GSA develops technical documents to describe the essential characteristics and expected performance of products purchased for government use. Technical documents take different forms depending upon the product and types of information included in the document. Documents developed to support purchases of furniture and furnishings include purchase descriptions, commercial item descriptions, federal specifications, federal standards, and qualified products lists.

GSA also uses industry standards when available and suitable for the items being acquired. GSA works with industry standards developing organizations to ensure industry standards reflect government needs and avoid unnecessary development of government standards.

The standards developed by GSA are available for download and use by industry and customer agencies. Standards developed by industry are available from the developing organization. Contact information for acquiring industry standards is provided as a convenience for industry and customers.