requisition

A requisition is a formal request or demand for goods, services, or resources. In organizational contexts it serves to initiate the internal cycle that acquires items from within the organization or from external suppliers. The term is used across business, government, and military settings, with the exact meaning varying by context but generally involving documentation and approval processes.

A purchase requisition (PR) is the common business document used to request procurement. It is created by the requesting department and includes item description, quantity, unit of measure, preferred supplier or stock item, estimated price, delivery location, required date, and the budget or cost center. The PR is routed for review and approval, may trigger budget checks and account coding, and, once approved, is converted into a purchase order (PO) by the procurement team.

In inventory and service management, a requisition may also refer to internal material requests, service requests, or work orders that are used to allocate stock or schedule labor without immediately purchasing new items. Requisitions help enforce controls over spending and stock availability.

In public and military administration, requisition can denote a formal demand by government or authorities to allocate or requisition resources from stock or suppliers, sometimes under special powers or emergencies. The term emphasizes legal or formal possession and allocation rather than mere inquiry.

Related terms include material requisition, service requisition, and manpower requisition; in many organizations a purchase requisition is integrated into enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems as the starting point for procurement.