MILSTRIP Signal Codes — Complete Reference

The signal code is a one-character code in record position 51 of legacy MILSTRIP transactions that answers two questions the rest of the document leaves ambiguous: where does the materiel go, and who pays for it? On requisition documents (A-series DICs) it designates which fields hold the intended consignee (ship-to) and the activity that receives and pays the bill; on Materiel Returns Program documents (FT-series) it designates the consignor (ship-from) and the activity that receives the credit. The code list and business rules live in DLM 4000.25, Volume 2, Appendix 7.10. Under DLMS the code is technically redundant — modern transactions name the parties discretely — but it remains a required element pending its planned termination.

At a glance

• What it is: A one-position code (rp 51) designating the fields that identify ship-to and bill-to on requisitions, and ship-from and credit-to on asset reports.
• The pattern: A–D anchor shipment on the requisitioner (rp 30–35); J–M anchor it on the supplementary address (rp 45–50). Within each group, billing steps through: requisitioner → supplementary address → fund-code party → free issue.
• Regulatory source: DLM 4000.25, Volume 2, Appendix 7.10 (revised October 17, 2025).
• Validated by: DLA Transaction Services (DAAS) — bad signal/fund/supplementary-address combinations reject with Supply Status Codes SJ, AH, CF, or CX.
• Watch out: rp 51 carries the signal code on requisition and MRP documents, but the Shipment Hold Code on shipment status documents — the position is document-type-dependent.

Requisition documents (A-series)

Two rules ride along with the table:

• C and L put the fund code to work. The two-position fund code (rp 52–53) designates the bill-to office, converted through the Fund Code to Billed DoDAAC Conversion Table under MILSBILLS procedures (DLM 4000.25, Volume 4, Finance).
• Signal Code M has a special ammunition use. With Project Code CYK and a supplementary address beginning with Service/Agency Code Y, Signal Code M identifies an ownership transfer of ammunition or ammunition-related materiel with no physical movement and no billing — and does not require a valid ship-to DoDAAC (ADC 1020).

Materiel Returns Program documents (FT-series)

On asset reports the same ten codes flip from consignee to consignor: the signal code designates the ship-from activity and the party to receive and process credit.

Turn-ins to DLA Disposition Services (DTID)

For shipments or transfers of hazardous materiel and waste to DLA Disposition Services Field Offices, the Disposal Turn-In Document (DTID — DD Form 1348-1A, DD Form 1348-2, or electronic equivalent) shows the receiving Field Office as the ship-to in the supplementary address, and only signal codes A, B, C, and L apply (Table AP7.10.T5):

• A — bill the turn-in activity identified in the document number (rp 30–35).
• B — bill the activity in block 27 of the DTID; if block 27 is empty, billing defaults to the turn-in activity.
• C / L — bill the addressee designated by the fund code (rp 52–53); if the fund code does not resolve on the conversion table, billing defaults to the turn-in activity. For both codes the bill-to activity must also be identified in block 27.

Designating the DoD FedMall DoDAAC SC4210 as the bill-to indicates payment by Government purchase card or corporate credit card.

How the code is validated

DLA Transaction Services (DAAS) edits every transaction's signal code against its companion fields, and the failure modes map to specific Supply Status Codes:

• Signal code blank or invalid → reject with SJ ("Rejected. Signal code is blank or incorrect.").
• Signal code B, J, K, L, or M with a blank or invalid supplementary address → reject with AH (required supplementary address missing/invalid).
• Signal code A, B, C, J, K, or L with a missing or invalid fund code → reject with CF.
• Signal code C or L whose fund code does not convert to a bill-to DoDAAC → reject with CX.
• Free issue not authorized → a source of supply receiving D or M where free issue does not apply modifies the code to the applicable billable signal code (D → A or C; M → B, K, or L) rather than rejecting.

Worked example

A Navy ship requisitions a repair part for delivery to its supporting shore intermediate maintenance activity, with the bill going to the type commander's operating funds. The requisition carries Signal Code L: ship to the supplementary address (the maintenance activity's DoDAAC in rp 45–50), bill the party designated by the fund code (rp 52–53), which DAAS converts to the type commander's billing DoDAAC through the Fund Code to Billed DoDAAC Conversion Table. If the clerk had left the supplementary address blank, DAAS would have rejected the document with Status Code AH; if the fund code were invalid, Status Code CF.

Common errors and gotchas

• Assuming rp 51 is always the signal code. It is on requisition and MRP documents — but on shipment status documents the same record position carries the Shipment Hold Code. Read the position against the Document Identifier Code.
• Free issue on GSA requisitions. Signal codes D and M must not be used by DoD activities requisitioning on GSA.
• C or L without a working fund code. The billing address under these codes lives in the fund-code conversion table, not the document. An unlisted fund code means a CX reject — or, on a DTID, silent default of the bill to the turn-in activity.
• B, J, K, L, or M without a supplementary address. Those five codes point shipment or billing at rp 45–50; leaving it blank is an AH reject.
• Forgetting the code flips meaning on returns. On FT-series documents the same letters describe ship-from and credit-to. Signal Code B on a return means "credit the supplementary address," not "bill it."
• Treating the signal code as obsolete under DLMS. It is redundant to the discretely identified parties, and slated for eventual termination — but it is still a required element today, and DAAS still rejects on it.

Related codes and cross-references

• Document Identifier Codes (DIC) — determine whether rp 51 carries a signal code or a shipment hold code, and which signal-code table (requisition vs. MRP) applies.
• Supply Status Codes — SJ, AH, CF, and CX are the reject statuses generated by signal-code and fund-code edits.
• Media and Status Codes — the companion code (rp 7) that designates who receives status on the same requisition.
• Shipment Hold Codes — the other occupant of record position 51, on shipment status documents.
• Disposal Condition Codes and DLA Disposition Services — the DTID context where signal codes A/B/C/L govern billing for hazardous turn-ins.

Authoritative references

• DLM 4000.25, Volume 2 — Supply Standards and Procedures, Appendix 7.10 (Signal Codes). The authoritative code tables (AP7.10.T1–T5) and business rules; revised October 17, 2025. Published in the Defense Logistics Management Standards library.
• DLM 4000.25, Volume 4 — Finance. The Fund Code to Billed DoDAAC Conversion Table behind signal codes C and L, under MILSBILLS procedures.
• DLA Customer Assistance Handbook (print edition, December 2023). DLA's public customer reference reproducing the signal-code table.

Last verified

This reference was last reviewed on 2026-07-06. All tables and business rules were verified verbatim against DLM 4000.25, Volume 2, Appendix 7.10 (revised October 17, 2025, in hand), including the DTID rules and the DAAS reject statuses, and corroborated against the DLA Customer Assistance Handbook (December 2023). To suggest a correction, use the site's correction path.