Hazardous Material Indicator Code (HMIC) — Reference

A Hazardous Material Indicator Code (HMIC) is a single-character code carried in the Federal Logistics Information System (FLIS) catalog data for a National Stock Number that flags whether an item is a known or suspected hazardous material and, broadly, what hazard information is available for it. The code does two jobs at once: it warns a procuring or receiving activity that the item carries hazmat handling, storage, transportation, and disposal controls, and it tells Federal Catalog System users whether detailed data exists in the Hazardous Materials Information Resource System (HMIRS). The HMIC is defined in the FLIS Procedures Manual, DoD 4100.39-M, and is tied to Federal Standard 313 (FED-STD-313) and to the DoD Shelf-Life and disposal programs.

At a glance

• What it is: A FLIS catalog flag on the National Stock Number that indicates whether an item is a known or suspected hazardous material and what hazard data is available.
• The four values: Y, D, P, and N — see the table below.
• Length and format: A single letter (Y, D, P, or N) — observationally, every value in the table is one alphabetic character.
• What it flags: That the item requires hazmat handling/storage/transport/disposal controls, that a Safety Data Sheet (historically a Material Safety Data Sheet) must be obtained, and whether a record exists in HMIRS.
• Where it lives: Federal Logistics Information System catalog management data, queried through WebFLIS / FLIS and PUB LOG.
• Regulatory source: FLIS Procedures Manual, DoD Manual 4100.39, Volume 10, Table 179 ("Hazardous Material Indicator Codes"); framework in Federal Standard 313 (FED-STD-313F).
• Who maintains it: HMIC input is restricted to DLA Logistics Information Services; it is mandatory for all items except FSC 11 and certain Item Name Codes, and is not permitted on nuclear ordnance items.

What the Hazardous Material Indicator Code is

The HMIC answers the question "is this item hazardous, and where is the hazard information?" It is a single-letter tag in the federal catalog record for a National Stock Number that, in the words of the FLIS Procedures Manual, is "a table of codes instructing the user on the type of hazardous material when required." Its four values identify whether hazard information exists in HMIRS and, when it does not, whether the item's Federal Supply Class is treated as hazardous under Federal Standard 313.

Two ideas sit behind the code:

1. A procurement/handling flag. The HMIC serves as a signal that a procuring activity must acquire a Safety Data Sheet for the item and that the item must be handled, stored, transported, and disposed of under hazardous-material controls. It turns a generic catalog line into "treat this as hazmat."
2. A data-availability pointer. The code also tells Federal Catalog System users whether detailed information already exists in HMIRS, and, when it does not, whether the item nonetheless falls within a Federal Supply Class that Federal Standard 313 treats as commonly (or possibly) hazardous — in which case a Safety Data Sheet should still be sought from the supplier.

Because the HMIC is catalog management data, it is assigned and maintained as part of the cataloging process for the National Stock Number, not set ad hoc by a using activity. It reflects the catalog system's current determination of an item's hazard status, which can change as hazard data is added to HMIRS or as the item is re-cataloged.

How it is used

The HMIC does its work as a flag read at multiple points across the supply chain:

• Item identification and procurement. When an item is requisitioned or bought, the HMIC alerts the procuring activity that the item is (or may be) hazardous and that a Safety Data Sheet must be obtained before the material is accepted and put into use.
• Receipt, storage, and handling. A hazardous flag routes the item into hazmat storage and handling — segregation, ventilation, spill control, and the controls that come with the item's hazard class. The HMIC is the catalog-level "this is hazmat" signal; the specific storage-compatibility decision is driven by the separate Hazard Characteristic Code (HCC).
• Transportation. Hazardous materiel moves under transportation rules (packaging, marking, placarding, documentation). The HMIC is an upstream indicator that those transportation controls apply.
• Shelf-life and disposal. Many hazardous items are also shelf-life-managed, so the HMIC is read alongside the DoD Shelf-Life Code. At end of life, the hazardous flag drives disposition through hazardous-waste channels — turn-in to DLA Disposition Services under hazardous-property controls rather than ordinary property disposal, where the item's condition is also recorded with a disposal condition code.

Read together with the rest of the catalog record — the unit of issue, the shelf-life data, and the item's National Stock Number — the HMIC tells a logistician, before they ever touch the item, that hazmat discipline applies.

Relationship to HMIRS and Safety Data Sheets

The HMIC is the flag; HMIRS is the data. The Hazardous Materials Information Resource System (HMIRS) is the Department of Defense automated system, operated by the Defense Logistics Agency, that serves as the authoritative DoD source for Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for the military services and civil agencies. It carries government-unique, value-added information input by service/agency focal points, including hazard-warning (HAZCOM) label data and transportation information.

The relationship runs like this:

• If hazard data exists in HMIRS for the National Stock Number, the HMIC indicates that the detailed record is available there — the user goes to HMIRS for the SDS and the value-added hazard data.
• If no HMIRS record exists, the HMIC still indicates whether the item should be treated as hazardous based on its Federal Supply Class under Federal Standard 313 (FED-STD-313) — the standard that governs the Safety Data, Transportation Data, and Disposal Data that contractors must furnish for hazardous materials supplied to government activities. FED-STD-313 identifies, by Federal Supply Class/Group, the classes in which most items are hazardous and those in which items may be hazardous depending on the supplier's hazard determination or the product's end use.

A terminology note that matters for accuracy: the older references say Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS); current standards and HMIRS use Safety Data Sheet (SDS), reflecting the move to the Globally Harmonized System format. The HMIC's job — flag the item and point to the data — is the same under either name.

HMIC values

The HMIC has four values. Each combines the answers to two questions: does a hazard record exist in HMIRS? and, if not, does the item's Federal Supply Class fall within Federal Standard 313's hazardous tables? The codes and definitions below are reproduced verbatim from DoD Manual 4100.39, Volume 10, Table 179 — "Hazardous Material Indicator Codes."

Two operational notes from Table 179 are worth carrying. The HMIC is a mandatory data element for all items except those in Federal Supply Class 11 (and certain Item Name Codes), and it is not permitted on nuclear ordnance items. Once set, an HMIC cannot be deleted — it can only be added or changed by Logistics Information Services. Table 180 of the same volume ties the code to specific Federal Supply Classes: items in the FED-STD-313 Table I classes must carry Y or D, and items in the Table II classes must carry Y or P.

Worked example

A storekeeper receives a line item and pulls its catalog record through WebFLIS / FLIS before shelving it.

• If the HMIC indicates a hazardous item with HMIRS data available, the storekeeper goes to HMIRS for the Safety Data Sheet, applies the HAZCOM label and storage requirements it specifies, segregates the item per its hazard class, and — if it is also shelf-life-managed — rotates it under its shelf-life code.
• If the HMIC indicates a hazardous item but no HMIRS record exists (the item sits in a Federal Standard 313 hazardous class), the storekeeper treats it as hazmat anyway and obtains a Safety Data Sheet from the supplier before the material is put into use, rather than assuming it is benign.
• If the HMIC indicates the item is not normally hazardous, it is shelved as ordinary stock with no hazmat handling.

Later, when the item is condemned, the same hazardous flag governs disposition: a hazardous item is turned in to DLA Disposition Services and processed through hazardous-waste channels, its condition recorded with a disposal condition code, rather than being released as ordinary property. One catalog flag, set at cataloging, drives the right action at receipt, storage, and disposal.

Common errors and gotchas

• Treating the HMIC as the hazard data. It is a flag and a pointer, not the Safety Data Sheet. The detailed hazard, label, and transportation information lives in HMIRS (or must be obtained from the supplier) — the HMIC only tells you to go get it.
• Assuming "no HMIRS record" means "not hazardous." A missing HMIRS record does not clear an item; if its Federal Supply Class falls in a Federal Standard 313 hazardous table, it must still be treated as hazmat and a Safety Data Sheet obtained.
• Confusing the HMIC with the Hazard Characteristic Code (HCC). The HMIC says whether an item is hazardous and where the data is; the HCC classifies a material by its primary hazard for storage segregation. Use the HCC, not the HMIC, to decide what can be stored next to what.
• Confusing MSDS and SDS. Table 179 still uses the term Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS); current standards and HMIRS use Safety Data Sheet (SDS) under the harmonized format. The document is the same role under either name — do not treat a reference to "MSDS," including in the source table itself, as evidence the data is out of date.
• Forgetting the input and edit rules. The HMIC is maintained only by Logistics Information Services and cannot be deleted once set; it is mandatory for most items but is not carried on FSC 11 items or nuclear ordnance items. A blank HMIC on one of those is expected, not an error.

Related codes and cross-references

• DoD Shelf-Life Codes (SLC) — read alongside the HMIC, since many hazardous items are also shelf-life-managed.
• Controlled Inventory Item Codes (CIIC) — the item's other one-character special-handling flag: the HMIC marks hazardous-material data, the CIIC marks security/pilferage controls, and an item can carry both.
• Disposal Condition Codes — the condition recorded when an item, including a hazardous one, is turned in for disposition.
• Unit of Issue (U/I) — how the item is requisitioned and issued, read with the HMIC on the same catalog record.
• Acquisition Advice Codes (AAC) — how the item is acquired, another management flag on the National Stock Number.
• WebFLIS / FLIS — the federal catalog data, including the HMIC, for a National Stock Number.
• PUB LOG — the offline/exported view of the FLIS catalog data that carries item management codes.
• DLA Disposition Services — the turn-in path for hazardous property at end of life.

Authoritative references

• FLIS Procedures Manual, DoD Manual 4100.39 (formerly DoD 4100.39-M), Volume 10 — Table 179, "Hazardous Material Indicator Codes." The authoritative source defining the complete HMIC value set (Y, D, P, N), verified verbatim against this table; the code's data record number is DRN 0865 (per Volume 12, cited in Table 179). Published by the DoD issuances office.
• Federal Standard 313F (FED-STD-313F), October 12, 2018. Material Safety Data, Transportation Data, and Disposal Data for Hazardous Materials Furnished to Government Activities — the framework, including the Federal Supply Class tables, behind which items are treated as hazardous. Hosted by GSA.
• Hazardous Materials Information Resource System (HMIRS). The DoD authoritative source for Safety Data Sheets, operated by the Defense Logistics Agency; see the DLA HMIRS application page.

Last verified

This reference was last reviewed on 2026-06-20. The complete HMIC value set (Y, D, P, N) and the wording of every definition are verified verbatim against DoD Manual 4100.39, Volume 10, Table 179, "Hazardous Material Indicator Codes" (effective 27 Oct 2022). The volume and table number (Volume 10, Table 179) and the data record number (DRN 0865) are confirmed from the same source, as are Table 179's operational notes: HMIC input is restricted to DLA Logistics Information Services, the code is mandatory except for FSC 11 and certain Item Name Codes, it is not permitted on nuclear ordnance items, and it cannot be deleted once set. The HMIC's relationship to HMIRS and Federal Standard 313 (the Table I / Table II Federal Supply Class framework, reflected in Table 180 of the same volume) is likewise confirmed, and the FED-STD-313F framing (its Appendix A Table I "most items are hazardous" / Table II "may be hazardous" distinction) is confirmed against FED-STD-313F itself. One point is bounded rather than fully closed: Table 179 enumerates exactly four single-letter values but does not state a formal length/format rule — that field definition belongs to the Volume 12 data record dictionary (DRN 0865, per Table 179 note 4), which was not available for this pass, so the page describes the HMIC as a single letter on the strength of the values themselves rather than asserting a sourced field-length rule. To suggest a correction, use the site's correction path.