SD-26 (2026) explained: what the DMSMS contracting guide is and what changed
Blue Water Components · October 19, 2026
SD-26 is the Defense Standardization Program Office (DSPO) guide to writing DMSMS (Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages) and parts, materials, and processes (PM&P) requirements into contracts. The current edition is dated June 2026. It is guidance, not a regulation: it gives program offices illustrative contract language, plus recommended data deliverables, that they can tailor to each program.
This page explains what SD-26 is, what the 2026 revision changes, who it applies to, and how it fits with SD-22, the DoD DMSMS guidebook. Quotations are from the June 2026 edition, with printed page numbers, available from the
What SD-26 is
The full title of the 2026 edition is the DMSMS and PM&P Management Contracting Guide. In the Foreword, DSPO explains that while contractors perform many DMSMS management functions, "the government retains ultimate responsibility for overseeing these efforts, mitigating risk, and ensuring contract performance" (p. iv). SD-26 exists to help program offices write contracts that make those contractor activities clear and give the government the data it needs for oversight.
The guide is organized around tables of illustrative requirements. Each requirement has a title, a note on when it applies, the life-cycle event or phase where it typically starts, and sample contract wording. Many requirements are paired with a recommended Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL) and Data Item Description (DID), such as DI-MGMT-82274 for DMSMS life cycle management data.
What changed in the 2026 revision
DSPO summarizes the headline changes in the Foreword: "this revision of SD-26 introduces new guidance on prefunding DMSMS resolutions, and a provision for obtaining technology roadmaps. It also provides best practices for navigating the contracting process to effectively address DMSMS and maximize operational readiness" (p. iv).
- Prefunding resolutions. The guide describes strategically prefunding a contract with resolution funds to cover gaps that some funding options leave for major (Class I) changes (p. 20). Our page on
who pays for DMSMS resolutions covers this in detail. - Technology roadmaps. Requirement 18 asks the contractor to develop or maintain a technology roadmap of technologies, including software, expected to become obsolete, delivered under DI-MISC-80508B. The related plan "will cover a rolling 10-year planning horizon over the life of the contract" (p. 18).
- Source selection on design health. The illustrative source selection language says proposals "whose designs have superior health will receive more favorable ratings" and that "Healthy DMSMS designs should have minimal items with life cycles ending in less than 5 years and mitigation plans in place for the items with short life cycles" (p. 8).
- Contract execution. The guide adds a section on contract execution and evaluation, covering finalizing the contract, reviewing deliverables, meetings, and evaluation. The PM&P section tailors MIL-STD-11991.
For the monitoring and design-health requirements in practice, see our guide to
Who SD-26 applies to
SD-26 is written for government program offices and the DMSMS and PM&P subject-matter experts who help them write contracts. It does not apply to a contractor on its own. It matters to contractors when a program office puts its language into an RFP, statement of work, or contract.
DSPO pushes for broad use. The Foreword says: "I urge you to read it thoroughly and use it on all new contracts and modifications to existing contracts" (p. iv). But the guide also says its wording "should be tailored to complement the program office's Acquisition Strategy" and that "Not every requirement in Tables 1.1–1.6 and Tables 2.1–2.4 is applicable in all circumstances" (p. 2). The practical rule for buyers and bidders: read the actual contract language. Don't assume a requirement applies because it is in SD-26, and don't assume it doesn't.
For contractors, the requirements that most often matter are monitoring (Requirement 12), case management and reporting, flow-down to subcontractors, and the funding option the contract uses (Requirements 22a to 22c).
How SD-26 relates to SD-22
The two documents work together. SD-22, the DoD DMSMS guidebook (current edition dated March 31, 2024), describes how to run a robust DMSMS management program: the practices, processes, and metrics. SD-26 is about the contract: how to write those practices into requirements a contractor can be held to.
SD-26 points readers to SD-22 repeatedly. For example, it refers to SD-22 for more on measuring DMSMS health, and its illustrative case reporting language says cost avoidance should be determined from program office guidance "or, if none is provided, the method described in the SD-22" (p. 11). If you manage DMSMS day to day, SD-22 is the how-to; SD-26 tells you what your contract may require you to deliver.
What buyers and program teams can do now
- Check open RFPs and current contracts for SD-26 language, especially monitoring, reporting, and funding requirements.
- Know your design's health before you bid. Count the parts with less than 5 years of projected life and plan mitigations for them.
- Set up monitoring for the items that matter most, and document how you chose them.
- Confirm which funding option applies before you price mitigations.
Free BOM check: up to 100 line items, results within 2 business days
Send us a BOM (up to 100 line items) and within 2 business days we'll show you, at no cost, each part's lifecycle and end-of-life status, which parts have less than 5 years of projected life, and which items belong on your monitored list.
Related:
Frequently asked questions
SD-26 is DSPO's DMSMS and PM&P Management Contracting Guide. It gives program offices illustrative contract language and recommended data deliverables for DMSMS and parts management.
The June 2026 edition, listed in the DLA ASSIST document index.
DSPO says the revision introduces new guidance on prefunding DMSMS resolutions and a provision for obtaining technology roadmaps, plus best practices for the contracting process.
No. It is guidance that program offices tailor. Its requirements bind a contractor only when they are written into the contract.
SD-22 is the DoD guidebook on running a DMSMS management program. SD-26 explains how to write DMSMS and PM&P requirements into contracts.
No. It describes requirements and methods, not particular products.
Related resources
SD-26 predictive tools and design health: how to comply Who pays for DMSMS resolutions? Free pre-bid BOM health check Air (Govini) and SONAR AI: which DMSMS tool fits which job?
Sources
SD-26, DMSMS and PM&P Management Contracting Guide (June 2026), DLA ASSIST - SD-22, Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages: A Guidebook of Best Practices for Implementing a Robust DMSMS Management Program (March 31, 2024)
SD-22 and SD-26 are DSPO guidance. Blue Water Components is not affiliated with or endorsed by DSPO or the Department of Defense.