractor warrants that delivered technical data conformed to the contract at delivery, even after acceptance. The default period is three years after delivery of the data line item is complete; the remedy is correction or replacement, or a price adjustment. | Government acceptance does not end your exposure. Verification records and the CDRL line item matter because the warranty clock is tied to the line item. |
| 252.227-7028Technical Data or Computer Software Previously Delivered to the Government | JUN 1995 | A provision in the solicitation. The offeror lists data it plans to deliver with less than unlimited rights that is identical or substantially similar to data it has already delivered under another contract. | If a manual reuses content from an earlier program, the list shows the earlier contract, the latest delivery, and any limits on the government's rights. |
| 252.227-7016Rights in Bid or Proposal Information | JAN 2025 | Sets what the government may do with the bid or proposal. Before award, evaluation only. After award, use inside the government; release outside needs written permission. Data required to be delivered falls under the rights clauses instead. | Sample pages and technical approach in a proposal are protected, but the manual you later deliver is governed by the data rights clause, not this one. |
| 252.227-7025Limitations on the Use or Disclosure of Government-Furnished Information Marked with Restrictive Legends | JAN 2025 | Restricts what you may do with government-furnished data that carries a restrictive legend. Limited rights data, for example, may be used only in performing the contract and not released without the written permission of the party named in the legend. | Legacy manuals and drawings the government gives you as a source may be marked. Check the legend before you reuse, share with a subcontractor, or convert. |
| 252.227-7019Validation of Asserted Restrictions, Computer Software | JAN 2025 | The software counterpart of the technical data validation clause: keep records that justify any restriction you assert, and respond to the contracting officer's requests and challenges. | Applies to software and its documentation. Relevant when a manual ships inside a viewer or tool; the data side is covered in our technical data rights guide. |
Not every number in the 252.227 series is a live clause: -7029, -7031, -7034, -7035, and -7036 are reserved, so a template that cites one is wrong. The rights, assertion, and validation clauses (-7013, -7014, -7015, -7017, -7018, -7037) are covered in the technical data rights guide.
Deferred Delivery and Ordering
Data the Government Can Call For Later
Both clauses give the government a later call on data, but they start from different places. Deferred delivery works on data the contract itself identifies as "deferred delivery" data; the acquisition rule says the contract must specify which data is deferred, and that the contracting officer gives the contractor enough advance notice of the delivery date. The window runs two years past the later of acceptance of all non-data items and termination.
Deferred ordering is for when a firm requirement was not established before award but the data may be needed. The government can order data generated in performance of the contract or any subcontract for three years past the same trigger. When it does, delivery dates are negotiated and the contractor is compensated for conversion, reproduction, and delivery. The government's rights in the data are the ones the rights clause gives it.
Both clauses also reach down the supply chain, with a shorter tail for subcontractors: their obligation ends two or three years (by clause) after the prime accepts the last delivery of the item from them. Practically, that means a prime and its suppliers should agree who keeps the source files, the illustration masters, and the style resources for the length of that window. Teams that archive only the final PDF find the later order expensive to fill. The inventory in our technical data package audit is a good check of what you could actually produce.
Withholding of Payment
When a Deliverable Holds Up the Contract
Clause 252.227-7030 is short. If technical data specified for delivery is late or deficient on delivery, the contracting officer may, until the data is accepted, withhold 10 percent of the total contract price or amount, unless the contract specifies a lesser amount. The base is the whole contract, not the data line. The clause names one deficiency in particular: restrictive markings that are not on the list of asserted restrictions in the contract.
There is one carve-out: no withholding where the late or deficient delivery arises from causes beyond the contractor's control and without its fault or negligence. And withholding is not a waiver of any other right the government has. For a manual, the practical lessons are plain. Schedule publications work against the CDRL date, treat a rights legend as part of the deliverable's correctness, and compare the markings on the final output with the contract's assertion list before it ships. Our CDRL explainer shows where those dates and acceptance criteria are written.
After Acceptance
The Warranty of Data
Where the contract includes 252.246-7001, acceptance does not close the book. The contractor warrants that all technical data delivered will conform to the contract's specifications and requirements at the time of delivery, notwithstanding inspection and acceptance. Unless the contract sets a longer period, the warranty runs three years after delivery of the line item of data, identified on the DD Form 1423, is complete.
If the data does not conform, the government may direct correction or replacement at the contractor's expense, or elect a price or fee adjustment. Corrected data is warranted anew. Because the clock is tied to the CDRL line item, how the contract divides deliverables into lines affects when each warranty ends. Verification records, change logs, and the review trail for each data module or manual are your evidence of what conformed on the day of delivery.
Related Clauses
Reuse, Proposals, and Furnished Data
Previously delivered data (252.227-7028). If you reuse text or illustrations from an earlier program and intend to deliver them with less than unlimited rights, this solicitation provision asks you to say so up front, with the earlier contract number, where the data most recently went, and any limits on the government's rights.
Proposal information (252.227-7016). Your bid is protected for evaluation and, after award, kept within the government. The manual you deliver is a different thing, and is governed by the data rights clause.
Government-furnished information (252.227-7025). Legacy manuals and drawings supplied for conversion may carry a restrictive legend that binds you. Use them only as the legend allows, and carry the legend through to anything derived from them.
For how these fit a full deliverable list, see the TM contract review checklist. Rights are also moving: the FY27 defense bills would change the default category, and our briefing on right to repair in the FY27 NDAA tracks them. This page is educational background, not legal advice; contract clauses and their dates vary, so read the text of your own.
FAQ
Questions We Hear
What is DFARS 252.227-7027?
Deferred Ordering of Technical Data or Computer Software (APR 1988). It lets the government order data generated in performing the contract or a subcontract, at any time during performance or within three years after it accepts all the non-data items or the contract is terminated. The contractor is compensated for converting the data into the prescribed form, reproducing it, and delivering it. The government's rights in the data follow the rights clause in the contract.
What is the difference between deferred ordering and deferred delivery?
Deferred delivery (252.227-7026) covers data the contract already names as deferred delivery data; the government can call for it later, within two years of the end point the clause sets. Deferred ordering (252.227-7027) covers data the contract does not list, where a need is only possible; the government can order what was generated in performance within three years. The DFARS text prescribes ordering for cases where a firm requirement was not established before award.
Is a deferred ordering clause the same as an option?
No. An option is a priced contract line the government may exercise. Deferred ordering is a standing right to order data the contractor generated, with payment limited to conversion, reproduction, and delivery. Read the contract to see how a particular data item is priced and scheduled.
When can the government withhold payment for technical data?
Under 252.227-7030, when data specified for delivery is not delivered on time or is deficient on delivery, including data with restrictive markings that are not on the contract's list of asserted restrictions. The contracting officer may withhold 10 percent of the total contract price or amount, unless a lesser amount is specified, until the data is accepted. The clause does not apply when the failure arises from causes beyond the contractor's control and without its fault or negligence.
Do these clauses apply to commercial technical data?
Not automatically. Which clauses appear depends on the contract and on whether the item is commercial. The commercial technical data clause, 252.227-7015, is covered in our technical data rights guide. Read the clause list in your own contract rather than assuming.
Is this legal advice?
No. This page explains what the clause text says and what it can mean for a publications deliverable. Dates, paragraph numbers, and alternates vary by contract, so read the text of your contract and ask your contracts team or counsel before you act.
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