How to Read A NOTAM

A NOTAM is a notice containing information that is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations but that is not known far enough in advance to be publicised by other means.

NOTAMs has a long list of contractions and abbreviations. Use this FAA resource to look up common NOTAM contractions and abbreviations. Use the official FAA NOTAM search tool to query current NOTAMs.

Below is an example of a NOTAM D:

!DCA 06/005 AML NAV VOR/DME U/S 2506082230-2506302200

!DCA 06/005

The accountability and number section, where it is labelled according to the geographical area the NOTAM is disseminated for. In this example, this is an NOTAM near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and it was issued during the month of June and the 5th NOTAM of that month for that airport.

AML

The location identifier section, what the NOTAM is actually for or about. In this case, this is identifying the AML VOR.

NAV

The keyword section, used to categorized NOTAM in order to allow users to search or filter based on the keywords. This is a label for navigation. Other common components could be RWY (Runway), IAP (Instrument Approach Procedure), AD/AP(Aerodrome/Airport), COM (Communication), etc.

VOR/DME

The attribute section is describing what the location identifier is. In this case it is saying the AML identifier is a VOR/DME. 

U/S

The condition section describes the state of the attribute. U/S means unservicable. There are other examples such as OPN (OPEN), CLSD (CLOSED), ACT (ACTIVE).

2506082230-2506302200

The valid section is the time the NOTAM is valid for in 10-digit bunches. The first bunch of numbers is the start time, and the second bunch is the end time. In this example the NOTAM is valid from June 8th, 2025 at 2230 Zulu to June 30th, 2025 at 2200 Zulu.