National Stock Number (NSN)

The Government uses National Stock Number's (NSN) which contain sub-groups that identify the Federal Supply Groups (FSG) , Federal Supply Classes (FSC) , Nato Country Code, National Item Identification Number NIIN) and the serial number of the product.

The National Stock Number is a 13-digit number.

Example: 6240-00-027-2059

Federal Supply Group (FSG): Positions 1-2                                        (62)
Federal Supply Class (FSC): Positions 1-4                                         (6240)
Nato Country Code:                 Positions 5-6                                         (00)
National Item Identification Number (NIIN): Positions 5-13                  (000272059)
Serial Number: Positions 7-13                                                               (0272059)

Federal Supply Group (FSG) is identify  by the first two digits. The broad category in which the item belongs.
National Item Identification Number (NIIN) is the last 9 positions and identify the specific item.
The first two positions of the NIIN identify the NATO country code for the country making the number assignment.
The last seven digits of the NIIN are the item serial number.
The serial number does not follow an assignment pattern.  it is merely a number for the item.

The Defense logistics Information Services (FLIS) currently contains about 14 million active and inactive U.S. National stock numbers.

Sites to help Find an NSN number Descriptions

• NSN lookup     .mil site

• NSNs Available through WebFLIS:

• http://www.defensedata.com/ 
  http://www.dlis.dla.mil/webflis/pub/pub_search.aspx

• WebFLIS Has a Public Query and a Restricted / Sign-on version.
  Display pictures for associated NSNs.
  These are representative pictures only of the item of supply. As they are a generic representation, they may not look exactly like the item of production the user may receive in response to a requisition.
  If an NSN has a picture available, it will be displayed on the WebFLIS NIIN Output Data screen in a "thumbnail" picture.
  The user may click on the picture for an enlarged version of the picture.
  For more detailed information, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions section on the WebFLIS Home Page.

DLA Logistics Information Support NSNs

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