Reference Designator

Positional element notation in the ASC X12 standards.

Definition

A reference designator concatenates the segment ID and the element's two-digit position number: N101 = 1st element of the N1 segment, BEG05 = 5th element of BEG. For a component element inside a composite, two further digits are appended: C04003 denotes the 3rd component of the composite at position 03. It is the addressing key of implementation guides and maps.

Origin

Convention defined by the ASC X12.6 standard (Application Control Structure) and used across all X12 Transaction Set Reference Models, maintained by the Accredited Standards Committee X12 (DISA).

Example in context

In an 850 purchase order, the PO number reads at BEG03; the date at BEG05. A guide notes "BEG03 (DE 324) mandatory".

Related terms

• Composite Data Element — component element, addressed as C0NN0MM.
• X12 Segment IDs — the segment identifiers prefixing the designator.