Besides components, a composite object can also have required objects. Required objects are registry objects and/or repository items that are not actually part of the composite object itself, but support or augment the composite object in an essential way. For example, if a Service object has a WS-Policy attachment, the attached policy is treated as a required object because it specifies the WS-Policies that must be applied to the service when it is deployed.

Required objects, while not actually part of the composite object, must be present in the registry to make the object wholly complete or usable. (An asset's required objects are generally objects that the export process must bundle with the asset in order for the asset to be wholly represented and functional in another registry.)