NAVSUP Form 306, the Controlled-Equipage Custody Record, is completed by entering a full item description with the National Stock Number and serial number, naming the custodian by billet, and capturing signatures from both the outgoing and incoming custodians at every transfer. The completed form ties one specific piece of equipment to one named person, and it is the document an inspector will ask to see when a controlled-equipage item is being accounted for. Here is how to fill out NAVSUP Form 306 so the record holds up.
Get the Blank Form
Download NAVSUP Form 306 at no cost from the Naval Forms Online portal at navalforms.documentservices.dla.mil. Open the Forms tab, search by command (NAVSUP) or by the form number, then click the green arrow icon in the Type column to pull down the PDF.1Naval Supply Systems Command. Naval Forms OnLine Website Instructions If you need printed stock in quantity, use the carton icon on the same page to order through DLA Document Services.
Gather the Information First
Before you touch a field, collect three things: the item’s National Stock Number from the supply catalog, a full item description covering nomenclature, model, and any distinguishing features, and the manufacturer’s serial number if the item carries one.2GlobalSecurity. Supply Procedures These are the anchors of the record. Guessing at any of them creates a discrepancy the next inventory will catch.
Complete the Item Identification
Write a description detailed enough to distinguish this item from any similar model in the same inventory category. Include the serial number. The stock number is the primary logistics identifier across Navy supply systems; the serial number pins accountability to one specific physical asset. “Binoculars” is not a description. Nomenclature, model, and serial together are.
Enter the Custodian and Any Subcustodian
Ultimate control of every controlled-equipage item belongs to the commanding officer or officer-in-charge, but day-to-day physical custody is assigned to a department or division. On the form, record the name and billet of the primary custodian who will actually hold the item.
When physical custody is delegated further inside a department, prepare a duplicate NAVSUP Form 306 and have the subcustodian sign it.2GlobalSecurity. Supply Procedures The duplicate links each piece of gear to the specific person who last had hands on it, which is what an investigator will reconstruct if anything goes missing.
Capture Signatures at Every Exchange
A custody signature exchange takes place whenever the item changes hands.3Integrated Publishing. Controlled-Equipage Custody Record, NAVSUP Form 306 Both the outgoing and incoming custodians sign the form at the time of transfer. Two signatures, one date. That dual-signature requirement is the whole point of the document, and it fixes exactly when accountability shifted from one person to the next.
If you are the one relieving another custodian, do not sign until you have physically sighted the item and confirmed that the description and serial number on the form match what is in front of you. Once you sign, the record says the item is yours.
Store the Completed Form Correctly
Original custody documents stay with the commanding officer or officer-in-charge under lock and key.2GlobalSecurity. Supply Procedures Duplicates, including subcustody copies, go to the relevant department head or supply office. Many commands keep electronic backups as well, but the signed hard copy is the authoritative record. Leaving originals in an unlocked desk or a shared binder defeats the reason the form exists.
Update the Form When Anything Changes
Any time an item moves between departments, goes out to a repair facility, or comes back from a temporary loan, the Form 306 gets updated with new signatures. Treat each move as a fresh custody exchange and record the date, both names, and the reason for the transfer.
New signatures are also required whenever the commanding officer, officer-in-charge, or a department head with subcustody is relieved, and whenever the unit or detachment’s Storekeeper is relieved.2GlobalSecurity. Supply Procedures Sign only after every item has been sighted and verified.
When an item is surveyed out because it is beyond repair or obsolete, annotate the Form 306 with the disposition and the authorizing document number. The record is not destroyed. It stays in the file as proof the item was accounted for through the end of its lifecycle.
Mistakes That Cause Inspection Findings
- Vague descriptions. Writing “binoculars” instead of full nomenclature, model, and serial makes it impossible to distinguish one pair from another. Write it specific enough that an auditor could pick the exact item out of a room full of similar gear.
- Unsigned transfers. Handing equipment to someone without updating the form leaves you as the custodian of record. If that item disappears, accountability traces back to your name.
- Missing subcustody copies. When custody is delegated inside a department, a signed duplicate is required. Skipping it collapses the chain of accountability and puts the department head on the hook for everything below.
- Unsecured originals. Originals belong under lock and key with the CO or OIC, not in a shared drawer.
One boundary worth naming: Form 306 records custody. It does not document a loss. If a controlled-equipage item turns up missing or damaged, that goes on a Financial Liability Investigation of Property Loss using DD Form 200, which is a separate process with its own findings and its own liability determination.4Defense Logistics Agency. DLAI 4208 – Financial Liability for Property and Equipment that is Lost, Damaged, Destroyed, or Stolen A clean, current Form 306 is your best evidence in that process, because it shows exactly when you took the item and, just as important, when you handed it off.