Routing Identifier Codes (RIC) — Complete Reference

A Routing Identifier Code (RIC) is a three-character alphanumeric code that identifies a specific logistics activity — an inventory control point, a source of supply, a storage or distribution depot, or a transaction-processing point — so that MILSTRIP, MILSTRAP, and DLMS transactions can be routed to and from that activity through the Defense Automatic Addressing System (DAAS). The RIC is the addressing key DAAS reads to move a document to the right supply source or processing point. Unlike small fixed code sets such as Acquisition Advice Codes (AAC) or Supply Condition Codes, the RIC catalog is a large, dynamic registry of activity identifiers kept in the DoD Activity Address Directory (DoDAAD) and continuously updated as activities are added, changed, and deleted; the authoritative way to resolve any specific RIC is a live lookup in DAASINQ/eDAASINQ, not a printed list.

At a glance

• What it is: A three-character alphanumeric code that identifies a logistics activity for the purpose of routing logistics transactions to and from it.
• Length and format: Exactly three characters, alphanumeric.
• Regulatory source: Defense Logistics Management Standards (DLMS), DLM 4000.25; the DoD Activity Address Directory (DoDAAD) — which registers RICs and DoDAACs — is administered under DLM 4000.25, Volume 6 (Logistics Systems Interoperability Support Services), Chapter 2 — DoD Activity Address Directory. The RIC is defined at C2.1.2.2 and its governance is set out at C2.5, "Routing Identifier Codes."
• Authoritative keeper / router: DLA Transaction Services, which operates the Defense Automatic Addressing System (DAAS) and the DAASINQ/eDAASINQ inquiry tools.
• Registry: The DoD Activity Address Directory (DoDAAD), which holds both Routing Identifier Codes and the six-character DoD Activity Address Codes (DoDAACs), mapped to one another.
• Where used: Routing of MILSTRIP/MILSTRAP/DLMS transactions; the source-of-supply identifier on a National Stock Number record; supply-source and processing-point addressing throughout the DoD supply chain.
• How to resolve a specific code: Look it up live in DAASINQ / eDAASINQ — the registry changes over time, so a live inquiry is always more authoritative than a cached list.

What Routing Identifier Codes are

A Routing Identifier Code identifies one specific activity in the DoD logistics enterprise so that transactions can be sent to it and recognized as coming from it. The "activity" a RIC stands for is typically one of:

• an inventory control point (ICP) or integrated materiel manager that manages a population of items,
• a source of supply (SoS) — the activity a requisition is filled by,
• a storage or distribution depot that processes materiel-release and related transactions, or
• a transaction-processing point that receives, processes, or relays logistics documents.

A RIC is a transaction-routing handle, not a freight address. The manual is explicit that RICs are not used for shipping: a RIC associates to a DoDAAC, and when a shipping action is required, shippers use the TAC2 (ship-to/freight address) of the associated DoDAAC, not the RIC.

The defining feature of the RIC — and the thing that most distinguishes it from the other code systems on this site — is that it is not a small, fixed, enumerable list. Acquisition Advice Codes, Supply Condition Codes, and Document Identifier Codes are bounded sets you can print in full and memorize. The RIC catalog is the opposite: it is a large, living registry of activity identifiers that grows and changes as activities stand up, reorganize, merge, and close. There is no meaningful "complete table" of every RIC to publish, and any such table would be stale almost immediately.

For that reason, the primary value of this page is not a code list — it is understanding what a RIC is, how it is structured, how it routes a transaction, and how to resolve any specific RIC live in the authoritative DAAS reference tables. The illustrative examples further down are clearly labeled as illustrative; treat the live inquiry as the source of truth.

How they're structured

A Routing Identifier Code is always three characters and alphanumeric, and it uniquely identifies one unit, activity, or organization. A few structural points matter:

• Fixed three-character length. The three-character length is the quick visual tell that separates a RIC from a six-character DoDAAC. When you see a three-character routing field, it is a RIC; when you see a six-character activity code, it is a DoDAAC.
• Defined position structure: first position = ownership. Per the manual, the first position designates the particular service/agency ownership, while the second and third characters are determined by the Central Service Point (CSP) for that component. So the first character is a meaningful, rule-based ownership indicator; the remaining two are an internal assignment by the owning component and cannot be decoded by a reader without the registry.
• The code is still a registry key, not a full decoder ring. Beyond the first-position ownership rule, the three characters together identify one registered activity; a reader cannot decode the second and third positions into a guaranteed activity without consulting the DoDAAD — the authoritative meaning lives in the registry.

Because the operative meaning is in the registry, the correct mental model is: the RIC is a pointer. It points at an activity record in the DoDAAD; DAAS follows the pointer to deliver the transaction. Every RIC associates to exactly one DoDAAC (the RIC_DODAAC), and any activity that requires routing can have only one RIC.

How they're used

The RIC does its work in two closely related roles: routing transactions and identifying the source of supply.

Routing transactions through DAAS

When a logistics document moves through the system, the Defense Automatic Addressing System (DAAS) reads the document's routing-identifier data to decide where to send it. The RIC's original intended purpose was exactly this: to identify an activity in only three characters, for the routing of legacy logistics transactions to and/or from that activity. A transaction carries routing identifiers that position it relative to the activities involved — the RIC is found in record positions (rp) 4-6 and/or 67-69 of the document — broadly, a routing identifier for where the transaction is going (for example, the supply source that must act on a requisition) and where it came from. DAAS, as the agent responsible for maintaining the DoDAAD and for routing logistics transactions, uses those RICs — resolved against the DoDAAD — to deliver the document to the correct processing point and to return status to the originator.

Identifying the source of supply on an item record

The Source of Supply (SoS) carried on a National Stock Number record is a Routing Identifier Code. It identifies the activity that manages and supplies the item. This is the single most common place a working logistician encounters a RIC outside of transaction routing: when you look up an item, the source-of-supply RIC tells you who supplies it, and therefore where a requisition for that item will be routed.

The source-of-supply RIC is read alongside two other item-record fields covered elsewhere on this site:

• the Acquisition Advice Code (AAC), which states how the item is acquired (stocked, local purchase, terminal item, and so on), and
• the Document Identifier Code (DIC), which states what type of transaction is being processed against the item.

Read together: the DIC says what the document is, the RIC says where it routes (and, as source of supply, who supplies the item), and the AAC says how the item is obtained.

Where the RIC appears in a MILSTRIP transaction

In a MILSTRIP requisition and its related transactions, the routing-identifier fields carry the RIC(s) that DAAS uses to route the document, separately from the Document Identifier Code (which classifies the transaction) and from the requisitioner and supplementary-address data (which identify the requesting and receiving activities by DoDAAC). The RIC is found in record positions (rp) 4-6 and/or 67-69 of the fixed-length transaction record.

Representative Routing Identifier Codes (illustrative only)

The table below shows a small, representative set of the kinds of activities a Routing Identifier Code stands for, to make the concept concrete. It is not a complete or authoritative list, and the specific code-to-activity mappings shown are illustrative and flagged for verification. Always resolve a specific RIC live in DAASINQ / eDAASINQ against the current DoD Activity Address Directory — codes are added, changed, and retired over time, and only the live registry is authoritative.

How to resolve a Routing Identifier Code

To find out what a specific RIC means, resolve it against the authoritative DoDAAD reference tables rather than reading it from a fixed list:

1. Open a DAAS inquiry tool. Use DAASINQ or eDAASINQ, the web-based inquiry front ends operated by DLA Transaction Services that query the Defense Automatic Addressing System's DoDAAD reference data. DAASINQ is open to all users — you enter the specific DoDAAC or RIC you want and it returns information for that single record. eDAASINQ is the more robust tool (wildcard searches and downloadable results) but requires a CAC or PKI certificate and a System Authorization Request (SAR) submitted to DAAS; interrogating the DoDAAD for RICs through eDAASINQ is CAC-required.
2. Run a Routing Identifier Code inquiry. Enter the three-character RIC. The inquiry returns the registered activity, its associated DoD Activity Address Code (DoDAAC) where mapped, and address data from the DoD Activity Address Directory.
3. Cross-check the source of supply on the item record. For a specific item, confirm the source-of-supply RIC against the item's record in WebFLIS / FLIS, so the routing you expect matches the supply source recorded for that NSN.
4. Treat the live inquiry as authoritative. Because the registry changes over time, the result of a live DAASINQ/eDAASINQ lookup outranks any printed table, screenshot, or cached export — including the illustrative table above.

RIC vs DoDAAC vs Source of Supply Code

These three concepts are closely related and frequently confused. They all live in or relate to the DoD Activity Address Directory, but they are distinct:

• Routing Identifier Code (RIC) — a three-character code that routes a transaction to or from an activity. It is the addressing key DAAS reads to move a document.
• DoD Activity Address Code (DoDAAC) — a six-character code that addresses an activity: it answers who the activity is and where it receives materiel, documents, and bills. An activity can have both a RIC and a DoDAAC, mapped to one another in the DoDAAD — and the mapping is one-to-one: every RIC associates to exactly one DoDAAC (the RIC_DODAAC), and an activity that requires routing can have only one RIC. The RIC routes; the DoDAAC addresses.
• Source of Supply (SoS) Code — not a separate code system: the source of supply carried on an item record is expressed as a Routing Identifier Code. It identifies the activity that manages and supplies the item, and it is the RIC a requisition for that item routes to.

A compact way to hold the distinction: the DoDAAC is the activity's address, the RIC is the activity's routing handle, and the source-of-supply code is simply the RIC of the activity that supplies a given item.

Common errors and gotchas

• Treating the RIC like a fixed, memorizable code set. It is not. The catalog is large and changes continuously as activities are added, changed, and deleted. Resolve specific codes live; do not rely on an old printout.
• Confusing the three-character RIC with the six-character DoDAAC. Both identify activities and both live in the DoDAAD, but the RIC routes (three characters) and the DoDAAC addresses (six characters). Reading one as the other misroutes documents.
• Decoding the three characters by eye. The characters are a registry key, not a self-describing code. Inferring an activity from the characters — or from a first-position convention — without checking the DoDAAD is a common source of error.
• Forgetting the source-of-supply RIC is a RIC. The supply source on an item record is a Routing Identifier Code; a wrong or outdated source-of-supply RIC routes requisitions to the wrong manager.
• Confusing the RIC with the Document Identifier Code (DIC). Both are three characters and both ride on the same MILSTRIP transaction, but the DIC says what the document is and the RIC says where it routes. They are not interchangeable.
• Assuming a RIC is permanent. Activities reorganize and close, and routing identifiers are retired or reassigned accordingly. A RIC that resolved correctly last year may not today — re-verify when in doubt.

Related codes and cross-references

• Document Identifier Codes (DIC) — the three-character MILSTRIP/MILSTRAP/DLMS codes that state what type of transaction a document is; ride on the same transaction the RIC routes.
• Acquisition Advice Codes (AAC) — the single-character codes that state how an item is acquired; read together with the source-of-supply RIC on the item record.
• DAASINQ & eDAASINQ — the DLA Transaction Services inquiry tools used to resolve a specific RIC (and DoDAAC) against the live DoD Activity Address Directory.

Authoritative references

• Defense Logistics Management Standards (DLMS), DLM 4000.25. The governing standard for DoD logistics data, including the registration and use of Routing Identifier Codes, published through the Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Data Standards.
• DLM 4000.25, Volume 6 (Logistics Systems Interoperability Support Services), Chapter 2 — DoD Activity Address Directory (DoDAAD). Establishes the procedures, roles, and business rules for the DoDAAD, the single authoritative repository for DoD Activity Address Codes (DoDAAC) and Routing Identifier Codes (RIC). The RIC is defined at C2.1.2.2 ("a 3-character, alpha-numeric code that uniquely identifies a unit, activity, or organization that requires system ability to route transactions or receive transactions routed to it") and its governance is set out at C2.5, "Routing Identifier Codes."
• DLA Transaction Services — Defense Automatic Addressing System (DAAS). Operates DAAS and the DAASINQ/eDAASINQ inquiry tools that route transactions on, and resolve, Routing Identifier Codes; see DLA Transaction Services.
• DoD Manual 4140.01 — DoD Supply Chain Materiel Management Procedures. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment; provides the materiel-management context for source of supply and routing.

Last verified

This reference was last reviewed on 2026-06-20. The RIC definition, its three-character alphanumeric format, the one-RIC-per-DoDAAC rule, the first-position service/agency ownership convention (with the second and third characters set by the Central Service Point), CSP/Monitor maintenance of RICs, DAAS's role as the maintaining and routing agent, the DoDAAD as the single authoritative repository for both DoDAACs and RICs, and the DAASINQ-vs-eDAASINQ access model are all verified against the primary source — DLM 4000.25, Volume 6 (Logistics Systems Interoperability Support Services), Chapter 2 (DoD Activity Address Directory), C2.1.2.2 and C2.5 (Chapter 2 revised October 3, 2025). The Volume 6 title and the Volume 6 / Chapter 2 citation are corrected and confirmed from the same source.

Additionally verified against NAVSUP P-485 Volume II, Revision 9, Appendix 7 (Routing Identifier Codes), 2026-04-14 (sources/navsup/): the RIC record positions — the RIC is found in record positions (rp) 4-6 and/or 67-69 of the transaction record; the first-position letter→component mapping (rp 4 and 67), e.g. N/P/Q/R = Navy, A/B/C/W = Army, D/E/F/J = Air Force, K/L/M = Marine Corps, S/T = Single Manager Operating Agencies, G/V = GSA/Civil Agencies, Z = Coast Guard; and the public DAASINQ inquiry URL (https://www.transactionservices.dla.mil/DAASINQ/, no login required) on the transactionservices.dla.mil domain.

Still requiring confirmation before or at publication (and intentionally not asserted here): any specific Routing Identifier Code, which must be resolved live against the DoD Activity Address Directory via DAASINQ/eDAASINQ; the internal cross-reference link targets (e.g. the canonical WebFLIS/FLIS slug) once those pages are published; and the DLA Defense Data Standards landing URL that holds the current DLMS volumes. To suggest a correction, use the site's correction path.