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NIJ Standard 0101.07: what changes for procurement

The move from 0101.06 to 0101.07 reshapes how compliant products are listed and how buyers should read a spec sheet.

ArmorList Editorial·July 8, 2026·2 min read

NIJ Standard 0101.07 is the current NIJ standard for ballistic-resistant body armor used by U.S. law enforcement. NIJ published it in November 2023, and since October 2024 the NIJ Compliance Testing Program has evaluated ballistic armor against it. The earlier edition, 0101.06, still has its own list. For a buyer, that changes how a requirement is written and how a spec sheet is read.

New level names, in a separate standard

0101.07 sets the performance requirements and test methods. The protection levels and their test threats are defined in a companion document, NIJ Standard 0123.00: HG1 and HG2 for handguns, and RF1, RF2 and RF3 for rifles. Level II became HG1 and Level IIIA became HG2; Levels III and IV were revised into three rifle levels, and Level IIA was retired with no successor.

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. Requirements written against 0101.06 levels need a written decision on what the agency will accept, not an assumed equivalent.

Two lists

NIJ stopped accepting new 0101.06 models on 5 January 2024. Listed models stay listed, subject to follow-up inspection and testing, and NIJ anticipates maintaining the 0101.06 list through at least the end of 2029. A 0101.06 listing is not expired.

What buyers should verify

  • The exact model appears on the current NIJ Compliant Products List (CPL), not a predecessor or a model with a similar name.
  • The list the model is on matches the standard your requirement names.
  • The model's status (Active, Suspended or Inactive), with the date you read it.
  • For a plate, whether it was tested alone or in conjunction with a specific soft armor model. An in-conjunction plate should be used only with the soft armor it was tested with.
A listing covers one model as tested, under one standard. Two products with similar level names under different standards were tested to different documents. Match the model and the standard, not the label.

How ArmorList shows it

For NIJ body armor, ArmorList links products to the CPL entry for the exact model. A signed-in product page shows the status as NIJ publishes it, the standard, and the date the list was read.

Name the standard and level you require, then buy the listed model. Keep the date you read its status.

Sources

  1. NIJ, Compliant Products List: Ballistic Resistant Body ArmorRead September 25, 2026
  2. CJTTEC, NIJ Standard 0101.07 InformationRead September 25, 2026
  3. NIJ, Specification for NIJ Ballistic Protection Levels and Associated Test Threats, NIJ Standard 0123.00Read September 25, 2026
  4. CJTTEC, New Ballistic-Resistant Body Armor Standard PublishedRead September 25, 2026
  5. CJTTEC, Compliant Product ListsRead September 25, 2026
  6. CJTTEC, Body Armor FAQsRead September 25, 2026
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Standards & testing
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