IAW
In Accordance With
Acronyms & AbbreviationsDefinition
IAW (In Accordance With) is a standard abbreviation used in government contracts, military documents, and procurement specifications to indicate that an action, product, or service must comply with a referenced standard, regulation, or document.
IAW is one of the most frequently used abbreviations in government and military writing. You'll encounter it in Statements of Work (SOW), Performance Work Statements (PWS), contract clauses, and technical specifications. It always points to a specific reference document that defines the required standard.
Example usage: "The contractor shall perform all maintenance IAW Technical Manual TM 9-2320-280-20" means the work must follow the procedures in that specific manual exactly.
In proposals, pay close attention to every IAW reference — it identifies mandatory compliance requirements. Missing or ignoring an IAW reference is a common reason proposals are rated technically unacceptable.
Related abbreviations you'll see alongside IAW: NLT (No Later Than), NTE (Not to Exceed), POC (Point of Contact), and SOW (Statement of Work).
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