Packaging and Marking Guide for DoD

This informational guide provides best practices for packaging and marking federal contract deliverables to the Department of Defense. The guide covers standard packaging requirements found across various contract documents including RFPs, RFQs, SOWs, and procurement forms, and serves as a reference tool rather than an officially adopted DoD requirement.

The guide details packaging requirements across multiple contract sections (A through J) and addresses both commercial and military packaging standards. For hazardous materials, items must comply with Title 49 CFR for land transport, IMO/IMDG for water, ICAO/IATA for commercial air, and AFMAN 24-204_IP for military air, with modal regulations taking precedence in case of conflicts. Commercial packaging may be appropriate under ASTM D-3951 for items requiring immediate use, not-mission-capable supply fulfillment, depot consumption, or domestic small parcel post shipments (CONUS only). Military packaging is governed by MIL-STD-2073-1E with Change 1, which establishes preservation and packing methods for items facing severe worldwide shipping, handling, and storage conditions, including wartime deployment, reusable containers, delivery-at-sea scenarios, and extended storage beyond six months.

The standard defines five basic preservation methods: Method 10 (physical protection), Method 20 (preservative coating only), Method 30 (waterproof protection), Method 40 (watervaporproof protection), and Method 50 (watervaporproof with desiccant). Specific packaging methods include heat-sealed waterproof bags, rigid containers, floating waterproof bags, and sealed metal containers, each detailed with requirements for preservation, wrapping, cushioning, and marking. Packaging requirement codes (PRC) translate contract specifications into detailed instructions using standardized two-digit and one-digit codes for preservation methods, materials, wrapping, cushioning, containers, and special handling. Quality assurance provisions require visual preservation examinations, leakage testing, and heat-sealed seam testing. All markings must comply with MIL-STD-129 and include identification information (NSN, CAGE code, part number, contract number), bar codes, address markings using Military Shipping Labels, and special markings for shelf-life, project codes, fragile items, Method 50 packaging, hazardous materials, expedited handling, electrostatic discharge sensitivity, and heat-treated wood packaging materials per the IPPC mark.