About the UFC Program
The Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) Program provides planning, design, construction, sustainment, restoration, and modernization criteria for Department of Defense (DoD) facilities. These criteria apply to the Military Departments, Defense Agencies, and DoD Field Activities in accordance with DoD Directive 4270.5 (Military Construction) and the USD(AT&L) Memorandum dated 29 May 2002. UFC program content is distributed exclusively in electronic format and are effective upon issuance.
The UFC Program is jointly administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (HQUSACE), Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), and the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC). Program procedures and points of contact are outlined in the current edition of MIL-STD-3007.
Program Structure: UFC, UFS, and UFM
The UFC Program delivers consistent technical content through three types of unified criteria:
- Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC): Technical requirements, pertinent laws, and policies applicable across all DoD Components. This criterion is considered mandatory contract language unless a waiver is granted.
- Unified Facilities Supplement (UFS): Supplemental information that supports UFCs with procedural/implementation guidance, additional justification and detail, best practices to consider, checklists, or component-specific needs. This criterion is also considered mandatory contract language unless a waiver is granted.
- Unified Facilities Operations & Maintenance Manual (UFM): Operations and maintenance manuals that guide implementation and application of functional and sustainment requirements. These manuals may establish mandatory guidance or be provided FIO to expand upon requirements established elsewhere.
Together, this unified criteria platform ensures consistent standards for safety, sustainability, durability, and functionality of DoD facilities. The UFC Program incorporates a combination of nationally recognized building codes, DoD-specific technical and operational requirements, and applicable statutory and regulatory provisions. UFC content that is fully unified and applicable across all DoD Components have no alphabetical suffix in the title.
Unified and Non-Unified Content: FC, FS, FM
When content is developed for a specific agency or limited audience, it is designated as non-unified and reclassified accordingly as follows:
- Facilities Criteria (FC): Non-unified counterpart to UFC. These define functional requirements for specific facility types, tailored to one or two Component policies or operational needs.
- Facilities Supplements (FS): Non-unified counterpart to UFS. These provide additional technical or contextual content that supports specific Component applications.
- Facilities Manuals (FM): Non-unified counterpart to UFM. These deliver operation and maintenance content for Component-specific requirements.
Each non-unified criterion includes an alphabetical designator at the end of its number to indicate the sponsoring DoD Component:
- A — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
- N — Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC)
- F — Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC)
If the content is applicable to more than one agency, it will include multiple letters (e.g., "AF" for Army and Air Force).
Questions and Change Requests
Suggestions, comments, and recommended changes to UFC Program documents are encouraged and should be submitted via a Criteria Change Request (CCR). To submit a CCR, click the CCR link provided next to each document. CCRs should not be used for project-specific issues, such as solicitation or contract interpretation. These matters should be directed to the appropriate Contracting Officer.
To learn more about how changes are classified, refer to the UFC—UFGS Revision-Change Policy.
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Glossary and References
Glossary terms and external references will no longer be included in UFCs. Instead, you may find this information at the following:
