§ 635.413 - Guaranty and warranty clauses.

§ 635.413 Guaranty and warranty clauses.

The State DOT may include warranty provisions in National Highway System (NHS) construction contracts in accordance with the following:

(a) Warranty provisions shall be for a specific construction product or feature. Items of maintenance not eligible for Federal participation shall not be covered.

(b) All warranty requirements and subsequent revisions shall be submitted to the Division Administrator for advance approval.

(c) No warranty requirement shall be approved which, in the judgment of the Division Administrator, may place an undue obligation on the contractor for items over which the contractor has no control.

(d) A State DOT may follow its own procedures regarding the inclusion of warranty provisions in non-NHS Federal-aid contracts.

(e) In the case of a design-build project, the following requirements will apply instead of paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section.

(1) General project warranties may be used on NHS projects, provided:

(i) The term of the warranty is short (generally one to two years); however, projects developed under a public-private agreement may include warranties that are appropriate for the term of the contract or agreement.

(ii) The warranty is not the sole means of acceptance;

(iii) The warranty must not include items of routine maintenance which are not eligible for Federal participation; and,

(iv) The warranty may include the quality of workmanship, materials and other specific tasks identified in the contract.

(2) Performance warranties for specific products on NHS projects may be used at the State DOT's discretion. If performance warranties are used, detailed performance criteria must be provided in the Request for Proposal document.

(3) The State DOT may follow its own procedures regarding the inclusion of warranty provisions on non-NHS Federal-aid design-build contracts.

(4) For best value selections, the State DOT may allow proposers to submit alternate warranty proposals that improve upon the warranty terms in the RFP document. Such alternate warranty proposals must be in addition to the base proposal that responds to the RFP requirements.

[60 FR 44274, Aug. 25, 1995, as amended at 67 FR 75926, Dec. 10, 2002; 72 FR 45336, Aug. 14, 2007]