Utility control statements are used to identify a particular function to be performed by a utility program and, when required, to identify specific volumes or data sets to be processed. The utility control statements that a particular utility uses are discussed in the topic for that utility.

Utility control statements are usually included in the input stream. However, they may also be placed in a sequential data set, in a member of a partitioned data set or PDSE, or in a z/OS UNIX System Services (z/OS UNIX) file such as a HFS file. In any case, the data set must have fixed or fixed blocked records with a logical record length of 80. For a z/OS UNIX file, the records can have various lengths; code FILEDATA=TEXT on the DD statement.

Exception: Some utilities allow exceptions to these rules.

The label symbolically identifies the control statement and, with the exception of system utility program IEHINITT, can be omitted. When included, a name must begin in the first position of the statement and must be followed by one or more blanks. The label can contain from 1 to 8 alphanumeric characters. IEBUPDTE control statements are an exception to this rule. They begin with "./" in positions 1 and 2, with an optional label beginning in position 3.

The operation identifies the type of control statement. It must be preceded and followed by one or more blanks.

The operand is made up of one or more keyword parameters, separated by commas. The operand field must be preceded and followed by one or more blanks. Commas, parentheses, and blanks can be used only as delimiting characters.

Comments can be written in a utility statement, but they must be separated from the last parameter of the operand field by one or more blanks.