Prepared by Steven Sawyers MIExpE VR, Sawyers Global Solutions Limited. Open source, unclassified. Prepared with AI assistance and checked by the author. Not legal, regulatory or safety advice.
A 17-point check to run before you submit a bid on a defence contract that carries AQAP-2110, the NATO quality assurance requirement for design, development and production. Each point is a place where bids are commonly marked down or where a Government Quality Assurance Representative (GQAR) will look first. Print it, or work through it on screen.
Contract and flow-down
- You have identified every clause in the invitation to tender that invokes AQAP-2110, AQAP-2105 or another Allied Quality Assurance Publication.
- You know which National Quality Assurance Authority (NQAA) will be responsible, and whether Government Quality Assurance will be delegated under STANAG 4107.
- You have checked the edition cited: AQAP-2110 Edition D is current; STANAG 4107 is at Edition 14 (4 June 2025).
- Any AQAP requirements you will pass to sub-tier suppliers are identified, and those suppliers know.
Certificates and what they prove
- Your bid does not present an AQAP-2110 certificate from a certification body as proof of compliance. NATO does not recognise AQAP certification; the NQAA assesses you.
- Your ISO 9001 certificate is current, from an accredited body, and its scope covers the work being bid.
Quality planning
- If a deliverable quality plan is required, it follows AQAP-2105 and is specific to this contract, not a copy of the quality manual.
- The plan names who is responsible for each quality activity and how nonconforming product is controlled.
- Your inspection and test arrangements match the specification, including any first article or lot acceptance requirements.
Competence evidence (ISO 9001 Clause 7.2)
- For each role that affects conformity, you can show the competence required, the competence held and the evidence on file.
- The evidence is assessment records and authorisations, not only training certificates and CVs.
- Roles that handle explosives or specify hazard classification are covered by someone competent to judge that work.
Explosives-specific points
- Hazard Division and Compatibility Group are stated for every item and match the transport and storage documentation.
- Packaging, marking and transport arrangements comply with the applicable regulations (for example ADR and RID, or the IMDG Code).
- Any safety case, qualification or certification evidence the specification calls for is present and in date.
Before you submit
- Someone who did not write the bid has read it as an evaluator would, against the evaluation criteria.
- Every claim of compliance points to a document the evaluator can check.
Why this matters
The most common single misunderstanding is the certificate. The full reasoning, with the AQAP-2000 wording, is on the AQAP-2110 Compliance Support page and in the ISC Defence Intelligence analysis AQAP-2110 Certification: Why NATO Doesn’t Recognise It.
