Allowance Type Codes (ATC) — Complete Reference

A Navy Allowance Type (AT) Code — also written Allowance Type Code (ATC) — is a single-digit numeric code carried in a ship's inventory and allowance records that identifies the reason material is being carried in stock — the basis on which its allowance was established. It distinguishes, for example, an item allowed by the ship's Coordinated Shipboard Allowance List (COSAL) from an AVCAL (Aviation Consolidated Allowance List) load-list item, a non-COSAL item stocked on demand, a type-commander-authorized add, an economic-retention item, or a substitute. The AT Code is read alongside the item's other management data — its National Stock Number, unit of issue, Cognizance Symbol (COG), and allowance quantity — to tell a Navy logistician the authority behind each line item's allowance. It is defined in Naval Supply Procedures (NAVSUP P-485), Volume II, Appendix 9 (Logistics Management Codes), Part C, reproduced as Figure 33 in the COSAL Use and Maintenance Manual (NAVSUP P-488), and surfaces in the Navy's afloat supply systems such as RSupply.

At a glance

• What it is: A single-digit numeric code in a ship's inventory/allowance records that identifies the reason material is being carried in stock (the basis on which an item's allowance was established).
• Length and format: A single numeric character; the defined values are codes 1 through 9.
• Regulatory source: NAVSUP P-485, Volume II (Supply Appendices), Appendix 9 — Logistics Management Codes, Part C (Allowance Type Codes); reproduced in the COSAL Use and Maintenance Manual (NAVSUP P-488), Figure 33.
• Where used: On the ship's allowance and inventory records; surfaced as a field in Navy afloat supply systems (e.g., RSupply / NAVSUP P-732).
• Read alongside: The Cognizance Symbol (COG), Material Control Code (MCC), unit of issue, and the item's allowance quantity.
• Code range: Codes 1 through 9 are defined; all are listed below from NAVSUP P-485 Vol II, Appendix 9, Part C.

What Allowance Type Codes are

An Allowance Type Code answers one focused question about a line item on a ship's records: "on what basis is this item allowed to be carried?" NAVSUP P-485 defines the AT Code as a single-digit numeric code which identifies the reason material is being carried in stock; the publication's glossary describes it as a one-character number used to identify the basis for stocking/demand recording and the item's relationship to the ship — a one-character tag that records the origin and authority of the allowance rather than the physical or funding properties of the item.

This makes the ATC distinct from the other management-data codes a logistician reads on the same record. The Cognizance Symbol (COG) records the stores account/funding and the cognizant inventory manager; the Material Control Code (MCC) records how the item is managed (demand velocity, repairable category); the Acquisition Advice Code (AAC) records how the item is acquired. The ATC sits beside them and records the allowance basis — why the line exists on this ship's books at all.

Because the ATC is about the allowance basis, it is tightly bound to the Navy's shipboard allowance documents:

• The Coordinated Shipboard Allowance List (COSAL) is "a basic and unique guide for determining the items and quantities which should be stocked by the Supply Department to support the equipment installed onboard."
• The COSAL is built from Allowance Parts Lists (APLs) — each APL is "a document prepared for each equipment or major component onboard a ship which lists repair parts and characteristics/descriptive data" — and Allowance Equipage Lists (AELs), allowance documents for categories of equipage whose items are generally Operating Space Items (OSI) in the custody of shipboard departments.

The ATC, in short, is the line-item code that says which of these bases (or a non-COSAL basis such as demand retention) put the item on the ship's records.

How they're used

The Allowance Type Code does its work as a management-data field on each line item in the ship's allowance and inventory records:

• Explaining the allowance. It records the authority/basis behind the allowance quantity — the answer to an auditor's or storekeeper's question "why is this carried, and at this depth?"
• Distinguishing COSAL from non-COSAL stock. It separates items allowed by the COSAL from items carried on a load list, a load-and-allowance list, or another basis — important when reviewing, validating, or offloading stock.
• Driving inventory reviews and validations. When a ship reconciles or revalidates its allowances, the ATC tells reviewers which items trace to the COSAL/APL/AEL structure and which are retained on other grounds, shaping retention and offload decisions.
• Read with the rest of the management data. On the record the ATC sits next to the COG (funding/manager), the MCC (how managed), the unit of issue (how ordered), and the allowance quantity — together giving the full picture of a stocked line.

Complete code table

The table below lists the complete Allowance Type Code set (1 through 9) with the definitions from NAVSUP P-485, Volume II, Appendix 9 (Logistics Management Codes), Part C — Allowance Type Codes. The same set is reproduced in the COSAL Use and Maintenance Manual (NAVSUP P-488), Figure 33. Use the filter to narrow to a code or keyword (for example, "demand" or "TYCOM").

Worked example

A storekeeper reviewing a ship's allowance file pulls a line item and reads its management data: a National Stock Number, a Cognizance Symbol, an allowance quantity, and an Allowance Type Code of 1.

Reading the ATC: code 1 means the item is a COSAL item — its allowance was established by the ship's Coordinated Shipboard Allowance List, built from the APL/AEL structure for the ship's installed equipment. The storekeeper now knows the line is part of the ship's authorized, configuration-driven allowance, not an item retained on some other basis. During an allowance revalidation, that distinction matters: a COSAL item is justified by installed equipment, whereas an item carried on a demand or non-COSAL basis is reviewed against its demand history and may be a candidate for retention review or offload.

Had the same line instead shown an AT Code of 2 or 3, the storekeeper would read it as an AVCAL load-list item (AT 2) or a consolidated COSAL-and-AVCAL item (AT 3) — relevant only on a load-carrying ship, and indicating the item is allowed through the aviation consolidated allowance list rather than (only) the ship's own COSAL. A higher code would point elsewhere: AT Code 4 (a non-COSAL item stocked solely on demand) or AT Code 7 (an economic-retention excess item, normally under $100.00 unit cost, held until the next overhaul) would flag the line as a candidate for demand-history review or retention review rather than configuration-driven allowance. Reading the AT Code first tells the reviewer why the line exists before judging whether the quantity is right.

Common errors and gotchas

• Trusting training-derived ATC tables over the NAVSUP publication. Quizlet and study-guide reproductions of the higher codes (4–9) disagree with each other on both meanings and numbering; the authoritative NAVSUP P-485 Vol II, Appendix 9, Part C is unambiguous. Read the codes from the publication (or this page, which follows it), not from a cached study set.
• Confusing the AT Code with the allowance quantity. The AT Code is the basis (why it's carried); the allowance quantity is how many. They are different fields read together.
• Confusing the AT Code with the COG, MCC, or AAC. Each answers a different question — funding/manager (COG), how managed (MCC), how acquired (AAC), and allowance basis (AT Code). Don't read one for another.
• Reading AT 2/3 as generic "load list" codes. AT 2 and AT 3 are specifically the AVCAL load-list and consolidated COSAL+AVCAL codes — aviation-load constructs — applicable to load-carrying ships only. Some study reproductions render them as a plain "Load List"/"Load and Allowance List" pair; the NAVSUP wording ties them to the Aviation Consolidated Allowance List.
• Forgetting that AT Codes 2 and 3 apply to load-carrying ships only. On a non-load-carrying unit these codes should not normally appear; seeing them is a signal to check the record.
• Assuming an AT Code never changes. Allowance bases change as a ship's configuration, COSAL, and demand history change; for example, an AT Code 8 item (demand recording only) is reclassified to AT Code 4 once it meets demand criteria, or deleted after 24 months of no demand. An AT Code correct on an old record may have been re-established on a different basis.

Related codes and cross-references

• Navy Cognizance Symbols (COG) — the companion code for stores account/funding and the cognizant inventory manager, read with the ATC on the item record.
• Material Control Code (MCC) — how the item is managed (demand velocity, repairable category), as distinct from the ATC's allowance basis.
• Acquisition Advice Codes (AAC) — how the item is acquired, another management-data code on the same record.
• Unit of Issue (U/I) — how the item is requisitioned and priced, read with the allowance quantity.
• WebFLIS / FLIS — the federal catalog data behind the National Stock Number the ATC is recorded against.
• Coordinated Shipboard Allowance List (COSAL), Allowance Parts List (APL), and Allowance Equipage List (AEL) — the shipboard allowance documents that establish the allowances the ATC categorizes (no dedicated logtool reference page yet).
• NAVSUP P-485 Online — the Naval Supply Procedures publication whose Volume II, Appendix 9 documents the Allowance Type Codes.
• Navy ERP — the Navy enterprise system that carries supply and allowance management data ashore.

Authoritative references

• NAVSUP Publication 485 (Naval Supply Procedures), Volume II (Supply Appendices), Appendix 9 — Logistics Management Codes, Part C (Allowance Type Codes). The authoritative appendix that defines the complete AT Code set (1–9), verified against this part.
• COSAL Use and Maintenance Manual, NAVSUP Publication 488 (NAVSUP P-488), Figure 33 — Allowance Type Codes. Reproduces the AT Code set and governs how Coordinated Shipboard Allowance List allowances — the basis behind AT Code 1 — are built and maintained; points to NAVSUP P-485, Appendix 9 for additional information.
• Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP). The Navy supply management policy authority; see navsup.navy.mil.

Last verified

This reference was last reviewed on 2026-06-19. The nature of the Allowance Type Code (a single-digit numeric code recording why an item is carried / the allowance basis) and the meanings of ATC 1 (COSAL item), ATC 2 (Load List item), and ATC 3 (Load and Allowance List item) are corroborated across multiple independent Navy supply training and supply-system sources. The meanings and numbering of ATC codes 4 through 9 are flagged and deliberately not published because the sources reviewed conflict; the governing NAVSUP P-485 Vol II appendix and edition, the NAVSUP P-488 edition, the single-digit field definition, and any EMV dollar thresholds are flagged for subject-matter-expert verification against the live NAVSUP publications before this page is published to production. To suggest a correction, use the site's correction path.