This standard provides the criteria for development of item identification marking requirements and methods for identification of items of military property produced, stocked, stored, and issued by or for the Department of Defense. This document is to be tailored by the acquiring activity.

When machine readable marking is required, it is vital that the acquiring activity specifies the type of marking to be provided. Bar Code marking per ANSI/AIM BC1, widely used within the Department of Defense, is generally considered the standard machine readable code system. When specifying other systems, the acquiring activity must consider the application and user of the items marked, availability of code reading capabilities, and compatibility with potential future data and equipment systems.