Principal Administrative Division. FIPS 10-4 Principal Administrative Division: " For purposes of this standard, a principal administrative division is defined as an administrative area directly subordinate to the pertinent governing authority. Even though all principal administrative divisions within an entity may not be of equal rank, this Standard considers them as 'principal.' " STATE Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 10-4 principal administrative division code. A two digit string identifying "... an administrative area directly subordinate to the pertinent governing authority" (usually a country), as defined by FIPS 10-4. For example, a U.S. state or a Canadian province. STATE.state_cd STATE.state_cd Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 10-4 principal administrative division name. A string identifying "... an administrative area directly subordinate to the pertinent governing authority" (usually a country), as defined by FIPS 10-4. For example, a U.S. state or a Canadian province. STATE.state_nm STATE.state_nm