Contract Data Requirements List

In United States Government contracts, the Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL) is a list of authorized data requirements for a specific procurement that forms a part of the contract. It consists of either a single DD Form 1423-1 or a series of individual CDRL forms containing data requirements and delivery information. The CDRL is the standard format for identifying potential data requirements in a solicitation, and deliverable data requirements in a contract. Subpart 215.470 of the Defense Acquisition Regulations System (DFARS) document requires the use of the CDRL in solicitations when the contract will require delivery of data. Guidance on how to fill in and handle the DD Form 1423-1 is provided in publication 5010.12-M.

CDRLs should be linked directly to Statement of work (SOW) tasks and managed by the program office data manager. Data requirements can also be identified in the contract via Special Contract Clauses (e.g., DFARS), which define special data provisions such as Rights in Data, Warranty, etcetera. SOW guidance of MIL-HDBK-245D states the desired relationship as "Work requirements should be specified in the SOW, and all data requirements for delivery, format, and content should be in the Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL) in conjunction with the appropriate Data Item Description (DID) respectively, with none of the requirements restated in other parts of the contract."

Commonly, most items produced or used as part of production of the work described in the SOW are identified using the name of pre-defined Data Item Descriptions (DID). The CDRL process allows for tailoring defined as identifying which part of a DID are not applicable to the specific acquisition, and may explain how the DID will be applied without otherwise altering the DID. (Altering or adding to DID language would obviously make it no longer a standard DID available by simple citation, pre-approved, and readily handled by exisitng DoD processes.)  The CDRL form provides a block for simple citation of which DID it is, as well as which points in the Statement of work it is mentioned and what part(s) of the overall Work Breakdown Structure it is involved with.

The purpose of the CDRL is to provide a standardized method of clearly and unambiguously delineating the Government's minimum essential data needs. The CDRL groups all of the data requirements in a single place rather than have them scattered throughout the solicitation or contract.

The acronym CDRL is normally pronounced "see-drill".