Media and Status (M&S) Codes — Complete Reference

The Media and Status (M&S) code is a one-character code in record position 7 of legacy MILSTRIP transactions that answers the question every requisitioner eventually asks: who gets told what happened to my order — and how much do they get told? Set once by the document originator and perpetuated through every subsequent transaction, it directs DLA Transaction Services' Defense Automatic Addressing System (DAAS) to route supply status and shipment status to the requisitioner, the ship-to/bill-to activity, both, or neither — and on Materiel Returns Program documents, to route the inventory control point's replies. The code list and business rules are DLM 4000.25, Volume 2, Appendix 7.4.

At a glance

• What it is: A one-position alphanumeric code (legacy rp 7; DLMS location LQ01 code DF) identifying the status recipient(s) and the type of status required.
• The two dials: Who — requisitioner, ship-to/credit-to (via the supplementary address), both, or the distribution-code activity; what — exception supply status, 100 percent supply status, and/or shipment status.
• Set by: The document originator, as a mandatory entry; not altered in subsequent processing except under SICA procedures.
• Regulatory source: DLM 4000.25, Volume 2, Appendix 7.4 (revised November 26, 2019).
• "Media" is historical: Mail-based status distribution is terminated; DAAS picks the communication path from the recipient's profile, and unconnected activities read status on FedMall, GSA Advantage, or WebVLIPS.
• Read alongside: The signal code (rp 51), which sets ship-to and bill-to; the M&S code sets status-to. The actual status messages carry Supply Status Codes.

What the code controls

The M&S code chooses among four status packages and points them at recipients:

1. Exception status — only the surprises: rejects, backorders, substitutions, delays.
2. 100 percent supply status — everything, routine included (100 percent supply status includes exception status by definition).
3. Exception status and shipment status.
4. 100 percent supply status and shipment status.

Recipients are not spelled out as addresses; the M&S code points at parties already identified elsewhere in the transaction — the requisitioner in the document number (rp 30–35), the ship-to/credit-to perpetuated to the supplementary address (rp 45–50, placed there per the signal code), the credit-to derived from the fund code (rp 52–53), or the distribution activity from the first position of the distribution code (rp 54).

Some status flows ignore the M&S code entirely (with the sole exception of M&S 8): mandatory shipment status to all valid status recipients, rejection and cancellation status, responses to follow-ups, and status responses to MOV documents are furnished regardless. Likewise, a significant first-position distribution code earns its activity 100 percent supply and shipment status no matter what the M&S code says — except under M&S Y, which trims that activity back to exception and shipment status only.

Requisition-related transactions

A quick way to read the significant codes: pick the row for who (requisitioner: 2/B/K/S; ship-to via SUPADD: 4/D/M/U; both: F/Z) and the column for how much (exception only: 2/4; 100 percent: B/D; exception + shipment: K/M/Z; 100 percent + shipment: S/U/F). 0, Y, and 8 are the suppression/restriction cases.

Materiel Returns Program transactions

On MRP documents (DIC FT-series and DLMS 180M), the M&S code specifies the activity to receive replies to asset reports from the inventory control point or integrated materiel manager:

Worked example

A base supply squadron orders a part for a deployed maintenance unit: the requisition ships to the deployed unit's DoDAAC (supplementary address, Signal Code J) while the squadron keeps the paperwork. The squadron wants full visibility; the deployed unit only needs to know when the part is inbound. M&S S — 100 percent supply status and shipment status to the requisitioner — does exactly that: the squadron receives every supply status update and the shipment status, and the deployed unit still receives the mandatory shipment status that flows to every ship-to activity regardless of M&S. Had both parties needed full status, M&S F would route the same package to each.

Common errors and gotchas

• Expecting the M&S code to pick a delivery medium. That dimension is dead — mailing is terminated, and DAAS chooses the format from the recipient's communications profile. Activities without DAAS-supported connectivity read status on FedMall, GSA Advantage, or WebVLIPS.
• Confusing the M&S code with the status codes themselves. The M&S code (rp 7) decides who receives status; the Supply Status Codes (BA, BB, CX, and the rest) are the content of the status messages it routes.
• Assuming M&S 0 or Y means total silence. Mandatory shipment status to the ship-to, rejection/cancellation status, and follow-up responses flow regardless — and under 0 the distribution-code activity still gets 100 percent status.
• Using M&S 8 outside its lane. It is restricted to SICAs on nonconsumable-item transactions, and it is the only code that suppresses status to all other recipients under all circumstances.
• Zeroing out status to "reduce noise." DLM guidance runs the other way: activities should obtain and use full supply and shipment status, precisely to reduce follow-up inquiries. Suppression is a deliberate, documented choice for specific procedures — for example, Security Assistance (FMS) requisitions use M&S 0 because status routes to the MAPAD country status recipient instead — not a default.
• Trying to change the M&S code mid-stream. It is set by the originator and perpetuated; downstream activities do not alter it except under SICA or internet-ordering procedures.

Related codes and cross-references

• Supply Status Codes — the two-character codes carried in the status transactions the M&S code routes.
• Signal Codes — the rp 51 companion that places the ship-to/bill-to parties the M&S code points at (SUPADD recipients exist only when the signal code is B, J, K, L, or M).
• Document Identifier Codes (DIC) — identify the status transactions themselves (AE_/AB_ supply status, AS_/AU_ shipment status, AP_ MOV responses, FT-series MRP).
• Shipment Hold Codes — carried in the shipment status transactions (AS_/AU_) that M&S codes with a shipment-status component cause to be distributed.

Authoritative references

• DLM 4000.25, Volume 2 — Supply Standards and Procedures, Appendix 7.4 (Media and Status Codes). The authoritative code list and DAAS distribution rules; revised November 26, 2019. Published in the Defense Logistics Management Standards library.
• DLM 4000.25, Volume 2, Appendix 7.12 — Distribution Codes. The rp 54 field whose first position designates the distribution activity referenced by M&S 0, 8, and Y.
• DLM 4000.25-4 — DAAS Manual. Transmission services and communication formats DAAS applies when distributing status.
• DLA Customer Assistance Handbook (print edition, December 2023). DLA's public customer reference reproducing the M&S code list.

Last verified

This reference was last reviewed on 2026-07-06. The code lists and business rules were verified verbatim against DLM 4000.25, Volume 2, Appendix 7.4 (revised November 26, 2019, in hand) and corroborated against the DLA Customer Assistance Handbook (December 2023). Reserved and not-used codes are omitted from the tables and enumerated in the captions. To suggest a correction, use the site's correction path.