What does [NLS,IA] mean on an NLIS device?

[NLS,IA] means the device is inactive — its fate is unknown. It's a holding status used when you don't know what happened to an animal (lost, dead, strayed, or moved off without being lodged) but need to clear the device from your active holdings. An inactive device doesn't appear in your current holdings reports. If the animal was actually sold or died, record that properly instead so the history is accurate.

Why did my animal lose lifetime traceability (LT)?

Lifetime traceability is lost when a tag is reported lost after attachment ([NLS,L2], reason code 15), damaged ([NLS,D1], reason code 7), or replaced without an LT-aware replacement transaction (reason codes 1 and 10). It can also drop if the vendor transferred the device from an incorrect PIC (code 2) or to a default placeholder PIC (code 5). The 'Reason for loss of LT' column on your View devices report tells you which applies.

What does 'device not authorised for this PIC' mean?

It means NLIS doesn't associate that device with your PIC — usually because the previous owner hasn't lodged their outgoing transfer yet, so NLIS still shows the animal at their property. Contact the vendor to lodge it, or the NLIS helpdesk on 1800 654 743 with the device details. You can't complete your transfer-in until NLIS recognises the device as transferable to you.

What does BAD FORMAT mean on an NLIS upload?

BAD FORMAT means NLIS couldn't read the file you submitted — it wasn't recognised or was corrupt. The usual cause is a header row that shouldn't be there, the wrong number of columns, or a date not in DD/MM/YYYY format. Fix the file to match the exact format for that upload type (movement, reconciliation or replaced-tags) and resubmit the whole batch.

NLIS status & error codes decoded

You download a Device Query result, or a file upload comes back rejected, and there's a code you've never seen — [NLS,IA], [NLS,L2], a "reason for loss of LT" of 15, or a blunt BAD FORMAT. None of it is explained on the screen. Here's what each one actually means and what to do about it — the device status codes, why an animal loses lifetime traceability, and the file-upload statuses.

How to read a device status code

On a Device Query Result or Irregular Status report, tags carry a code in the Program Code, Display Code column, written as [ProgramCode,StatusCode]. The NLS prefix is the NLIS cattle program; the second part is the status. Most of your mob will read [NLS,Y] (EU-eligible) or [NLS,N] (standard non-EU) — those are the normal states. The rest signal something to look at.

Device status codes

Code	Meaning	What to do
[NLS,Y]	EU-eligible cattle	Normal — no action.
[NLS,N]	Non-EU (standard)	Normal — no action.
[NLS,B]	Non-EU breeding permission — you may transfer non-EU breeding animals onto the property	Normal for bull purchases from non-EU herds.
[NLS,IA]	Inactive — fate unknown (lost, dead, strayed, or moved off without being lodged)	Investigate. If sold or died, record that properly. If genuinely lost, set inactive via the NLIS portal.
[NLS,L1]	Lost or stolen before attachment to an animal	Tag effectively destroyed, no animal attached. Record in NLIS (LT loss code 8).
[NLS,L2]	Lost after attachment — animal has the tag but it can't be read	Causes LT loss code 15 — the animal becomes non-lifetime-traceable. Re-tag.
[NLS,D1]	Damaged or no longer functioning	Same outcome as L2 (LT loss code 7). Replace the tag.
[NLS,R1]	Replaced — set automatically by NLIS	You don't set this; NLIS does when a replacement is lodged (LT loss code 10).
[NLS,RC1]	Recovered from abattoir for re-use; already deceased on NLIS	Rare — check before re-tagging.
[NLS,RC2]	Recovered from abattoir; not yet recorded deceased	Lodge the death first.
[NLS,S]	Reported to police as stolen	Police report filed. Notify the NLIS helpdesk to update.
[NLS,S1]	Claimed lost/stolen, no police report — may have strayed	Keep monitoring; the animal may turn up.

Two relationships worth knowing: IA is a holding status — an inactive device drops off your current-holdings reports, so use it only when you genuinely don't know what happened. And L2 and D1 permanently lose lifetime traceability — before you set either, check whether your buyer needs LT-positive cattle, because there's no undo.

Why an animal loses lifetime traceability (LT)

When LT is lost, the View devices on my property report shows a Reason for loss of LT code. These are the ones you'll actually see:

Code	Reason
1	Post-breeder tag not registered as replacing an LT device — use the tag replacement transaction, not just "make inactive", so the chain is preserved.
2	Device transferred from an incorrect PIC — the vendor lodged from the wrong property. Call the vendor or the NLIS helpdesk.
5	Transferred to the default PIC (`AAAAAAAA` or `8A`) — a placeholder was used. Incorrect lodgement by the vendor.
7	Status set to D1 (damaged) — unavoidable for a genuinely unreadable tag; replace with an LT-aware transaction.
10	Status set to R1 (replaced) — normal on replacement; only avoidable via the replacement transaction that preserves LT.
15	Status set to L2 (lost after attachment) — the most common unexpected one. The wearable tag was lost in the paddock; the animal's alive but non-LT.

The two that catch producers out are code 2 (someone else's lodgement error — chase the vendor) and code 15 (a tag physically lost — lodge L2 and re-tag). The rest are mostly consequences of a status you set deliberately.

File upload statuses

When you submit a file to NLIS — a movement, reconciliation or replacement batch — Transaction History shows a processing status:

Status	What it means / what to do
PENDING / PROCESSING	Received or being processed. Wait — don't resubmit.
COMPLETE	All records processed. You're done.
WARNING	Processed, but some rows had warnings. Click View errors to see which.
ERROR / VIEW ERROR	Some records failed. Click View errors, fix the flagged rows, resubmit just those.
FAILURE	Critical — nothing processed. Check the format and resubmit the whole batch.
BAD FORMAT	File not recognised or corrupt — usually a stray header row, wrong column count, or a bad date. Fix and resubmit.

The error messages you'll actually hit

"Device not authorised for this PIC" — NLIS doesn't link that tag to you yet; the previous owner needs to lodge their outgoing transfer. This is the number-one rejection.
"Device not found" — the RFID doesn't exist in NLIS. Almost always a typo in the file.
"Invalid date format" — dates must be DD/MM/YYYY.
"Device already has this status" — you set IA/L1 on a tag that already has it. No action needed.
"Movement loop detected" — a circular path (A→B→A). Check your source and destination PICs.

Where Tagline fits

These codes exist whether or not you use software — they come from NLIS. What Tagline does is stop you having to decode them from a spreadsheet. The LT column on the Reconciliation sheet and Animal Register shows Y or N straight from your last Device Query, and when a device carries an exception — not authorised, EU=D, a status that needs mirroring — Tagline raises it as an NLIS Action with the plain-English "what to do" attached, rather than leaving you to match a code against a PDF. On a connected property, the read happens live, so you're not downloading a Device Query file to find out in the first place.

Most NLIS codes aren't errors — they're the database telling you something specific. The trick is knowing which ones lose you lifetime traceability, because those don't have an undo.