How to Read a NOTAM: Q-Line and Items A–G Explained

The layout at a glance

NOTAMs use the ICAO format in PANS-AIM (ICAO Doc 10066, Appendix 3). In Europe, NOTAM offices apply it through the EUROCONTROL guidelines for AIS dynamic data (OPADD), so a NOTAM from Lisbon has the same structure as one from Helsinki. The parts always come in the same order:

• Header: series letter, number and year, and the NOTAM type, for example B0417/26 NOTAMN.
• Q): the qualifier line: eight coded fields that briefing systems use to sort and filter the notice.
• A): where: the ICAO location indicator of the aerodrome or FIR.
• B) and C): when: start and end as ten-digit date-time groups in UTC.
• D): an optional schedule, used when the activity is not continuous between B) and C).
• E): what: the notice in plain language, written with ICAO abbreviations.
• F) and G): lower and upper limits, normally only for navigation warnings and airspace restrictions.

Series, number and type

The header identifies the NOTAM. The series is a single letter; the number is four digits, a slash and the two-digit year. Each series restarts at 0001 on 1 January, so A0123/26 is the 123rd NOTAM of series A in 2026. In Europe, OPADD allows the letters A to Z except S and T, and each state decides what each series carries. The allocation is published in the state's AIP, section GEN 3.1.

The NOTAM type follows the number:

• NOTAMN: a new NOTAM.
• NOTAMR: a replacement that names the NOTAM it replaces, for example A0124/26 NOTAMR A0123/26. A NOTAMR replaces exactly one NOTAM of the same series.
• NOTAMC: a cancellation, for example A0125/26 NOTAMC A0124/26. A NOTAMC has no item C).

The Q-line, field by field

Item Q) holds eight fields separated by slashes. Briefing systems use them to decide whether a NOTAM belongs in your pre-flight information bulletin (PIB). You can use them to triage a long bulletin in seconds. The line below comes from the illustrative example further down this page.

Q) EHAA/QRTCA/IV/BO/W/000/025/5330N00430E003

Treat the Q-line circle as a filter, not a boundary. It is the approximate centre and radius that let a briefing system select the NOTAM; the real shape of an area is described in item E). That gap is what a graphical NOTAM closes.

Items A to G

The lettered items carry the operational content of the NOTAM.

F) and G) always state a unit and a reference: feet or metres above mean sea level (AMSL) or above ground level (AGL), or a flight level. For navigation warnings the Q-line lower and upper fields restate those limits as flight levels, so G) 2500FT AMSL appears as 025. When F) or G) is given above ground level, the NOTAM office adds the terrain elevation first, so the Q-line upper value is higher than the figure in G). Subjects with no specific height use 000/999.

Times: UTC, PERM and EST

All NOTAM times are UTC. Convert them before you compare them with your departure time: Central European Time is UTC+1 in winter and Central European Summer Time is UTC+2; UK time equals UTC in winter and is UTC+1 during British Summer Time.

A NOTAM is valid from the moment it is published, but it only comes into force at the time in item B). A new NOTAM can therefore sit in your bulletin days before it applies. Check B) before you decide a notice matters, or doesn't.

• EST after the item C) time means the end time is an estimate. The NOTAM office must cancel or replace the NOTAM before that time, so expect a NOTAMR or NOTAMC to follow.
• PERM in item C) means the information is permanent and will be incorporated in the AIP.
• OPADD does not allow UFN (until further notice) or APRX DUR in item C), nor WIE or WEF in item B).

Reading item D) schedules

Item D) appears only when the NOTAM is relevant at certain periods inside the B)–C) window, such as a danger area that is active in the mornings. The first period starts at the B) time and the last one ends at the C) time. OPADD recommends these expressions:

• D) MON-FRI 0600-1700 EXC DEC 05: weekdays from 06:00 to 17:00 UTC, except 5 December.
• D) 13-14 1000-1700: from 10:00 to 17:00 UTC on the 13th and on the 14th.
• D) DAILY 0800-1600: every day from B) to C), 08:00 to 16:00 UTC.
• D) SR MINUS30-SS PLUS30: from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Sunrise and sunset times change with date and place.
• H24: the whole day, 0000 to 2359, on the dates given.

OPADD limits item D) to 200 characters and to gaps of at most seven days between periods; longer schedules are split across several NOTAMs.

Worked example: an illustrative air display restriction

The NOTAM below was written for this guide. It is not a real notice: the number is invented and the coordinates are a round-number placeholder over the North Sea. Do not use it for flight planning.

B0417/26 NOTAMN
Q) EHAA/QRTCA/IV/BO/W/000/025/5330N00430E003
A) EHAA B) 2606131000 C) 2606141700
D) 13-14 1000-1700
E) TEMPO RESTRICTED AREA ACT FOR AIR DISPLAY
WITHIN 3NM RADIUS OF 533000N 0043000E.
F) SFC G) 2500FT AMSL

• B0417/26 NOTAMN: a new NOTAM, number 417 of series B in 2026.
• EHAA: the subject lies in the Amsterdam FIR; see the Amsterdam FIR briefing page.
• QRTCA: subject RT, temporary restricted area; condition CA, activated.
• IV/BO/W: relevant to IFR and VFR, operationally significant and included in a standard PIB, listed with the navigation warnings.
• 000/025: from the surface to FL025, the flight-level equivalent of G) 2500FT AMSL.
• 5330N00430E003: a 3 NM selection circle; here it matches the area described in item E).
• B), C) and D): in force from 13 June 2026 10:00 UTC to 14 June 17:00 UTC, but active only from 10:00 to 17:00 UTC on each day. In Central European Summer Time that is 12:00 to 19:00 local.
• F) and G): from the surface to 2 500 ft above mean sea level. A VFR flight planned inside the circle below that altitude would be inside the restricted area while it is active.

Checklists, trigger NOTAMs and special series

A few NOTAM kinds look different from the rest:

• Checklist: a list of the valid NOTAMs in one series, normally issued monthly, with the code QKKKK and K in the traffic, purpose and scope fields. Only a NOTAMC cancels a NOTAM; a checklist never does.
• Trigger NOTAM: announces an AIRAC AIP amendment or supplement. Its code ends in TT and its text starts with TRIGGER NOTAM. Under OPADD it stays in force for 14 days from the effective date, or until the supplement expires if that is sooner.
• SNOWTAM: a special series NOTAM in a standard format that reports snow, ice, slush, frost or standing water on the movement area.
• ASHTAM: a special series NOTAM about volcanic activity, an eruption or a volcanic ash cloud that matters to aircraft.

Before your next flight

Put the layout to work in a normal briefing:

• Pull a route briefing or an airport radius briefing so only the NOTAMs that touch your flight remain.
• Compare B), C) and D) with your own flight window in UTC before you act on a notice or dismiss it.
• Open the live map to see where an area really lies instead of plotting coordinates by hand.
• Look up unfamiliar terms in the NOTAM and airspace glossary.