Codes and standards
Build America, Buy America and the Buy American Act, for Lighting and Poles
Five different rules get called “Buy America” on a South Florida job, and they do not agree with each other. On the same pole base, the shaft, the base plate and the luminaire can fall into three separate categories with three separate tests. This page sets out what each rule actually says, what changes on 1 October 2026, and what each of my lines publishes — with the source on every claim.
Have a federally funded job — FDOT, LAP, a port, an airport, a school or a transit facility?
The date to put in your calendar: 1 October 2026
FHWA had a general waiver in place since 1983 that exempted every non-iron-and-steel manufactured product — which is to say, every luminaire — from Buy America on federal-aid highway work. That waiver is gone, rescinded by the final rule at 90 FR 2932, published 14 January 2025, and it is being replaced in two steps.
| Projects with funds obligated | What a luminaire has to satisfy |
|---|---|
| Before 1 October 2025 | Nothing. The 1983 general waiver still covered manufactured products |
| On or after 1 October 2025 | Manufactured in the United States. Final assembly only — no cost-of-components test |
| On or after 1 October 2026 | Manufactured in the United States and domestic components greater than 55 percent of total component cost |
The trigger is the federal obligation date of the project, not the bid date, not the purchase order date, and not the delivery date. Two jobs bid in the same week can sit under different rules. Ask for the obligation date on every federally assisted job before you quote it. A luminaire that qualified last year on assembly location alone is not automatically qualified for a job obligated after 1 October — that is the trap most likely to bite this quarter.
The five rules, and which one you are actually under
| Rule | When it applies | The test for a luminaire |
|---|---|---|
| Buy American Act of 1933, FAR Part 25 | The federal government buys it directly — a GSA order, a Corps of Engineers contract, a VA hospital, a federal courthouse. Not grants | Manufactured in the US and domestic components above the FAR threshold — 65 percent for items delivered in calendar years 2024 through 2028, 75 percent from 2029. Waived above the trade-agreement thresholds for designated countries. The component test is waived entirely for commercial off-the-shelf items |
| Build America, Buy America, IIJA sections 70901 to 70927, 2 CFR Part 184 | Federal financial assistance — grants, cooperative agreements, loans — obligated for infrastructure on or after 14 May 2022. This is most of the federally funded work in South Florida | Manufactured in the US and domestic components greater than 55 percent of total component cost. Flat — there is no step-up schedule in 2 CFR 184. No trade-agreement escape. No commercial off-the-shelf exception |
| FHWA Buy America, 23 U.S.C. 313 and 23 CFR 635.410 | Anything funded under Title 23 — FDOT lettings, Local Agency Program projects run by cities and counties, MPO-funded work | US manufacture from 1 October 2025; US manufacture plus 55 percent domestic components from 1 October 2026 |
| FTA Buy America, 49 U.S.C. 5323(j) and 49 CFR Part 661 | Transit capital work — in South Florida that is Miami-Dade Transit, Broward County Transit, Tri-Rail and SFRTA, transit centers and park-and-ride structures | The strictest rule on this page. 49 CFR 661.5(d) requires all manufacturing processes in the US and all components of US origin. Effectively 100 percent, not 55. A luminaire quoted off a BABA letter at 56 percent is rejected |
| FAA Buy American Preference, 49 U.S.C. 50101 | AIP and airport infrastructure grant work — Miami International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Palm Beach International, Opa-locka, Executive, Tamiami | The default is 100 percent US materials, certified by the sponsor. Relief comes as a waiver, not a threshold: a Type 4 waiver where US components exceed 60 percent of cost and final assembly is in the US. Forms 5100-136 and 5100-137, generally within 15 days of bid award |
The asymmetry that catches people: BABA reaches far more South Florida work than the Buy American Act does, because almost nothing in municipal, county, school, port or airport construction is a direct federal purchase — it is federally assisted. And a Canadian or Mexican luminaire can be a lawful Buy American Act acquisition and a BABA violation on the same campus, because BABA has no trade-agreement waiver.
Which bucket — the part that decides the job
The categories are mutually exclusive. An item goes in exactly one of them, and each has a different test. On one pole base you can easily have all three.
| Item | Bucket | The test |
|---|---|---|
| Steel light pole | Iron and steel product — an item whose iron and steel content exceeds 50 percent of the cost of all its components | All manufacturing processes, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, occurred in the United States. There is no percentage. Galvanizing and painting count as manufacturing processes, so a US-fabricated pole hot-dip galvanized offshore fails. Melt origin counts too — a pole fabricated in Texas from imported billet fails |
| Aluminum light pole | Construction material — non-ferrous metal, under 2 CFR 184.3 | All manufacturing processes, from initial smelting or melting through final shaping, coating and assembly, occurred in the United States. Again no percentage. Extrusion or spinning in the US from imported billet fails; anodizing or powder coating abroad fails |
| LED luminaire | Manufactured product | US manufacture plus the cost-of-components percentage for whichever rule you are under. This is the only one of the three with a percentage |
| A pole shipped as a kitted assembly | Possibly a manufactured product rather than a construction material | OMB guidance is explicit that combining two or more listed construction materials by manufacturing converts the item into a manufactured product — its own example is a plastic-framed sliding window against plate glass. How the item is delivered to the job site governs. Two identical aluminum shafts, one shipped bare and one shipped kitted with a steel base plate and cast fittings, can land in different buckets |
Items that arrive separately are evaluated separately. A pole-and-luminaire package bought as one line item does not become one product — which helps you when the shaft is clean and hurts you when a driver inside the luminaire is not, because the pole’s cost does not dilute it.
How a component is costed, and why board-level assembly is where the math is won
| Purchased components | Acquisition cost, plus transportation to the place of incorporation, plus applicable duties |
|---|---|
| Self-manufactured components | Manufacturing costs, plus transportation, plus allocable overhead — excluding profit |
| What counts as a component | An article, material or supply, manufactured or unmanufactured, incorporated directly into the manufactured product |
| Subcomponents | They do not roll up. If a domestic contract manufacturer builds an LED board in the US from imported diodes, the board is a domestic component at its full cost. That is why board-level and driver-level US assembly is usually where the 55 percent is won |
What my lines publish, and what they do not
Manufacturer-published statements only, read off each maker’s own material. Where a line publishes nothing on this, that is what the row says — an absence of a published statement is not a claim of non-compliance, it is a reason to get it in writing before the job is bid.
| Line | What the manufacturer publishes |
|---|---|
| Spring City | The clearest published position on my card, and the only one that splits its own catalog three ways: cast iron and ductile poles as iron and steel compliant, with all processes from the initial melting stage through coatings in the US; cast aluminum poles as construction-material compliant, from initial smelting through final shaping, coating and assembly; LED luminaires as manufactured-product compliant. That is exactly the three-bucket structure the rule sets out |
| Williams | Publishes that it meets Build America, Buy America and Buy American Act standards, with the product-level line on individual spec sheets and a catalog filterable by BAA Compliant, BABA Compliant and Made in the USA. Everything is produced and shipped from its own plant in Carthage, Missouri. It publishes no domestic-content percentage, and runs a certification-packet process against the catalog numbers and quantities on a specific project |
| Insight Lighting | Publishes both Buy American Act and Build America, Buy America compliance as company positions, designing and manufacturing in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Argo Pro carries the claim at product level with a BABA option. Insight references a compliant-products list but does not publish it inline, so on a federally funded job the list has to be requested |
| United Lighting Standards | Publishes that all of its products are designed and manufactured at its facility in Warren, Michigan — “Made in Michigan.” It publishes no Buy American Act, Build America Buy America or domestic-content statement, and no certification letter template |
| Teslyte | Publishes a single sentence covering one group: its area and site luminaires are made in the USA. No statement covers the rest of the catalog, and there is no BAA or BABA position published |
| Visionaire | Publishes no Buy American Act, Build America Buy America or Made in USA statement, and its about page names facilities in both Long Beach, California and Ensenada, Baja California. On a federally funded job this has to be settled in writing first |
| Besa Lighting | Publishes no Made in USA, Buy American Act or Build America Buy America statement and no country-of-origin declaration per catalog number. What it does publish is that glass is produced in Europe on some lines and hand inspected at its Ohio factory |
This table covers the lines where I have read a published position. It is not the whole card. If the line you need is not here, ask me and I will go and get the manufacturer’s current written position rather than guess at it.
What you actually have to produce, and when
| At design | The specifier picks products the recipient agency will accept. FDOT is explicit that designers must verify compliance during design to prevent construction delays, and that contractors cannot determine eligibility in the field |
|---|---|
| Before it goes in the ground | FHWA’s own guidance: certification is required prior to permanent incorporation of iron or steel products and manufactured products into a federal-aid project. Not at closeout, not at invoicing |
| Step certification for iron and steel | Each handler — supplier, fabricator, manufacturer, processor — certifies that their step was domestically performed. For a steel pole that is a chain: melt, fabricate, galvanize, each with a signed statement. One letter from the pole vendor saying “made in USA” does not satisfy step certification |
| The Florida route — the APL | FDOT has front-loaded this onto the manufacturer. Makers submit compliance statements through the Approved Product List, and for APL-listed products the engineer records the APL number in the Materials Acceptance and Certification system, with no separate certifications collected in the field. For unlisted products, contact FDOT Product Evaluation before field use. The product has to be on the APL at time of use |
| Airports | Sponsor-level certification of 100 percent US steel and manufactured products; where that fails, Form 5100-136 (content percentage worksheet) and Form 5100-137 (final assembly questionnaire), generally within 15 days of award |
| What a usable luminaire letter contains | Manufacturer letterhead, signed by an officer or authorized compliance representative; the specific catalog numbers as ordered, including options and finish; the regime and standard being certified to — not a generic “Buy America compliant”; the place of manufacture or final assembly by facility; and a bill-of-materials cost analysis the manufacturer will produce on agency request |
Waivers
| Public interest | Applying the preference would be inconsistent with the public interest |
|---|---|
| Non-availability | The materials are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities or of a satisfactory quality. On lighting this, not cost, is the workable ground |
| Unreasonable cost | Including domestic material would increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent. Not the line item — the project. A very high bar |
| Who grants | The head of the funding agency, with review by OMB’s Made in America Office. The justification has to be posted publicly for at least 15 days, or 30 for a general-applicability waiver, before it is finalized |
| Where the list is | madeinamerica.gov holds the government-wide list, including the federal financial assistance category. FHWA, FTA and FAA each publish their own |
| Timing | FAA requires waiver requests generally within 15 days of bid award. A waiver sought after the fixture is on site is a change-order argument, not a compliance strategy |
The traps I watch for
| Assembled in USA is not manufactured in USA — except for one year | Between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026, FHWA’s manufactured-product test was US manufacture only, with no component test. From 1 October 2026 the 55 percent test attaches |
|---|---|
| A Made in USA label is not a certification | The FTC Made in USA Labeling Rule, 16 CFR Part 323, is a truth-in-advertising rule requiring that all or virtually all components are made and sourced in the US. It is stricter in substance than BABA’s 55 percent but produces no compliance record, no step certification and no APL entry. A BABA-compliant product at 56 percent domestic content may not lawfully carry an unqualified Made in USA label |
| Company-level claims are not per-product certifications | Options, drivers, finishes and controls change the answer inside a single catalog family, and which factory built it changes it again. Certify the catalog number, not the brand |
| Responsibility does not transfer to the manufacturer | A vendor letter is evidence, not indemnity. False-certification exposure runs to whoever signed to the agency |
| BAA compliance is not BABA compliance | Different thresholds, different scope, and decisively — the Buy American Act is waived above the trade-agreement thresholds for designated countries and BABA is not |
| Commercial off-the-shelf | The Buy American Act component test is waived for COTS items. BABA has no COTS exception. Most catalog luminaires are COTS, which means the easier rule applies to the rarer funding type |
| FTA is not 55 percent | 49 CFR 661.5(d) requires all components of US origin. Transit lighting quoted off a 55 percent letter gets rejected |
| Coatings and melt origin | Galvanizing and anodizing are manufacturing processes, and the iron and steel test runs from the initial melting stage. Domestic fabrication with offshore finishing fails; US fabrication from imported steel fails |
| Classification is the agency’s call | FHWA expressly declined to classify luminaires, signals and ITS equipment in the final rule, and said some could be iron or steel products or construction materials instead. In Florida that determination sits with FDOT Product Evaluation, not the field engineer, and not the manufacturer |
| Do not apply a percentage to a pole | Manufactured products have a percentage. Iron and steel and construction materials have a process test with no percentage. Running a 55 percent analysis on an aluminum pole is a category error that gets caught |
Questions I get
What changes on 1 October 2026?
On federal-aid highway work, a luminaire stops being judged on where it was assembled and starts being judged on cost of components. Projects with funds obligated on or after that date require US manufacture and domestic components greater than 55 percent of total component cost. Projects obligated between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026 require US manufacture only.
Is BABA 55 percent, 60 percent or 65 percent?
BABA is a flat 55 percent, and there is no step-up schedule in 2 CFR Part 184. The 60, 65 and 75 percent ladder belongs to the Buy American Act at FAR 25.101, which is a different statute covering direct federal purchases. Today a luminaire delivered on a direct federal contract needs 65 percent; a luminaire on a federally assisted project needs 55 percent. People conflate these constantly.
Does a Miami-Dade NOA or a Florida Product Approval have anything to do with this?
No, and they do not exist for luminaires anyway. Florida Statutes section 553.842(5) lists the statewide product approval categories — panel walls, exterior doors, roofing, skylights, windows, shutters, impact protective systems and structural components. Lighting fixtures are not one of them. Anyone selling you a “Miami-Dade approved light fixture” is confused. What is real on a Florida job is the anchorage and the Buy America paperwork, which are two different problems.
My steel pole is fabricated in the US. Is it compliant?
Not necessarily. The iron and steel test runs from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, all in the United States. US fabrication from imported billet fails, and US fabrication with offshore galvanizing fails. You need the melt certificate and a step certification from each handler, not a single letter from the pole supplier.
Can I use one Buy America letter for the whole project?
No. Certify the catalog number as ordered, including options and finish, and get the letter before the product is permanently incorporated. In Florida the cleanest route is a product already on the FDOT Approved Product List, because then the engineer records the APL number and no separate field certification is collected.
Which of your lines can I actually use on a federally funded job?
Williams and Insight both publish BABA and Buy American Act positions, and Spring City publishes a three-bucket classification of its own catalog. United Lighting Standards publishes Made in Michigan but no BABA statement. Several others publish nothing. Send me the job, the funding agency and the obligation date and I will come back with current written positions on the specific catalog numbers rather than a brand-level claim.
Is this legal advice?
No. I am a specification representative, not a lawyer. This page is a reading of the published statutes, regulations, agency guidance and manufacturer statements, with the sources named. On a project where money turns on the answer, confirm the classification with the funding agency and, where it matters, with counsel.
Where the numbers come from, and where to go next
Every claim on this page comes from a published primary source: the Build America, Buy America Act at IIJA sections 70901 to 70927; 2 CFR Part 184 and OMB Memorandum M-24-02; FAR Part 25; 23 U.S.C. 313 and 23 CFR 635.410 as amended by the FHWA final rule at 90 FR 2932, 14 January 2025; 49 CFR Part 661; 49 U.S.C. 50101; 16 CFR Part 323; Florida Statutes section 553.842; FDOT’s BABA implementation plan and bulletins; and each manufacturer’s own published statement. Two things to re-check before a bid: whether anything has moved the 1 October 2026 FHWA date, and FDOT’s current bulletin, because its published FAQ still contains a sentence saying manufactured products are exempt under the FHWA waiver — which stopped being true when the waiver was rescinded.
Related: All Florida lighting codes · Williams · Insight Lighting · Spring City · United Lighting Standards · Light poles and structures · All product pages