The General Notices and Requirements (hereinafter referred to as the General Notices) and general requirements appearing in General Chapters provide in summary form the basic guidelines for the interpretation and application of the standards, tests, assays, and other specifications of the United States Pharmacopeia and eliminate the need to repeat throughout the book those requirements that are pertinent in numerous instances. Where no specific language is given to the contrary, the requirements under the General Notices and General Chapters apply.

Where exceptions to the General Notices or General Chapters are made, the wording in the individual monograph takes precedence and specifically indicates the directions or the intent. To emphasize that such exceptions do exist, the General Notices or General Chapters in some places employ where indicated a qualifying expression such as “unless otherwise specified.” In the individual monographs, it is understood that the specific wording of standards, tests, assays, and other specifications is binding wherever deviations from the General Notices or General Chapters exist whether or not a statement of exception is made.