# Qualifiers

You’ll see segment repetitions most often when the segment has a qualifier. A qualifier determines the meaning of a segment. For example, the [DTM segment](https://www.stedi.com/edi/x12-008010/segment/DTM) contains a date and it uses a qualifier to tell you if it’s a shipping date, a delivery date, a blind date, etc. It often makes sense to have multiple dates, so the `DTM` segment can be repeated.

```
DTM*011*20220921~
DTM*017*20220922~
```

In the example above, the first segment is the shipping date and the second segment is the estimated delivery date.

In a situation like this, the implementation guide will often deviate from the X12 standard. The standard may say that the `DTM` segment can be repeated, say, 300 times, but if your trading partner only accepts a shipping date and an estimated delivery date, they may set a maximum of 2 repetitions.

## Multiple qualifiers

In most cases, repeated segments do not use the same qualifier more than once. After all, it wouldn’t make much sense to have a single shipment with multiple shipping dates. However, some segments have multiple qualifiers.

For example, the [MEA segment](https://www.stedi.com/edi/x12-008010/segment/MEA) represents a measurement. The first qualifier tells you what kind of measurement you’re dealing with, say a weight. The second qualifier tells you what kind of weight. The following example includes both a gross weight and a net weight.

```
MEA*WT*G*1023*LB~
MEA*WT*N*1000*LB~
```

## Repeatable qualifiers

There are also cases where it’s perfectly valid to repeat the same qualifier. For example, a container may have multiple seals. You can use a separate [REF segment](https://www.stedi.com/edi/x12-008010/segment/REF) for each seal and they’ll all have the same qualifier.

```
REF*SN*A999001~
REF*SN*A999002~
REF*SN*A999003~
```