IMPORTANT: Applicants / Participants, please read this announcement before submitting products to the NIJ CTP for compliance testing.

Stab-Resistant Body Armor

The National Institute of Justice Compliance Testing Program (NIJ CTP) administers a compliance testing program for stab-resistant body armor to determine a specific model’s compliance with NIJ Standard-0115.00 (PDF). Manufacturers (i.e., applicants) interested in submitting models of armor for compliance testing should first review NIJ Standard-0115.00 to ensure familiarity with testing, labeling, and workmanship requirements.

Applicants should download, complete, and submit the following documents to the CTP at bactp@nijctp.org, with the subject line “[Your company name] application to participate in NIJ CTP”: 

Applicants should also contact an NIJ-approved laboratory to schedule a compliance test. Applicants select, and directly negotiate and pay for testing services to, the NIJ-approved laboratory of their choice. 

After the laboratory has been contacted and a test date has been scheduled, the NIJ CTP approves the application package and then the applicant submits three identical, complete samples (front and back panels, in a removable or nonremovable carrier as the armor would normally be worn) to the NIJ CTP for an initial labeling and workmanship inspection. Along with the armor samples, the manufacturer should enclose the following information:

    • Documentation that contains a request for the test
    • Selected laboratory
    • Tentative scheduled date for the test
    • Model designation of the armor model(s) submitted and the protection class(es)
    • Level(s) to test the samples against.

Samples and documentation should be shipped (via a commercial shipper with a tracking number) to

NIJ Compliance Testing Program (NIJ CTP)
c/o RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
3040 E. Cornwallis Road
Hermann Building, Room 216
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194

Once NIJ CTP staff members receive the armor, they will inspect the samples to ensure that the samples meet the labeling/workmanship requirements and that the manufacturer has submitted all the required documentation. If the samples pass this inspection, the NIJ CTP will forward the samples for testing to the NIJ-approved test laboratory identified in the application package.

After completing the testing process at the laboratory, the samples are returned to the NIJ CTP, which conducts their own review of the laboratory’s test report and tested samples to verify the test was performed correctly. The NIJ CTP also maintains tested samples for each model in a secure facility for future comparison and analysis as part of ongoing surveillance activities or in response to requests for assistance from criminal justice agencies.

After successfully meeting all NIJ CTP requirements, the NIJ CTP will present information about the model and a recommendation to NIJ about whether to approve the model. If NIJ approves the model, the applicant will receive an NIJ Notice of Compliance for the model and the model will be added to the Compliant Product List (CPL). Once an applicant receives the Notice of Compliance and the model is added to the CPL, the applicant can begin producing the model.

For further information or assistance, please contact the NIJ CTP at 919.485.2717 or bactp@nijctp.org 

Vendor for Spikes Used in Stab-Resistant Armor Testing—Updated—10/31/2017

The NIJ CTP has identified the following vendor for obtaining the "spikes" used in stab-resistant body armor testing in accordance with NIJ Standard-0115.00:

Contra Threat Sciences, LLP
Attention: Adam Williamson
14 Heather Court
Elkton, MD 21921
Phone: 410.920.7738
Email: https://www.contrathreat.com/contact

As additional suppliers are identified, their information will be posted to this page. Parties interested in being a supplier of this consumable test item should contact the NIJ CTP at 919.485.2717 or bactp@nijctp.org.