Skip to main content
All posts
Standards

ASTM E3347 Ballistic Shields: Procurement Guide for Agencies

How to specify ballistic shields to ASTM E3347: what the specification tests, how ASTM verification works, and what to ask for in a solicitation.

ArmorList Editorial·February 16, 2026·4 min read

Ballistic shields are not body armor, and they are not on the NIJ body-armor Compliant Products List. The standard long used to assess them was NIJ Standard 0108.01, Ballistic Resistant Protective Materials, from 1985, which covers the materials protective products are made from rather than the finished shield. ASTM International publishes a specification written for the shield itself: ASTM E3347, Standard Specification for Ballistic-Resistant Shields Used by Law Enforcement Officers. ASTM revises it, and the year at the end of its full name is the edition. Current edition: E3347/E3347M-26 (ASTM's store lists it as last updated 9 June 2026, and standards catalogs list it as superseding -25; checked 29 September 2026). Shields verified in 2025 were tested to -25. This article sets out what to ask for when buying to it.

What E3347 tests

E3347 sets minimum performance requirements and test methods for the ballistic resistance of shields used by U.S. law enforcement against handgun and rifle ammunition. It addresses resistance to penetration of the shield body, its edges, its viewports, its fasteners and its weak points. It was developed with a companion test method, ASTM E3141, in ASTM subcommittee E54.04 on public safety equipment.

ASTM's Standardization News describes the approach: the shield body, viewport, fasteners, joints and seams, edging and appliques must each be tested, with a minimum number of shots on each area, on whole shields of multiple sizes, after pre-conditioning. The point is that a shield is tested as it is built, at the places a flat material sample never reaches.

The specification covers hand-held or hand-carried shields, single or multi-panel, including multi-fold shields and person-portable shields with wheels. It does not cover fixed or mobile barriers, or flexible shields such as ballistic blankets, which ASTM E3236 addresses.

Levels are named inside E3347

E3347 has handgun and rifle levels of its own, named in a pattern such as ASTM-Shield-RF1. A similar name is not evidence of the same threats. We found no ASTM statement that E3347 adopts the NIJ 0123.00 threats by reference (checked 26 September 2026). Read the level definitions in the E3347 edition you cite, and do not write a body-armor level, such as "Level IIIA shield", in place of the shield specification.

Verification

ASTM runs a verification program for law-enforcement protective equipment built on its E54 standards, including E3347. The Safety Equipment Institute (SEI), an ASTM affiliate, performs independent third-party verification, lists verified products online, authorizes the ASTM verified mark, and manages annual testing to assess ongoing compliance. In early 2025 ASTM reported that the NASPO ValuePoint cooperative contract intends to require ASTM verification for ballistic shields.

A listing is read on a date. Check the exact shield model and the edition it was verified to on SEI's list, and record when you read it.

What to put in a solicitation

Our position, stated as ours:

  • Cite ASTM E3347 with the edition you require (the current one is named above), and the level required, as E3347 names it.
  • Require testing to that edition for the exact model offered, in the configuration offered: size, viewport, handles and any applique.
  • Ask for the test report, and read which laboratory issued it, to which edition, and on what date.
  • Ask whether the model appears on SEI's verified products list for that edition, and re-check before award.
  • If a bid offers a shield tested to NIJ 0108.01 instead, treat it as a different test of a different thing, not as an equivalent. Decide in writing whether you will accept it.
  • Weigh weight and handling for the people who will carry the shield, and record the trade-offs you made.
Cite ASTM E3347 with its edition and the level by its E3347 name, require the test report for the exact model and configuration, and check SEI's verified list with the date you read it.

Sources

ShareLinkedInXEmail
Keep reading
Trade Compliance
5 Actionable Steps for Body Armor Supply Chains After the SCOTUS IEEPA Ruling

Navigate the SCOTUS IEEPA tariff ruling with 5 actionable steps for body armor supply chains. Audit HTS codes, file refunds, strengthen NIJ compliance, and more

Supply Chain & Manufacturing
Scaling Body Armor Production: Challenges and What the Record Shows

The challenges in scaling body armor manufacturing (materials, testing and quality systems, labor, equipment, and trade rules) and the practices that address them, set against what DoD, NIJ and CJTTEC publish.

Compliance & Testing
Why Some Ballistic Helmets Fail Testing: Exploring the Science Behind Impact Resistance

Why some ballistic helmets fail testing: what each helmet standard and specification measures, the requirements a helmet can miss, and what to ask for before you buy.