SPECIAL HANDLING CODE: A CODE USED FOR ALL SHIPMENTS VIA WATER, TO IDENTIFY THE EXCEPTION HANDLING REQUIRED FOR CARGO INCLUDED WITHIN THE SHIPMENT UNIT. NUMERIC CODE DENOTES SINGLE HANDLING CONDITION, ALPHA CODE DENOTES MIXED HANDLING REQUIREMENTS. SEE VOLUME 10, TABLE 83 AND QUICK INFO ON-LINE.
Governing regulation: HTTPS://WWW.DLA.MIL/PORTALS/104/DOCUMENTS/DLMS/CDS/MANUALS/CDTS_VOLUME_10.DOCX
Code values (33)
| Code | Meaning | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Not to Be Assigned, Single Hand Condition (sh) | NOT TO BE ASSIGNED, SINGLE HANDLING CONDITION (SH) |
| 2 | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Unclassified | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| 3 | High Sensitivity, Category Ii, Aa&e, Unclassified | HIGH SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY II, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| 4 | Moderate Sensitivity, Category Iii, Aa&e, Unclassified | MODERATE SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY III, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| 5 | Low Sensitivity, Category Iv, Aa&e, Unclassified | LOW SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY IV, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| 6 | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Classified Secret | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, CLASSIFIED SECRET |
| 7 | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Classified Confidential | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL |
| 8 | High Sensitivity, Category Ii, Aa&e, Classified Confidential | HIGH SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY II, AA&E, CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL |
| 9 | Other or No Special Hand Required (sh) | OTHER OR NO SPECIAL HANDLING REQUIRED (SH) |
| B | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Unclassified | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| C | High Sensitivity, Category Ii, Aa&e, Unclassified | HIGH SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY II, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| D | Moderate Sensitivity, Category Iii, Aa&e, Unclassified | MODERATE SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY III, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| E | Low Sensitivity, Category Iv, Aa&e, Unclassified | LOW SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY IV, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| F | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Classified Secret | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, CLASSIFIED SECRET |
| G | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Classified Confidential | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL |
| H | High Sensitivity, Category Ii, Aa&e, Classified Confidential | HIGH SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY II, AA&E, CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL |
| I | Other or No Special Hand Required (sh) | OTHER OR NO SPECIAL HANDLING REQUIRED (SH) |
| K | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Unclassified | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| L | High Sensitivity, Category Ii, Aa&e, Unclassified | HIGH SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY II, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| M | Moderate Sensitivity, Category Iii, Aa&e, Unclassified | MODERATE SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY III, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| N | Low Sensitivity, Category Iv, Aa&e, Unclassified | LOW SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY IV, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| O | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Classified Secret | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, CLASSIFIED SECRET |
| P | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Classified Confidential | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL |
| Q | High Sensitivity, Category Ii, Aa&e, Classified Confidential | HIGH SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY II, AA&E, CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL |
| R | Other or No Special Hand Required (sh) | OTHER OR NO SPECIAL HANDLING REQUIRED (SH) |
| S | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Unclassified | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| T | High Sensitivity, Category Ii, Aa&e, Unclassified | HIGH SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY II, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| U | Moderate Sensitivity, Category Iii, Aa&e, Unclassified | MODERATE SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY III, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| V | Low Sensitivity, Category Iv, Aa&e, Unclassified | LOW SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY IV, AA&E, UNCLASSIFIED |
| W | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Classified Secret | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, CLASSIFIED SECRET |
| X | Highest Sensitivity, Category I, Aa&e, Classified Confidential | HIGHEST SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY I, AA&E, CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL |
| Y | High Sensitivity, Category Ii, Aa&e, Classified Confidential | HIGH SENSITIVITY, CATEGORY II, AA&E, CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL |
| Z | Other or No Special Hand Required (sh) | OTHER OR NO SPECIAL HANDLING REQUIRED (SH) |
About SHC
What is SHC in FLIS / NSN cataloging?
SHC (Special Hand) sPECIAL HANDLING CODE: A CODE USED FOR ALL SHIPMENTS VIA WATER, TO IDENTIFY THE EXCEPTION HANDLING REQUIRED FOR CARGO INCLUDED WITHIN THE SHIPMENT UNIT. NUMERIC CODE DENOTES SINGLE HANDLING CONDITION, ALPHA CODE DENOTES MIXED HANDLING REQUIREMENTS. SEE VOLUME 10, TABLE 83 AND QUICK INFO ON-LINE.
What does SHC code 1 mean?
SHC code 1 means "Not to Be Assigned, Single Hand Condition (sh)". NOT TO BE ASSIGNED, SINGLE HANDLING CONDITION (SH)
How many SHC codes are there?
The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency defines 33 SHC (Special Hand) code values in the FLIS published code dictionary. Each is listed on this page with its official meaning.
Last updated 2026-05-26. Published by DAITK™ against the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) FLIS code dictionary, governed by DoD 4100.39-M (Federal Logistics Information System Procedures Manual).
The authoritative FLIS code dictionary published by DAITK™ — every cataloging field and value code, defined verbatim against the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) FLIS standard, governed by DoD 4100.39-M. Authorized reference data, reproduced with attribution, not scraped.
Need NSN-cataloged items, or help decoding a record?
Dibblee Industries (NCAGE L0TZ1) supplies NATO-codified items and operates DAITK™, which queries this authorized FLIS reference data to decode and source procurement records.
Ask DAITK FLIS Code Dictionary