Much like historical terrestrial navies, a ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship that identifies ownership/nationality. In the modern environment, prefixes are cited inconsistently in civilian service, whereas in government service a vessel's prefix is seldom omitted due to government regulations dictating that a certain prefix be used.
Below is a table of all currently used prefixes.
| Prefix | Faction | Service | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CS | Independent | - | Civilian Ship, open to anyone, popular for decommissioned warships |
| EX | Independent, Terrans | - | Experimental Ship, indicates an experimental/hand built ship, used by Terrans and Civilians |
| CDS | Freelancer | Navy | Confederacy Defense Ship, used by the few official Confederacy Navy vessels |
| CXS | Freelancer | Navy | Confederacy Experimental Ship, used by experimental Confederacy Navy vessels |
| FMS | Independent | - | Free Merchant Ship, typically used by privateers and merchant vessels |
| LSC | League | Civilian | League Ship (Civilian), used by all registered League civilian vessels |
| LSS | League | Navy | League Space Ship, used by all League Navy vessels |
| LXS | League | Navy | League Experimental Ship, used by experimental/prototype League Navy vessels |
| MV | Independent | - | Merchant Vessel, open to anyone, often used by large merchant fleets |
| TRS | Terran | Navy | Terran Republic Ship, used by all official Terran vessels |