N/A (or sometimes n/a or N.A.) is a common abbreviation in tables and lists for the phrases not applicable,[1][2][3][4] not available,[3][4] not assessed,[5][6] or no answer.[7] It is used to indicate when information in a certain table cell is not provided, either because it does not apply to a particular case in question or because the answer is not available. Such a notation can be used on many different types of forms.[2]

The notation was in use at least as early as the 1920s, with a 1925 guide to conducting community surveys instructing those asking questions for the survey:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. Oxford University Press. 1998. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  2. 1 2 Barbara H. Foley, English In Action (2003), p. 192.
  3. 1 2 Alan C. Kay, J., Metzler Contracting Co. Llc v. Stephens, 774 F.Supp.2d 1073, n. 12 (D. Haw., 2011): "If the contract was a cost-plus-fee contract with no guaranteed maximum, then the arbitrator could plausibly determine that the preliminary budget did not constrain the contract sum. On the other hand, if the contract sum could not exceed the preliminary budget, as amended, then the arbitrator could plausibly determine that the contract did have a guaranteed maximum, despite its express provision that the guaranteed maximum was 'N/A'. The former interpretation is consistent with Metzler's contention that 'N/A' means 'not applicable', whereas the latter is consistent with the Stephenses' contention that it means 'not available', in that the contract required Metzler to prepare the preliminary budget after the contract was signed".
  4. 1 2 Franklin D. Elia, J., Santa Clara Cnty. Dep't of Family & Children's Servs. v. C.K. (Cal. App., 2010): "We are not persuaded by appellants' claim that the January 2008 notice was defective because 'N/A' was entered in the space for the tribe or band of the children's maternal great-grandmother Elsie Margaret Hamilton Senna. The record does not establish that the great-grandmother was affiliated with any particular Seneca tribe or band. The abbreviation 'N/A' or 'N.A.' or 'NA' can mean 'not available' as well as 'not applicable'. (See Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1990) p. 1380; Prince's Bieber Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (6th ed. 2009) p. 420; 'N/A', http://www.all-acronyms.com/N/A (September 28, 2010)".
  5. ↑ "Standards-Based Assessment, Grading and Reporting / O'Connor Academy". www.monroe.edu. Monroe One Educational Services. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  6. ↑ "Saskatchewan Child Health Clinic Guidelines for Standard Practice" (PDF). eHealth Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. p. 183. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  7. ↑ "GSS Codebook - General Coding Instructions" (PDF). The General Social Survey. NORC at the University of Chicago. p. 3239. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  8. 1 2 Edmund de Schweinitz Brunner, Surveying Your Community: A Handbook of Method for the Rural Church (1925), p. 76.
  9. ↑ U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Information Circular (1925), p. 42.
  10. 1 2 Jim Melton, Alan R. Simon, SQL: 1999: Understanding Relational Language Components (2002), p. 50.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_applicable