NCC NCC was a registry number prefix used on starship s in service with the Federation Starfleet . ( ) In the mirror universe , NCC was used on ships of the Terran Empire . ( ) Vessels using this prefix were listed in the Starfleet Registry . ( ) Appendices . Background information . It has never been established in canon why the letters NCC or NX were chosen , what they stood for , or even if the latter has any relation to the . In the 23rd and 24th centuries , NX was used to designate an experimental , prototype starship , while NCC would be seen on a standard , regular - production starship . Several closeups in of a registry number on an " Enterprise " shuttlecraft show the prefix as N . C . C . , suggesting the letters are in fact an acronym . The licensed publication " Star Trek Blueprints " ( sheets 1 & 3 ) , which was the work of Franz Joseph , designate the acronym to stand for the " Naval Construction Contract Number " of a starship , akin to the real world maritime ing practice . While MA considers a very limited amount of Franz Joseph ' s work as valid background information for canon purposes , insofar it had actually made onscreen appearances , the acronym explanation has not been part of it and remains apocryphal . Still , Joseph ' s work was once considered " official " by the franchise and , ranking among the very first published works of this kind , enjoyed considerable popularity in " Trekdom " at the time , and his explanation of the acronym appears to be the more commonly accepted one by them . As " " the designation has been adopted by some " Star Trek " novelists , such as the below mentioned Diane Carey . As for the use of NCC as a prefix for Starfleet registry numbers , its designer Matt Jefferies said , when he conceived the prefix in 1964 , that the registries for American civil aircraft are preceded by NC , and Soviet craft used a prefix of CCCC , and as such , he more - or - less combined the two . His philosophy was , " " If we do anything in space , we ( Americans and Russians ) have to do it together . " " In contrast , the claims that the second C was just an arbitrary addition to make the registry look better . This notion had actually been confirmed by Jefferies himself on another occasion , " " Since the 1920 ' s , N has indicated the United States in Navy terms , and C means ' commercial ' vessel . I added an extra C just for fun . Interestingly , Russia ' s designation is CCC . So The N and C together made it kind of international . " " ( " " , p . 62 ; " Encyclopedia " ( 4th ed . , vol . 2 , p . 69 ) ) Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 231 from Richmond , Virginia claims that the registry for the original was inspired by the 1935 WACO Model YOC aircraft owned by Matt Jefferies – his airplane had the registry NC - 17740 . Jefferies however , squashed this particular notion late in life in latter day interviews himself , among others in , as he didn ' t even purchase the airplane until 1968 , while concurrently conceding that he never really put much of an effort into debunking the misconception . Apocrypha . In " Dark Mirror " , Diane Duane ' s mirror universe novel released before , the Terran Empire is still in power during the 24th century , and starships don ' t use the NCC prefix , but rather an " ICC " prefix , like the ISS " Enterprise " ( ICC - 1701 - D ) . The novel " Best Destiny " , by Diane Carey , gives the meaning of NCC as " Naval Construction Contract " , taking her cue from the 1975 Franz Joseph " Blueprints " , as elaborated upon above .