Fastener Quality Act (FQA)

The Fastener Quality Act (FQA), Public Law 101-592, was signed by President Bush on November 16, 1990. The Act protects the public safety by: (1) requiring that certain fasteners sold in commerce conform to the specifications to which they are represented to be manufactured, (2) providing for accreditation of laboratories engaged in fastener testing, and (3) requiring inspection, testing and certification in accordance with standardized methods.

The Act requires the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of NIST, to establish a laboratory accreditation program for fastener testing laboratories under the procedures of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP). The accreditation program includes test methods which are required by fastener specifications or standards covered by the Act. Since fastener testing involves a wide range of expertise, accreditation will be offered in the areas of mechanical and physical testing and inspection, metallography, nondestructive inspection, dimensional inspection, and chemical analysis.

On March 7, 1996, President Clinton signed the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, Public Law 104-113, which ammended the Fastener Quality Act to further clarify and define the requirements of the original Act.

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• Text of the Law
• PDF of the Law
• Summary of the Major Amendments to the FQA
• Federal Register Notice Announcing Final Rule
• Procedures for Implementation of the FQA
• FQA Violation Hotline
• List of Self-declared Accreditation Bodies
• Self-Declaration Forms for Accreditation Bodies
• Instructions for Laboratories to Apply for NVLAP Accreditation
• Accredited Laboratory List
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Fastener Insignia Register and Recordal