32 CFR § 339.14 - Use of guidance documents.
---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t32/s339.14"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "32 CFR § 339.14 - Use of guidance documents."
title_number: 32
title_name: "National Defense"
section_number: "339.14"
section_name: "Use of guidance documents."
chapter_name: "OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE"
subchapter_number: "O"
subchapter_name: "PRIVACY PROGRAM"
part_number: "339"
part_name: "DOD GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "5 U.S.C. 552a."
cfr_part: "339"
---
# 339.14 Use of guidance documents.
Guidance documents cannot create binding requirements that do not already exist by statute or regulation. Accordingly, noncompliance with guidance documents cannot be used as a basis for proving violations of applicable law. Guidance documents can do no more, with respect to prohibition of conduct, than articulate the Department's understanding of how a statute or regulation applies to particular circumstances.