People outside law enforcement buy body armor for their own reasons. This article does not rank products or name a best one. ArmorList reports what the records show; it never ranks or endorses. What it can do is set out the questions a civilian buyer can answer from records kept by someone else, before money changes hands.
Two kinds of armor
Soft armor is built mainly from aramid and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers, and under NIJ Standard 0101.07 it is tested against handgun threats. Hard armor is usually a plate: a hard strike face on a fiber backing, or a pressed fiber laminate. A ceramic strike face breaks up and blunts the round as it shatters, and the backing catches the fragments. Rifle levels apply to hard armor.
Stab protection is a separate question. NIJ Standard 0115.00 tests armor against knives and spikes and has its own compliance list. A ballistic level says nothing about stab protection.
The standard and the level
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) runs the Compliance Testing Program. NIJ certifies torso-worn ballistic armor for law enforcement that complies with the program, and lists compliant armor by model on its Compliant Products List (CPL). The program is written for law enforcement, but the list is public, and a civilian can use it to check a claim.
There are two sets of NIJ levels in use:
- NIJ Standard 0101.07, with levels defined in NIJ Standard 0123.00: HG1 and HG2 for handguns, RF1, RF2 and RF3 for rifles.
- NIJ Standard 0101.06, with levels IIA, II, IIIA, III and IV. NIJ stopped accepting new 0101.06 models on 5 January 2024. Listed models stay listed, and NIJ anticipates maintaining that list through at least the end of 2029. A 0101.06 listing is not expired.
NIJ 0123.00 maps some old levels to new ones (RF1 replaces Level III; RF3 replaces Level IV), but a model's listing does not carry over: a model is listed under 0101.07 only once it has been tested to it. Level IIA was retired with 0101.07 and has no successor, and Levels III and IV were revised into three rifle levels. Each level is defined by named test rounds at reference velocities, so a level says what the model was tested against, not everything it will meet.
Check the exact model
- Find the exact model on the CPL for the standard it claims. The CPL is per model: a company's other listed models do not cover this one.
- Read its status (Active, Suspended or Inactive) and note the date you read it. A model can be suspended under an NIJ Advisory Notice or removed under a Safety Notice.
- For a plate, check whether it was tested alone or in conjunction with a specific soft armor model. An in-conjunction plate is meant to be used only with the soft armor it was tested with.
- If a product is not on the CPL, ask for the test report: which laboratory, which standard and edition, which level, on what date.
The law where you live
Federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 931, makes it unlawful for a person convicted of a felony that is a crime of violence to purchase, own or possess body armor. States can add their own rules. Connecticut requires body armor to be sold or delivered in person, to a buyer who holds a Connecticut firearm permit, eligibility certificate or ammunition certificate. Since July 2022, New York limits sales to people in eligible professions, such as police officers, peace officers and military personnel. Many states add a penalty for wearing body armor while committing a crime.
State law changes, and this is orientation, not legal advice. Check the law for the state where you live and the state the armor ships to.
Fit and care
Armor protects only what it covers. NIJ guidance advises full front, back and side protection, and fitting armor to the wearer's measurements; ASTM E3003 sets out how to measure a wearer. Care guidance from CJTTEC, which administers the program's lists, says to store armor flat in a dry, shaded place, avoid extreme heat or cold such as a vehicle trunk, and never machine-wash the panels. Manufacturers self-declare a warranty period on the label.
What to check
- The kind of armor you need, and the standard and level you are asking for, by edition.
- The exact model on the CPL, its status, and the date you read it.
- For a plate, whether it was tested alone or with a named soft armor model.
- The federal and state rules for you and your delivery address.
- The fit, the care guidance, and the warranty period on the label.
Name the model, find it on the certifying body's own list, and note the date you read its status. Then check the law where you live.
Sources
- NIJ, Body Armor Performance Standards and Compliance Testing (read 2026-09-29)
- NIJ, Compliant Products List: Ballistic Resistant Body Armor (read 2026-09-25)
- NIJ, Specification for NIJ Ballistic Protection Levels and Associated Test Threats, NIJ Standard 0123.00 (read 2026-09-25)
- CJTTEC, New Ballistic-Resistant Body Armor Standard Published (read 2026-09-25)
- CJTTEC, Compliant Product Lists (read 2026-09-25)
- CJTTEC, NIJ Advisory Notices and NIJ Safety Notices (read 2026-09-25)
- CJTTEC, Body Armor FAQs (read 2026-09-25)
- NIJ, Stab Resistance of Personal Body Armor, NIJ Standard 0115.00 (read 2026-09-26)
- NIST, Personal Armour Systems Symposium 2018 proceedings (read 2026-09-25)
- 18 U.S.C. § 931, Prohibition on purchase, ownership, or possession of body armor by violent felons (read 2026-09-25)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-341b, Sale or delivery of body armor restricted (read 2026-09-25)
- N.Y. General Business Law § 396-eee (read 2026-09-25)
- N.Y. Department of State, Body armor (read 2026-09-25)
- CJTTEC, Body Armor Selection and Fit (read 2026-09-25)
- ASTM E3003-25, Standard Practice for Body Armor Wearer Measurement and Fitting of Armor (read 2026-10-01)
- CJTTEC, Body Armor Care and Replacement (read 2026-09-29)
- CJTTEC, Additional Information Regarding NIJ Body Armor Compliant Product List (read 2026-09-29)