Filing TxDOT Form 2806: Construction Materials Buy America Certification

TxDOT Form 2806, the Construction Materials Buy America Certification, is the document a contractor signs to certify that construction materials on a federally funded Texas highway project were manufactured domestically under the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA). TxDOT must collect the form before issuing payment for the material it covers.¹

When You Need to File One

Not every material requires a project-level certification. If the material appears on TxDOT’s Material Producer List (MPL) with “Gold Star” status for projects let on or after December 2025, no Form 2806 is needed. TxDOT already collected the manufacturer’s Buy America certification using Form 2812 during the MPL approval process.²

Form 2806 is required when the material is not on the MPL, or is listed without a Buy America status, and when it meets BABA’s definition of a “construction material.” If the material is predominantly iron or steel, use the Certification Letter for Miscellaneous Steel instead. If it does not fit the construction material category at all, a Form 1818 Material Statement may apply. Classifying the material and picking the right form is the contractor, manufacturer, or supplier’s responsibility, not TxDOT’s.³

Match the Form Version to Your Letting Date

TxDOT has released several versions of Form 2806 keyed to when the contract was let. Using the wrong one can invalidate the certification.¹

Version 1 covers contracts let between November 2022 and November 2023.
Version 2 covers contracts let between December 2023 and November 2025.
Version 4 covers projects let on or after December 2025.

The current version is available from TxDOT’s forms library and from the Material Classification Sheet page.³ For long-running projects, confirm the applicable version with your TxDOT Area Office before submitting.

What Goes on the Form

Form 2806 certifies that a specific quantity of a specific construction material on your project comes from a compliant domestic source. You list:

The name of the producer or fabricator.
The purchase order number that links the material to the project.
The material classification that identifies what you are certifying.⁴

The certification statement declares that the material meets BABA, specifically that the final manufacturing processes and the immediately preceding manufacturing stage occurred in the United States.⁴ By signing, you also commit to submitting a new Form 2806 if your producer or fabricator becomes noncompliant or if you switch suppliers during the project.²

A purchase order tying the material to the project must accompany the form. That is how TxDOT connects the certification to an actual delivery rather than a general inventory claim.

Documentation to Keep Behind the Form

At a minimum, the purchase order linking the material to the project is required with the form.⁵ TxDOT’s Material Inspection Guide and Project Records Checklist spell out the full documentation set that accompanies Form 2806 and Form 1818 on each project.

For materials that pass through multiple domestic facilities, FHWA endorses step certification: a paper trail in which the company responsible for each stage of production certifies that its step was completed domestically. Each certification references the heat number or equivalent identification stamped at the production location, creating traceability from the producing mill through every manufacturing and coating process.⁶ Check labels, invoices, bills of lading, and material stamps for any evidence of foreign manufacturing when the material is delivered.

When and How to Submit

TxDOT must collect Form 2806 before paying for the material it covers.¹ The TxDOT Area Office handling your project is the point of contact. The Area Office obtains sourcing information, verifies whether the material is on the MPL, and collects project-level certifications when needed.²

Submitting late, after the material has already been incorporated and a pay estimate is pending, can hold up payment. Submit Form 2806 with the purchase order as soon as you confirm a supplier, well before the material arrives on site. If you change producers or fabricators mid-project, file a new Form 2806 covering the replacement source.

What Counts as a Construction Material Under BABA

Form 2806 only applies to products that qualify as “construction materials” under BABA. A product is a construction material if it consists of only one of these categories, with the listed processes performed domestically:⁷

Non-ferrous metals, from initial smelting or melting through final shaping, coating, and assembly.
Plastic and polymer-based products, from initial combination of constituent inputs through final form.
Glass, from batching and melting of raw materials through annealing, cooling, and cutting.
Fiber optic cable, from ribboning through buffering, stranding, and jacketing.
Optical fiber, from preform fabrication through completion of the draw.
Lumber, from debarking through treatment and planing.
Drywall, from blending of gypsum plaster through cutting and drying of panels.
Engineered wood, from initial combination of constituent materials through final form.

A product that combines more than one of those categories, such as glass bonded to a polymer frame, is a manufactured product rather than a construction material and follows a different standard: final assembly in the United States plus at least 55 percent domestic component cost for projects obligated on or after October 1, 2026.⁸ Minor additions such as binding agents or additives described in the relevant standard do not change the classification.⁷

Iron and Steel Use a Different Form

Iron and steel on federal-aid highway projects fall under 23 CFR 635.410, which predates BABA and remains in effect. All manufacturing processes, including coatings like epoxy, galvanizing, and paint, must occur in the United States, and fabrication steps such as cutting, bending, welding, and assembling count as manufacturing.⁸⁹ Certify these materials with a Form 1818 Material Statement or a Certification Letter for Miscellaneous Steel, not Form 2806.²

If the Certification Turns Out to Be Wrong

Signing Form 2806 is a legal act. Under the federal False Claims Act, anyone who knowingly submits a false claim to the government faces civil penalties of up to $28,619 per violation (adjusted annually for inflation) plus three times the damages the government sustains.¹⁰ On a project with many material shipments, each false certification can be a separate violation.

Noncompliance can also lead to contract termination and suspension or debarment from future federal contracting. FHWA may require removal of noncompliant foreign materials already in place or reduce federal funding for the project.¹¹ Request mill certifications, step certifications, or other producer documentation and review them before you sign.

1
Texas Department of Transportation. Construction Contract Administration Manual
2
Texas Department of Transportation. Construction Contract Administration Manual
3
Texas Department of Transportation. Federal Domestic Materials Program – Material Classification Sheet
4
Texas Department of Transportation. TxDOT Form 2806 – Construction Materials Buy America Certification
5
Texas Department of Transportation. Section 3 – Buy America
6
Federal Highway Administration. Buy America Field Compliance
7
eCFR. 2 CFR Part 184 – Buy America Preferences for Infrastructure Projects
8
eCFR. 23 CFR 635.410 – Buy America Requirements
9
FHWA. Buy America – Construction Program Guide – Contract Administration
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 3729 – False Claims
11
U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General. FHWA Can Strengthen Oversight and Provide Additional Guidance To Improve Federal-aid Recipients Buy America Compliance