A body-armor listing usually carries a short phrase: a standard, a level, sometimes the word "certified." Each part of that phrase points to a record kept by someone else. The Standard is ArmorList's reference section for reading those records. It reports what the records show; it never ranks or endorses a product.
A claim is about one model
In the United States, the reference most agencies use is the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Compliance Testing Program. NIJ tests armor by model. When a model meets the standard and the program's requirements, NIJ issues a Notice of Compliance and adds that model to its Compliant Products List (CPL). The listing covers that model as tested. It does not cover a sister model, a different cut, or another product from the same company.
A listing is also watched after it is granted. Listed models are subject to follow-up inspection and testing (FIT), in which samples from production are checked against the construction that was originally tested.
The standard and the level are separate documents
Under the current NIJ system, two documents work together. NIJ Standard 0101.07 sets the performance requirements and test methods for body armor. NIJ Standard 0123.00 defines the protection levels and the test threats. The levels are HG1 and HG2 for handgun threats, and RF1, RF2 and RF3 for rifle threats.
The older NIJ Standard 0101.06 still matters. NIJ stopped accepting new 0101.06 models for testing on 5 January 2024, but models already listed stay on the 0101.06 CPL, subject to follow-up inspection and testing. NIJ anticipates maintaining that list through at least the end of 2029. A 0101.06 listing is not expired; it is closed to new models.
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 the rifle range moved from two levels to three.
Status is dated
A CPL listing has a status: Active, Suspended or Inactive. Status changes. A model can be suspended while NIJ reviews a concern, or removed after a Safety Notice. A claim is only as good as the date its status was read.
Other bodies, other markets
NIJ is not the only reference. The UK Home Office publishes its own body armour standard, with levels such as HO1 to HO4. VPAM, an association of European test laboratories, publishes test guidelines with numbered levels. ASTM International publishes standards for equipment the NIJ body-armor program does not list, such as ballistic shields, and a practice for measuring and fitting armor. Each uses its own threats and its own pass criteria, so a level name from one does not carry into another.
Five questions for any claim
- Which standard, by number and edition?
- Which level, as that standard names it?
- Which exact model, as listed by the body that tested it?
- What is its status, and on what date was it read?
- For a plate: was it tested alone, or in conjunction with a specific soft armor model?
Sources
- NIJ, Compliant Products List: Ballistic Resistant Body ArmorRead September 25, 2026
- NIJ, Specification for NIJ Ballistic Protection Levels and Associated Test Threats, NIJ Standard 0123.00Read September 25, 2026
- CJTTEC, Compliant Product ListsRead September 25, 2026
- CJTTEC, NIJ Advisory Notices and NIJ Safety NoticesRead September 25, 2026
- CJTTEC, Body Armor FAQsRead September 25, 2026
- UK Home Office, Body Armour Standard (2017), CAST publication 012/17Read September 25, 2026
- VPAM, APR test guideline, edition 3Read September 25, 2026