How to Fill Out DD Form 1575: Condition Codes, Blocks, and Tagging

To fill out DD Form 1575, the Suspended Tag for Materiel, identify the Supply Condition Code that applies, enter the item’s identifying data and the reason for suspension on the brown-bordered tag, sign and date the inspector block, and then wire the tag to the item before segregating it from serviceable stock. The tag has no free-form narrative section worth agonizing over; every block has a specific answer, and getting the code right up front is what keeps the rest of the form from needing corrections.

Pick the Supply Condition Code First

The code you write on the tag is the whole reason the item is suspended, so choose it before you start writing. DLA recognizes the following suspended codes:¹

J — In Stock: Items in the system whose true condition is unknown, including Type II shelf-life materiel past its expiration date awaiting inspection, test, or restoration.
K — Returns: Customer or user returns not yet classified.
L — Litigation: Items held pending legal action or negotiation with a contractor or carrier.
M — In Work: Items currently undergoing maintenance at an organic or contractor facility.
N — Ammunition, Emergency Combat Use Only: Ammunition suspended from normal issue but retained for emergency combat use.
Q — Product Quality Deficiency: Items with a confirmed or potential quality deficiency. Prohibited from DoD use and from reutilization screening; exhibits require engineering analysis.
R — Reclaimed, Awaiting Determination: Items turned in by reclamation activities that lack the skills or test equipment to determine actual condition.
X — Repair Decision Delayed: Items awaiting a repair or disposition decision; cannot be sent to disposal or released to users while X is active.

If you’re not sure between two codes, look at what has to happen next. Awaiting an inspection because shelf life expired is J. Awaiting an engineering call on why something failed is Q. Awaiting a repair-or-scrap decision is X.

What Goes in Each Block

The tag’s fields track the standard condition-tag layout used across DoD.² Fill them in this order:

NSN, Part Number, and Item Description. Verify the National Stock Number and part number against the item’s data plate or the authoritative catalog. Transposed digits are the fastest way to lose track of suspended stock.
Serial Number or Lot Number. Required for serial- or lot-tracked items. Copy every character exactly as marked, including letters and special characters.
Quantity. Number of items covered by this tag.
Unit of Issue. The standard unit (each, box, set) that matches how the item is tracked in the supply system.
Condition Code. The letter you selected above.
Inspection Activity. The organization performing or directing the suspension.
Inspector’s Name or Stamp and Date. The person who inspected the item and the date of inspection.
Contractor Purchase Order Number. Enter only when the item is still under warranty and you have the contract number available.
Reason or Authority. A brief explanation of why the item is suspended, or a reference to the directive that ordered the suspension. If a Product Quality Deficiency Report (SF 368) triggered the tag, put the report control number here.
Remarks. Additional notes. Classified components require a stamp stating the item is classified and must be handled under the applicable instruction. Warranty contract numbers also belong here so investigators can trace warranty status later.³

Print or type every entry legibly. Don’t leave blocks empty. Blank fields invite questions during audits and slow down the resolution of the suspension.

Attaching the Tag

The standard DD Form 1575 has a reinforced eyelet for wire or cord. Run the wire through the eyelet and secure it to the item itself so the tag survives handling and transport. When the item ships inside a container, keep a completed tag visible on the outside; if the exterior tag could be torn off during shipping, place a second completed tag inside the packaging as backup.

For flat or smooth surfaces where a dangling tag isn’t practical, use the adhesive version, DD Form 1575-1 (Suspended Label – Materiel). The label carries the same fields and the same brown markings, so nothing is lost by switching formats.⁴

Segregate the Item and Update the System

Tagging is only half the job. Once the brown tag is on, move the item away from serviceable stock. DLA requires that suspended materiel, especially quality-deficiency exhibits, be secured and isolated from all other materiel so accidental issue is physically impossible rather than only administratively unlikely.³

Then update the item’s status in your Automated Information System so the digital record matches what’s on the shelf. The condition code in the system must be the same letter you wrote on the tag. Audits compare the two, and closing that gap at the front end takes far less time than reconciling it later.

Extra Step for Code Q Items

Product Quality Deficiency items get a second form. When you flag materiel with Code Q, attach both a DD Form 1575 and a DD Form 2332 (Product Quality Deficiency Report Exhibit) to the item, and document the deficiency itself on an SF 368. Put the SF 368 control number in the remarks block of the 1575.³

Code Q materiel cannot be used anywhere in DoD and cannot be screened for reutilization. It stays suspended until engineering analysis determines why the item failed specifications.¹ If the exhibit ships to a screening point or action point for investigation, include a block-letter statement on the release order directing the receiving activity to place it in Code Q on receipt. Some DoD components use Code J or L as an interim holding code until Code Q is fully implemented in their systems.

Getting Blank Tags

The DoD Forms Management page identifies DD Form 1575 as a Department of the Army form and directs users to contact the Army for copies.⁵ Most units order tags through normal supply channels. Commercial vendors also sell pre-printed brown tags that meet MIL-STD-129R specifications, which is useful for activities that consume tags in volume or need weather-resistant stock.

1
Defense Logistics Agency. Condition Codes
2
Department of the Air Force. T.O. 00-20-3
3
Defense Logistics Agency. Joint Service DLA Regulation
4
Department of Defense. MIL-STD-129R Military Marking for Shipment and Storage
5
Department of Defense Forms Management Program. DD 1575 – Suspended Tag – Materiel