Completing DA Form 5990-E in GCSS-Army: From 5988-E to Work Order Close

To complete and submit a DA Form 5990-E in GCSS-Army, you generate it from a fault already recorded on DA Form 5988-E, verify the equipment and unit data, describe each fault with its technical manual reference and any needed National Stock Numbers, assign a priority designator from AR 750-1, and then create and forward the work order through the GCSS-Army transaction codes. The form is not a blank PDF you fill in; it is produced by the system once the maintenance notification and work order exist.

Start From the 5988-E, Not a Blank Form

The 5990-E sits at the end of a chain that begins with Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services. Operators record faults during PMCS on DA Form 5988-E, the Equipment Inspection and Maintenance Worksheet, noting the TM item number and a clear description of the problem.¹ Faults the unit can fix at operator or crew level are corrected and annotated on the 5988-E. Only uncorrected faults, or those requiring higher-level skills, special tools, or parts the unit does not stock, move into GCSS-Army as a 5990-E maintenance request.

Treat the 5988-E as the inspection checklist and the 5990-E as the work ticket. Everything you enter on the 5990-E should trace back to a specific fault line on the 5988-E, with the same TM reference and description.

Verify the Equipment and Unit Data

GCSS-Army pre-populates most identifying fields when you select the equipment record, but wrong data at the top of the form routes the request to the wrong shop or charges parts and labor against the wrong budget. Check every entry against the physical data plate before you submit.

Unit Identification Code (UIC): the six-character alphanumeric code identifying your organization. In systems using a six-character UIC, the first character is a service identifier, and an outdated UIC after a reorganization is a common cause of rejected requests.²
Administrative number: the bumper or registration number painted on the vehicle, used by dispatchers and mechanics to find it on the lot.
Serial number: the manufacturer’s serial number from the chassis or data plate. Combined with the Line Item Number and National Stock Number, it creates a unique digital identity for the asset inside GCSS-Army.
Nomenclature and model: the standard property book designation (for example, TRUCK, CARGO: M1083A1), not a nickname.

Transposed digits in a serial number are one of the easiest ways to have a request bounce back.

Document Each Fault and Request Parts

Every fault carried over from the 5988-E needs enough detail that a mechanic who has never seen the vehicle can understand what is wrong. “Engine runs rough” is not enough. A useful entry reads more like “engine misfires above 2,000 RPM; black smoke from exhaust; suspect injector failure per TM 9-2320-391-10 Item 12.”

For each fault, capture:

TM reference: the applicable technical manual number and the specific PMCS table item where the fault was identified.
Fault description: a plain-language explanation of the symptom, its severity, and any conditions under which it occurs.
National Stock Number: if you already know the replacement part, enter its 13-digit NSN and nomenclature. The NSN is how the supply system identifies and ships the correct component, and mechanics cross-reference it against the TM’s repair parts list.³
Estimated labor hours: a reasonable estimate the shop can use for scheduling.

Fault codes categorize each deficiency further. Depending on the equipment type, you may need failure codes, when-discovered codes, how-recognized codes, and malfunction effect codes. Aviation units draw these from DA Pamphlet 738-751.⁴ Ground maintenance shops use similar coding structures within GCSS-Army. If you are not sure which code applies, ask your maintenance supervisor before guessing. Wrong codes pollute the readiness data commanders rely on.

Set the Priority Designator

Every maintenance request carries a priority designator telling the supporting shop how urgently the equipment is needed. The designator comes from a matrix in AR 750-1, Table 3-1, that cross-references your unit’s Force Activity Designator with the Urgency of Need Designator you select.⁵ The result is a two-digit number between 01 and 15, with 01 the most urgent.

The three Urgency of Need categories are:

UND A: unable to perform mission. The equipment is down and the mission cannot wait.
UND B: impaired mission capability. The equipment operates but not at full capability.
UND C: routine. Still mission-capable; can be scheduled normally.

Requests with a priority designator of 01 through 10 require commander authentication, meaning a signature from the unit commander or a designated representative listed on DA Form 1687. Inflating a priority to jump the queue diverts parts and labor away from units that actually need them, and the commander who signs off is authorizing that diversion.

Generate the Work Order in GCSS-Army

You do not open a blank 5990-E. You create a maintenance notification, convert it into a work order, and let GCSS-Army produce the form.

The typical sequence:

IW21 (Create PM Notification) or IW24 (Create PM Malfunction Report): a clerk or maintenance manager enters the fault data and links it to the equipment record.
IW31 (Create Order): the notification converts into a work order that carries a unique work order number.

To print the actual DA Form 5990-E when equipment has to travel to a supporting maintenance unit, open the Support Analysis Based Equipment Report (ZSABER) dashboard, select the equipment record, click the work order, and use the Work Forwarding function. On the Work Forwarding screen, enter the main work center of the supporting organization, check the Print Maintenance Request box, and execute. The system generates a formatted 5990-E for you to print and send with the equipment.

When forwarding to a higher-level maintenance facility, such as a field maintenance company supporting your battalion, the 5990-E must include the requesting unit’s work center, return address, and the customer’s Department of Defense Activity Address Code.⁶ Without those, the supporting shop cannot return the equipment or coordinate follow-up.

Record Labor and Close the Work Order

Once a maintenance supervisor approves the work order, it enters the shop’s active queue and the unique work order number tracks every action taken: parts ordered, labor applied, status changes.

Labor in GCSS-Army falls into three categories. Direct labor is time a mechanic spends actually working on a specific work order, recorded daily using IW41 (Partial Confirmation). Indirect labor covers parts processing, maintenance meetings, and moving vehicles around the motor pool. Lost time captures leave, waiting on parts, duty shifts, and training. Indirect and lost time are recorded through a weekly Accounting Worksheet (ZMAWK), which each soldier fills in for the maintenance manager to enter.⁷

When the repair is complete, the maintenance supervisor performs a final confirmation using IW42 (Overall Completion Confirmation) and closes the work order. The completed 5990-E becomes part of the equipment’s permanent maintenance history.

Accuracy, Falsification, and Record Retention

Data from the 5990-E feeds readiness reporting well above the motor pool. AR 750-1 requires operators and commanders to ensure compliance with prescribed maintenance procedures and that adequate time is provided for PMCS.⁵ Sloppy documentation can mask safety deficiencies.

Deliberately falsifying a maintenance request is a separate and more serious matter. Under Article 107 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, making a false official statement, which includes signing or submitting a document you know to be false with intent to deceive, is a criminal offense. A maintenance form qualifies as an official document because it relates directly to military functions.⁸ That covers inflating labor hours, fabricating PMCS inspections that never happened, and marking equipment as Fully Mission Capable when known faults exist.

Completed maintenance records are governed by the Army Records Information Management System. AR 25-400-2 directs units to the Records Retention Schedule-Army for specific retention periods, which vary by record type.⁹ GCSS-Army stores completed work orders electronically, but confirm your local retention requirements through the ARIMS portal rather than assuming the system archives everything for you.

1
Center for Army Lessons Learned. Leader’s Guide to Maintenance and Services
2
Department of the Navy. SECNAVINST 5400.48 – Department of the Navy Management of Unit Identification Codes and Department of Defense Activity Address Codes
3
Defense Acquisition University. National Stock Numbers (NSN)
4
Department of the Army. DA Pamphlet 738-751 – Functional Users Manual for the Army Maintenance Management System
5
Department of the Army. Army Regulation 750-1 – Army Materiel Maintenance Policy
6
U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency. Maintenance Operations Center – Medical (MOC-M) External Standard Operating Procedures
7
The United States Army. Utilizing GCSS-Army to Record Maintenance Work Time to Benefit an Organization
8
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Core Criminal Law Subjects: Crimes: Article 107 – False Official Statements
9
U.S. Army Publishing Directorate. Army Records Management Program