Document Identifier Codes (DIC) — Complete Reference

Document Identifier Codes (DIC) are the three-position alphanumeric codes that occupy the first three positions of a MILSTRIP or MILSTRAP logistics transaction and declare what that transaction is for. A DIC such as A01 (requisition), AE1 (supply status), AS1 (shipment status), AF1 (follow-up), AM1 (modification), or AC1 (cancellation) is the first thing any system or logistician reads on a record, because it determines how every remaining field is interpreted. DICs are governed by the Defense Logistics Management Standards (DLMS) under DLM 4000.25, with the requisitioning codes defined in DLM 4000.25-1 (MILSTRIP).

At a glance

• What it is: A three-position alphanumeric code in record positions 1–3 of a MILSTRIP/MILSTRAP transaction that identifies the transaction's purpose.
• Regulatory source: DLM 4000.25-1 (MILSTRIP) for the A-series; DLM 4000.25-2 (MILSTRAP) and DLM 4000.25 Volume 2, Appendix 2.1 for the D-series. The codes on this page were verified against NAVSUP P-485 Volume II, Appendix 4 — the in-hand DoD-wide DIC reproduction.
• Maintained by: The Defense Logistics Management Standards Office (DLMSO), published by the Defense Logistics Agency.
• Scope: All DoD and participating-agency standard supply transactions — requisitioning, status, shipment, follow-up, modification, cancellation, and materiel release.
• Where used: MILSTRIP and MILSTRAP processing; cross-referenced inside the modern DLMS variable-length transactions that are replacing the fixed-length records.

What these codes are

A Document Identifier Code is the transaction-type label for a standard supply record. In the legacy fixed-length 80-position MILSTRIP and MILSTRAP formats, the first three positions hold the DIC, and it determines the meaning of the other 77 positions. Without reading anything else, the DIC tells a processing system whether the record is a new requisition, a status report coming back, a shipment notice, a follow-up, a change to an existing order, a cancellation, or a release instruction between an inventory control point and a depot.

The three positions are read structurally:

1. First position (letter) — the broad functional system or family. A covers MILSTRIP requisitioning and its related status, follow-up, modification, cancellation, and release transactions. D covers MILSTRAP inventory-control and receipt transactions (including Materiel Receipt Acknowledgement).
2. Second position — the function within that family: for the A-series, 0 requisitions, C cancellations, E supply status, F/K follow-ups, M modifications, 5 materiel/disposal release orders, 6 materiel/disposal release denials, R materiel release confirmations, S shipment status, and so on.
3. Third position — the variant within the function. For requisition, redistribution, passing, referral, and release series it encodes the identification basis (NSN/NATO, part number, "other," or exception data) and whether shipment is domestic (a letter) or overseas (a number); for status and follow-up series it identifies which party originates or receives the transaction by record position.

Because so many transactions exist, DICs are organized into series — families that share the first two positions (A0_, AE_, AS_, and so on). This page lists the complete A-series as published in NAVSUP P-485 Volume II, Appendix 4, Part B, plus the MILSTRAP D-series materiel receipt acknowledgement family (DRA, DRB, DRF) that is most often read alongside it. The full D-series (receipts, issues, inventory adjustments) lives in Appendix 4, Part D and DLM 4000.25-2 (MILSTRAP).

How they're used

A DIC accompanies a transaction through its entire lifecycle in the supply chain. The same requisition generates a chain of related transactions, each with its own DIC, as it moves through DLA Transaction Services (DAAS) and the managing supply sources:

• A requisitioner submits a requisition with an A0_ DIC.
• The supply source returns AE_ supply status reporting how the requisition is being processed.
• When materiel ships, the source returns AS_ shipment status with transportation data.
• If the requisitioner needs to chase a late order, they send an AF_ follow-up.
• To change the order, they send an AM_ modification; to cancel it, an AC_ cancellation.
• Internally, the inventory control point directs a depot to release stock with an A5_ materiel release order and receives an AR_ materiel release confirmation — or an A6_ materiel release denial — in return.

Because the DIC is what routing and processing logic keys on, an incorrect or mismatched DIC is a frequent cause of rejected or misrouted transactions — see Common errors and gotchas below. The DIC is also the bridge between the legacy and modern worlds: DLMS implementation conventions carry the legacy DIC as a cross-reference so that a DLMS 511R, 870S, or 856S transaction can still be mapped to the A0_, AE_, or AS_ series that logisticians know.

Complete code table

The table below is the complete MILSTRIP A-series Document Identifier Code list — all 178 codes, transcribed verbatim from NAVSUP P-485 Volume II, Appendix 4, Part B (Rev 9) — followed by the three MILSTRAP D-series codes of the materiel receipt acknowledgement family (DRA, DRB, DRF) from Appendix 4, Part D. Document titles and explanations are the source's own wording. Use the filter to narrow to a series or keyword (for example, "status", "cancel", or "release").

Worked example

A CONUS unit submits a requisition for a stocked NSN. It is built as an A0A transaction (the domestic NSN requisition — an overseas unit would use A01) — DIC in positions 1–3, NSN and quantity in the body, with the unit's DoDAAC and a priority. The record routes through DLA Transaction Services (DAAS) to the managing inventory control point.

A day later the requisitioner pulls status and sees an AE1 supply-status transaction come back carrying a Status Code — say, indicating the item is backordered with an estimated availability date. The requisition has been received and processed; the DIC told the requisitioner's system it was reading administrative status rather than a shipment.

When the materiel ships, an AS1 shipment-status transaction returns with the transportation control number and shipping date. If the requisitioner had instead needed to chase the order, they would have sent an AF1 follow-up; to change the quantity, an AM1 modification; and to stop it entirely, an AC1 cancellation. Behind the scenes, the inventory control point directed the depot to release the stock with an A5_ materiel release order and received an AR0 materiel release confirmation in return (had the depot been unable to fill it, the reply would have been an A6_ materiel release denial) — a different transaction family from the requisitioner's view, but part of the same fulfillment.

Common errors and gotchas

• Confusing the materiel-release exchange with MRA (Materiel Receipt Acknowledgement). The release exchange is the A5_ Materiel Release Order (inventory control point to storage activity), answered by the AR0 Materiel Release Confirmation — or, when the depot cannot fill it, the A6_ Materiel Release Denial — returned by the storage activity. The receiver's confirmation that materiel arrived — the MRA — is the MILSTRAP D-series DIC DRA (and DRB for the delinquent-MRA follow-up response). They are different functions in different manuals.
• Confusing supply status (AE_) with shipment status (AS_). AE_ reports the administrative disposition of the requisition and carries a Status Code; AS_ reports that materiel is moving and carries transportation data. Reading an AE_ rejection as if it were a shipment, or vice versa, leads to wrong follow-on action.
• Using the wrong third position. The third position determines which party and scenario the transaction applies to. Sending a status or follow-up with the wrong third-position variant can misdirect the transaction so the intended recipient never sees it.
• Treating the DIC as obsolete under DLMS. Even where transactions have migrated to DLMS variable-length formats (511R, 870S, 856S), the legacy DIC is retained as a cross-reference. Mapping the wrong legacy DIC to a DLMS transaction breaks translation at DAAS.
• Requisitioning by part number with an NSN DIC (or vice versa). The A0_ third position signals whether the record carries an NSN or part-number/exception data. A mismatch between the DIC and the actual identification data in the body causes rejection.

Related codes and cross-references

• Routing Identifier Codes (RIC) — the three-character codes that identify the source, submitter, or destination of a MILSTRIP transaction and route it through DAAS; read together with the DIC.
• Signal Codes — the rp 51 code inside A-series and FT-series documents that designates the ship-to and bill-to (or ship-from and credit-to) fields.
• Media and Status Codes — the rp 7 code on requisition-related documents that designates who receives status and what kind.
• Shipment Hold Codes — carried in rp 51 of AS_/AU_ shipment status documents; the same record position holds the signal code on requisitions, and the DIC is what disambiguates them.
• Mode of Shipment Codes — the rp 77 code in shipment status and materiel release confirmation documents identifying how the materiel moved.
• Acquisition Advice Codes (AAC) — the NSN characteristic that tells a requisitioner how an item is acquired, checked before submitting an A0_ requisition.
• Military Standard Requisitioning and Issue Procedures (MILSTRIP) — the standard procedures the DIC families implement.
• DAASINQ / eDAASINQ — DLA Transaction Services tools for querying the transactions that DICs label as they pass through DAAS.

Authoritative references

• DLM 4000.25-1, MILSTRIP — Military Standard Requisitioning and Issue Procedures, Appendix AP2.1 (Document Identifier Codes). The authoritative source for the A-series requisitioning, status, follow-up, modification, cancellation, and release DICs. Maintained by the Defense Logistics Management Standards Office (DLMSO) and published by the Defense Logistics Agency.
• DLM 4000.25-2, MILSTRAP — Military Standard Transaction Reporting and Accounting Procedures. The authoritative source for the D-series inventory and receipt DICs, including the Materiel Receipt Acknowledgement (DRA/DRB). Published by the Defense Logistics Agency.
• DLM 4000.25, Volume 2 — Supply Standards and Procedures. The DLMS volume that governs supply transactions and carries the legacy-DIC cross-references for the modernized DLMS transaction set. Published by the Defense Logistics Agency.
• DLA Transaction Services (DAAS) — MILSTRIP reference. The processing point that routes MILSTRIP transactions by DIC and Routing Identifier Code; see the DAAS MILSTRIP page.
• Defense Logistics Agency — Defense Data Standards, DLMS Publications and Appendices. The publication portal for the current DLM 4000.25 manuals and their appendices, including the Document Identifier Code appendix; see DLA Defense Data Standards.