The cryogenic limb array etalon spectrometer (CLAES) aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite has made extensive measurements of thermal infrared radiation from the Earth's limb from which vertical concentration profiles of several stratospheric gases and multiwavelength aerosol absorption coefficients have been retrieved for the period from January 9, 1992, to May 5, 1993. This work examines stratospheric ClONO2 concentrations from the current calibration and retrieval software which are designated version 7 data. These data provide the first near-global view of this stratospheric species. This work evaluates data quality through (1) an analysis of estimated uncertainties and biases in the remote sensing process, (2) comparison with calculations using a two-dimensional chemical model, (3) comparison with correlative data, and (4) an examination of various known limitations. The precision of CLAES CIONO2 volume mixing ratio retrievals are within 15% in the range (1030 mbar). A similar effect associated with thick polar stratospheric clouds is identified. Overall, this validation study indicates that the majority of these data are of good quality and should be very useful in quantitative and qualitative chemical studies of the stratosphere. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996