The General Notices and Requirements (hereinafter referred to as the General Notices) provide in summary form the basic guidelines for the interpretation and application of the standards, tests, assays, and other specifications of the National Formulary and eliminate the need to repeat throughout the book those requirements that are pertinent in numerous instances.

Where exceptions to the General Notices are made, the wording in the individual monograph or general test chapter takes precedence and specifically indicates the directions or the intent. To emphasize that such exceptions do exist, the General Notices employ where indicated a qualifying expression such as “unless otherwise specified.” Thus, it is understood that the specific wording of standards, tests, assays, and other specifications is binding wherever deviations from the General Notices exist. By the same token, where no language is given specifically to the contrary, the General Notices apply.