Source, Maintenance, and Recoverability (SM&R) Codes — Complete Reference

A Source, Maintenance, and Recoverability (SM&R) code is a uniform, joint-Service code assigned to a spare or repair part that answers three questions at once: how to obtain the item, which level of maintenance is authorized to remove, replace, use, and repair it, and what to do with it when it is unserviceable. The code is published next to the part in the Repair Parts and Special Tools List (RPSTL) of an end item's maintenance technical manual, and it travels with the part's catalog data behind its National Stock Number. Reading an SM&R code correctly is what tells a maintainer whether to order a part, build it, install it locally, send it to a depot, or condemn it — so it is one of the first codes a maintenance planner or supply specialist reads off a parts list.

At a glance

• What it is: A uniform code on a repair part that conveys its source of supply, the maintenance level authorized to use and to repair it, and the disposition of an unserviceable.
• Length and format: A multi-position code — positions 1-2 = Source code; position 3 = Maintenance (use) code; position 4 = Maintenance (complete-repair) code; position 5 = Recoverability code; position 6 = optional Service option code.
• Regulatory source: The joint regulation AR 700-82 / SECNAVINST 4410.23A / AFMAN 21-106 (29 August 2020; effective 29 September 2020); the Navy issuance covers the Marine Corps.
• Assigned by: The Service or DoD program/item manager that fields the end item, under the uniform joint rules.
• Where it appears: The RPSTL of maintenance technical manuals and technical orders, and the item's catalog management data.
• How to resolve a specific code: Read each position against the governing regulation and the manual's own SM&R legend; the maintenance-level letters carry Service-specific level names.

What SM&R codes are

An SM&R code is the maintenance-and-supply instruction set for a single part, compressed into a short alphanumeric string. Where a unit of issue tells you how much you order and an Acquisition Advice Code advises how the supply system acquires an item, the SM&R code tells the maintainer what they are allowed to do with the part: get it (and from where), install it (and at what level), repair it (and at what level), or condemn it (and where).

The code exists because the Military Services maintain equipment through tiered echelons of maintenance — from the operator/crew, up through intermediate or field levels, to the depot. A given part might be installable at the operator level but only repairable at a depot; another might be a throwaway. The SM&R code captures that maintenance plan for each part so that maintainers across every Service read it the same way.

Because the format is joint and uniform, the positions mean the same thing in every Service's manuals. What differs is the vocabulary of maintenance levels behind some of the letters — the Army's historical organizational / direct support / general support / depot structure, the current two-level field-and-sustainment construct, and the Navy and Marine Corps equivalents all map onto the same letters. That is the single most common source of confusion when reading an SM&R code across Services, which is why the per-letter tables below reproduce each Service's own level name (USAF / Army / USN / USMC) directly from the current regulation rather than asserting a single Service's vocabulary.

How they're structured (by position)

The uniform SM&R format is composed of four parts across (up to) six positions. Read it strictly left to right.

Positions 1-2 — Source code

The first letter is the broad source family and the second letter refines it.

• P — Procured and stocked. A centrally procured supply-system item. The second letter says why/how it is procured and stocked.
• K — Kit. The item is contained in a kit and does not (or will not) have a national stock number assigned; it is not purchased separately.
• M — Manufactured / fabricated. The item is manufactured or fabricated at a specified maintenance activity rather than bought.
• A — Assembled. The item is assembled at a specified maintenance activity from its components (requires at least one P-series item in the assembly).
• X — No demand anticipated. Not procured or stocked; obtained by other means (salvage, replacing the next higher assembly, or requisition using CAGE code and reference number).

The complete source-code set from Appendix C of the joint regulation:

Position 3 — Maintenance code (use)

The third position indicates the level of maintenance (LOM) and/or maintenance activity authorized to remove or replace and use the item. The complete set from Table D-1 of the joint regulation:

• C — Removed, replaced, used by the operator/crew.
• O — Removed, replaced, or used at the organizational activity (USMC—Field; on Joint programs the USN transmits/receives O to indicate organizational level).
• F — Removed, replaced, or used at intermediate activities (USAF—Intermediate; Army—Field maintenance, aviation support battalion, or PATRIOT Maintenance Company; USN—Afloat; USMC—Field LOM).
• G — Removed, replaced, or used at both afloat and ashore intermediate activities (USN use only).
• H — Removed, replaced, used at the below-depot sustainment / intermediate level (USAF—Intermediate; Army—Below depot sustainment; USN—Ashore only; USMC—Field LOM component repair activity).
• K — Repairable item removed, replaced, repaired, or used at a contractor facility.
• L — Removed, replaced, or used at a designated specialized repair activity.
• D — Removed, replaced, or used at depot only (USAF—Depot; Army—Depot, Mobile Depot, and specialized repair activity; USN—Aviation Rework, Avionics, and Ordnance facilities and shipyards; USMC—Depot).
• Z — Not authorized to be removed or replaced at any maintenance level (assigned to items not required for support in a specific application, for reference only — USN use only).

Position 4 — Maintenance code (complete repair)

The fourth position indicates whether the item is to be repaired and identifies the maintenance activity with the authority/capability to perform a complete repair action. Because of Service differences, an entry in this position is not required by all Services; when a maintenance code is not used, a dash (-) is entered. The complete set from Table D-2:

• C — Lowest activity capable of complete repair is the operator/crew.
• O — Lowest activity capable of complete repair is the organizational activity.
• F — Lowest activity capable of complete repair is the intermediate activities (USAF—Intermediate; Army—Field maintenance/ASB or PATRIOT Maintenance Company; USN—Afloat; USMC—Field LOM).
• H — Complete repair at the below-depot sustainment / intermediate activities (USAF—Intermediate; Army—Below depot sustainment; USN—Ashore only; USMC—Field component repair).
• K — Repairable item; complete repair capability exists at a designated contractor facility.
• G — Both afloat and ashore intermediate activities are capable of complete repair (USN only).
• D — Lowest level capable of complete repair is the depot activity (USAF—Depot; Army—Depot, Army Depot forward repair activity; USN—Aviation Rework, Avionics, and Ordnance facilities and shipyards; USMC—Depot).
• L — Repair should be performed at the designated specialized repair activity.
• Z — Nonrepairable. No repair is authorized.
• B — No repair is authorized. The item may be reconditioned (for example, by adjusting and lubricating) by the user. No parts or special tools are procured for its maintenance. Inserted when the maintenance code is not used.

Position 5 — Recoverability code

The fifth position states the disposition of an unserviceable item — whether and where it is repaired, and where it is condemned and disposed when it is no longer economically repairable. Corroborated letters:

Position 6 — Service option code

The sixth position is reserved for a Service-unique option code used to convey specific information to that Service's logistics community and operating forces. Because each Service defines its own values, the position is not uniform across Services and must be read against that Service's own SM&R guidance. Per the joint regulation: the Army uses demilitarization codes in this position (in accordance with DoDM 4160.28, Volume 1); the Navy and Marine Corps use their own option codes for data the uniform format cannot convey; and the Air Force enters the Expendability, Recoverability, Reparability Category (ERRC) code, which is assigned only to items with a first-position source code of P.

How they're used

The SM&R code is the maintainer's decision key, read off the Repair Parts and Special Tools List (RPSTL) in an equipment technical manual or technical order, beside the part's National Stock Number and unit of issue:

• Sourcing the part. The Source code (positions 1-2) tells the maintainer whether to requisition a stocked item, draw a kit, manufacture or assemble the part at a maintenance level, or — for an X code — obtain it by salvage, justified requisition, or by replacing the next higher assembly. This is read before a part is ordered.
• Authorizing the maintenance action. Position 3 says whether the maintainer's level is authorized to remove, replace, and use the item at all; position 4 says the lowest level that can fully repair it. Together they keep maintenance actions at the correct echelon — an item only repairable at depot is not repaired in the field.
• Dispositioning an unserviceable. When a part fails, the Recoverability code (position 5) drives the supply condition code decision: repair it (and at what level), retrograde it, or condemn and dispose it. A Z part is condemned locally; a D part is returned toward depot; condemned material then enters the disposal process under its disposal condition code.
• Provisioning and cataloging. SM&R codes are assigned during provisioning of a new system and travel in the item's catalog management data, so they are consistent across the supply and maintenance systems for the life of the part.

Worked example

A mechanic working a fielded vehicle finds the RPSTL lists a failed component with SM&R code PAFFD.

Reading it position by position:

1. PA (Source) — the item is procured and stocked for anticipated or known usage, so the mechanic requisitions it through normal supply channels rather than building or salvaging it.
2. F (position 3, use) — the intermediate / field-maintenance level is authorized to remove, replace, and use the item (for the Army, F = field maintenance or aviation support battalion; for the USN, afloat), so the mechanic's level can install it.
3. F (position 4, repair) — the intermediate / field-maintenance level is also the lowest level that can completely repair it; it does not have to go to a depot for repair.
4. D (position 5, recoverability) — it is a repairable item that, when beyond lower-level repair capability, is returned to the depot; condemnation and disposal are not authorized below depot level.

So the mechanic orders the part (PA), installs it at the field/intermediate level (F), repairs it at the field/intermediate level when possible (F), and retrogrades the unserviceable to depot when it exceeds field capability (D).

Contrast with XBZZZ: XB means the part is not procured or stocked (salvage should be considered first, otherwise requisition through normal supply channels using CAGE code and reference number), and Z in the use, repair, and recoverability positions means it is not authorized to be removed or replaced at any maintenance level, no repair is authorized, and it is a nonrepairable item that — when unserviceable — is condemned and disposed by the authorized activity. Same five characters, an entirely different maintenance and supply plan.

Common errors and gotchas

• Reading the code as one undifferentiated string. An SM&R code is four parts: source (2), use (1), repair (1), recoverability (1), plus an optional Service code. Decode each position separately; their meanings do not blend.
• Assuming the maintenance-level letters mean the same thing in every Service or era. O, F, H, and D map to a Service's own echelons, and the level vocabulary has shifted from organizational/direct-support/general-support toward the two-level field/sustainment construct. Always read the manual's own SM&R legend.
• Confusing position 3 with position 4. Position 3 is the lowest level allowed to remove, replace, and use the item; position 4 is the lowest level that can completely repair it. A part can be installable at a low level but only repairable at a high one.
• Treating an X source code as "order it normally." XA means the requirement is met by replacing the next higher assembly, and XB means salvage first, then requisition — neither is a routine stocked buy.
• Ignoring the recoverability code when an item fails. Position 5 — not the maintainer's preference — governs whether an unserviceable is repaired, retrograded, or condemned, and at what level.
• Confusing SM&R codes with supply or acquisition codes. SM&R is a maintenance/logistics code on a repair part. It is distinct from the Acquisition Advice Code (supply-acquisition posture), the supply condition code (current serviceability), and the Material Control Code (a Navy management-data code).

Related codes and cross-references

• Acquisition Advice Codes (AAC) — the DoD-wide code advising how an item is acquired and issued from supply, read alongside the SM&R code on item data.
• Supply Condition Codes (SCC) — the serviceability classification an unserviceable item carries when the recoverability code drives its disposition.
• Disposal Condition Codes — applied when an SM&R recoverability code results in condemnation and the item enters disposal.
• Units of Issue (U/I) — how the part identified by the SM&R code is ordered and priced.
• Document Identifier Codes (DIC) — the transaction codes that move the part through the supply system once sourced.
• Navy Cognizance Symbols (COG) and the Material Control Code (MCC) — Navy management-data codes read on the same item records.
• WebFLIS / FLIS and FED LOG / PUB LOG — the federal cataloging tools that carry an item's National Stock Number and management data, including its SM&R code.

Authoritative references

• Joint Regulation Governing the Use and Application of Uniform Source, Maintenance, and Recoverability Codes — AR 700-82 / SECNAVINST 4410.23A / AFMAN 21-106 (29 August 2020; effective 29 September 2020). The authoritative source for the full per-position letter set, the Service-specific maintenance-level definitions, and assignment rules; it distributes to the Marine Corps under the SECNAVINST (PCN 21600600800).
• Defense Acquisition University (DAU) ACQuipedia — "Source, Maintenance and Recoverability (SMR) Codes." Public summary of the format and governing regulation; see the DAU SMR codes ACQuipedia article.
• Per-part SM&R codes are published in each end item's Repair Parts and Special Tools List (RPSTL) within its maintenance technical manual / technical order, and in the item's catalog management data behind the National Stock Number.

Last verified

This reference was last reviewed on 2026-06-20 and source-verified against the primary joint regulation. The position structure (1-2 source, 3 use, 4 repair, 5 recoverability, 6 Service option), the complete source-code set (Appendix C: PA, PB, PC, PD, PE, PF, PG, PH, PR, PZ, KD, KF, KB, MO, MF, MH, ML, MG, MD, AO, AL, AF, AH, AG, AD, XA, XB, XC, XD), the maintenance-code letters (positions 3-4, Appendix D Tables D-1 and D-2), and the recoverability-code letters (position 5, Appendix E Table E-1) are confirmed verbatim against the joint regulation AR 700-82 / SECNAVINST 4410.23A / AFMAN 21-106 (29 August 2020; effective 29 September 2020). The Service-specific maintenance-level names behind each letter, the current regulation edition and Service/Marine Corps numbers, the K/M/A source-code second-letter assignments, and the Navy-unique G recoverability code are all reproduced from the regulation's own Appendix C-F text. The only items not drawn from the regulation are the constructed worked-example codes (PAFFD, XBZZZ), which illustrate the position logic but are not asserted as the SM&R code of any specific National Stock Number — the regulation lists no NSN examples. To suggest a correction, use the site's correction path.