Controlled Inventory Item Codes (CIIC) — Complete Reference

The Controlled Inventory Item Code (CIIC) is a one-character code — alphabetic, numeric, or the $ symbol — carried in an item's Federal Logistics Information System (FLIS) cataloging record that answers a storage-and-transportation question: how must this item be protected while it is in DoD custody? The single character spans three conceptual segments: security classification (Confidential through Top Secret, including Restricted Data and cryptologic categories), sensitivity (arms, ammunition, and explosives keyed to Security Risk Categories, plus controlled substances and precious metals), and pilferage (unclassified materiel with ready resale value that is especially subject to theft). The code list is FLIS Table 61 (DoD 4100.39-M, Volume 10); assignment and its required compatibility with the item's DEMIL code are governed by DoDM 4140.01, Volume 11.

At a glance

• What it is: A one-position code (FLIS data record number 2863) identifying the extent and type of special handling required for storage and transportation — classification, AA&E sensitivity, or pilferage risk.
• Segments: (1) security classification per DoDM 5200.01; (2) sensitive items per DoDM 5100.76 Security Risk Categories (SRC I–IV) and the Controlled Substances Act schedules; (3) pilferage categories by commodity.
• Regulatory source: FLIS Table 61 (DoD 4100.39-M, Volume 10); assignment procedures and DEMIL-compatibility review per DoDM 4140.01, Volume 11.
• Read alongside: The DEMIL code — FLIS Table 192 enforces valid CIIC/DEMIL combinations — and the Hazardous Material Indicator Code for the item's other special-handling flag.
• Where queried: WebFLIS and PUB LOG / FED LOG.

What these codes are

Most items in the catalog are CIIC U — unclassified, no special controls. The CIIC exists for everything else: the classified black box that must be stored and moved as Secret; the shoulder-fired missile that is unclassified but Security Risk Category I; the Schedule II drug that must sit in a vault; the aircraft part that walks away because it has civilian resale value. One character tells every storage activity, transportation office, and disposal site what protection regime applies.

The three segments answer three different "why controlled?" questions:

1. Classification codes — controlled because of national security classification (DoDM 5200.01). These include the plain levels (C Confidential, S Secret, T Top Secret), the Atomic Energy Act categories (Restricted Data and Formerly Restricted Data at each level), and the cryptologic categories.
2. Sensitive-item codes — controlled because of statute or regulation: arms, ammunition, and explosives categorized by DoDM 5100.76 Security Risk Categories (SRC I–IV), controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act (Q, R), precious metals (R), and nuclear-weapons use-control equipment ($).
3. Pilferage codes — controlled because the materiel is especially subject to theft: it has ready resale value or a civilian application. J is the general pilferage designation; the commodity letters (I, M, N, P, V, X, Y, Z) say what kind of pilferable item it is.

Classification codes

Department of Energy special-design and quality-controlled items under Defense Threat Reduction Agency management control (CAGE 87991) are assigned and processed under DoE–DSWA TP 100-1 rather than these codes.

Sensitive-item codes

Security Risk Categories (SRC I–IV) come from DoDM 5100.76, the physical-security manual for sensitive conventional arms, ammunition, and explosives.

Notes that travel with this segment: items coded 5, 6, 8, or C are stored and transported per DoDM 5100.76 or DoDM 5200.01, whichever is more stringent; weapon components such as silencers and suppressors are treated as SRC II; the frame or receiver of an arm constitutes the weapon for storage categorization; major parts such as barrels get at least SRC IV protection; and CIIC Q/R shipments move under the transportation protective services of DTR 4500.9-R, Part II, Chapter 205.

Pilferage codes

A pilferage code indicates the materiel has a ready resale value or civilian application for personal possession and is therefore especially subject to theft. Pilferage controls may be designated for an otherwise-unclassified (U) item by recoding it to J; coding activities may further categorize pilferable items by commodity:

How they're used

• Storage. The CIIC drives where and how materiel is warehoused — classified stock in approved secure storage, SRC-categorized AA&E in magazines and arms rooms per DoDM 5100.76, Q/R substances in limited-access storage or vaults, and pilferage-coded items in controlled areas.
• Transportation. Transportation protective services are keyed to the CIIC (DTR 4500.9-R, Part II, Chapter 205) — Secret materiel, SRC I missiles, and Schedule II drugs each ride under a different protection regime.
• Loss accountability. The CIIC determines the investigation regime when materiel goes missing: losses of classified, sensitive, and CIIC 7 items are investigated under DLM 4000.25, Volume 2, Chapter 18 and DoD 7000.14-R, Volume 12, Chapter 7.
• Disposal screening. At turn-in, the CIIC and the DEMIL code together control what DLA Disposition Services may do with the property — and FLIS rejects a turn-in record whose CIIC and DEMIL code are incompatible per Table 192.

Worked example

Three NSNs cross a storage activity's dock:

• A crated Javelin round: CIIC 1 (SRC I, unclassified AA&E). It goes to a Category I magazine, moves only under the highest transportation protective service, and any loss triggers an immediate serious-incident investigation.
• A cryptographic terminal: CIIC 9 (Controlled Cryptographic Item). It is unclassified — no safe required — but it is controlled COMSEC hardware, marked "CCI," and accountable as such.
• A pallet of cordless power tools: CIIC M (pilferage — hand tools and shop equipment). Nothing about them is classified or sensitive; they are simply the kind of stock that disappears. They are stored in a controlled cage and inventoried more frequently.

Same warehouse, three different protection regimes — all communicated by one character on the item record.

Common errors and gotchas

• Reading the CIIC as one flat list. It is three segments — classification, sensitivity, pilferage — and the same character can appear in more than one segment (7 marks DEMIL-controlled items in the classification segment and non-sensitive AA&E in the sensitive segment; C is Confidential in one and Confidential SRC III/IV AA&E in another). Interpret the character with the item's commodity and DEMIL code in view.
• Confusing the CIIC with the HMIC. The Hazardous Material Indicator Code flags hazardous-material data; the CIIC flags security/pilferage handling. An item can carry both.
• Treating pilferage coding as optional trivia. J and the commodity pilferage codes drive real storage and inventory controls; leaving a walk-away item at U is how shrinkage becomes systemic.
• Forgetting the DEMIL pairing. CIIC and DEMIL assignments must be compatible (FLIS Table 192); a reclassification on one side often forces a change on the other.
• Assuming unclassified means uncontrolled. CIIC 9 (CCI), O (naval nuclear propulsion information), $ (use-control equipment), and every pilferage code are all unclassified — and all controlled.

Related codes and cross-references

• Demilitarization (DEMIL) Codes — the release-from-DoD-control companion; FLIS Table 192 defines the valid CIIC/DEMIL combinations.
• Hazardous Material Indicator Code (HMIC) — the item's other one-character special-handling flag, for hazardous-material data.
• FLIS Criticality Codes — the cataloging-side criticality flag, a separate FLIS Volume 10 table.
• Supply Condition Codes (SCC) — the serviceability classification carried on the same materiel.
• WebFLIS and PUB LOG / FED LOG — where an item's CIIC is queried.

Authoritative references

• DoD 4100.39-M (FLIS), Volume 10, Table 61 — Controlled Inventory Item Codes. The authoritative one-character code list across all three segments.
• DoDM 4140.01, Volume 11 — DoD Supply Chain Materiel Management Procedures. Requires standard CIIC assignment procedures and CIIC/DEMIL compatibility, with coordinated review every five years.
• DoDM 5200.01 — DoD Information Security Program. The classification framework behind the classification segment.
• DoDM 5100.76 — Physical Security of Sensitive Conventional Arms, Ammunition, and Explosives. Defines the Security Risk Categories (SRC I–IV) behind the sensitive-item segment.
• DoD 4100.39-M (FLIS), Volume 10, Table 192. Valid DEMIL/CIIC combinations.
• DLA Customer Assistance Handbook (print edition, December 2023). DLA's public customer reference reproducing the CIIC segments.

Last verified

This reference was last reviewed on 2026-07-06. All three CIIC segments — classification, sensitive-item (including the SRC notes), and pilferage — were verified verbatim against FLIS Table 61 (DoD 4100.39-M, Volume 10, 2022 edition, in hand) and corroborated against the DLA Customer Assistance Handbook (December 2023). The dual listing of character 7 across two segments exists in both sources and is flagged rather than editorially resolved. To suggest a correction, use the site's correction path.