How to get a copy of your DD-214

Replacing your DD-214 is generally free. Which office holds your file depends on your branch and the year you left, and the National Archives posts no standard wait time.

If you're out and need your DD-214 but can't find it, you can get a replacement, and the National Archives (NARA) generally charges nothing for basic personnel records sent to veterans, next of kin and authorized representatives. Archival records, 62 or more years old, carry a fee. NARA also warns that some companies advertise DD-214 research services for a fee, and says it provides that service for free.

What takes work is finding the right door. Your branch and the year you left decide who holds your file. For recent separations, your service holds it, and you can ask the Defense Department through its milConnect site. For older ones, you go to NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, online through eVetRecs or on paper with Standard Form 180 (SF 180).

If you still have your CAC, before you turn in your CAC covers what to download first. If your copy has a mistake, our guide to checking the form covers the correction routes. This guide covers getting a copy after you're out, in any branch and era.

Which route fits you

VA says you can request your DD-214 through milConnect if you left the Air Force after October 1, 2004, the Army after October 1, 2002, the Marine Corps after January 1, 1999, or the Navy after January 1, 1995. For the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, those are also the dates when NARA's locations table lists the service, rather than NPRC, as the file's location.

NARA's pages describe this two ways. One says records are usually transferred to NPRC within six months after a full discharge, retirement or death. Its "Records not at NPRC" page says Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force files for these later dates are stored electronically by the service while NPRC still services requests, and its locations table carries the same note for the Army. The locations table lists the Air Force and Space Force together, and the "Records not at NPRC" page names both as files NPRC services.

For the Navy since January 1, 1995 and the Coast Guard since October 1, 2006, the two official charts differ. NARA's locations table lists NPRC for every discharged sailor and Coast Guard member, while the SF 180's routing chart sends the same requests to Navy Personnel Command (PERS-313) and the Coast Guard Personnel Service Center. The chart also sends mailed forms for the Air Force since 2004 and the Marine Corps since 1999 to the service, while NARA says NPRC services those requests. So for those branches, eVetRecs reaches NPRC, and a mailed SF 180 can go to the service address listed below.

For the Coast Guard, the official pages give different dates. The Coast Guard's own records page says members who separated on or after October 1, 2006 can get their record through Coast Guard iPERMS or milConnect. It still names DS Logon, so use the sign-in milConnect offers now. VA's page tells Coast Guard members who served from 2008 to the present to contact their personnel command, and says the National Archives will send a request on to that command. If milConnect doesn't return your record, use eVetRecs or the Coast Guard Personnel Service Center named on the SF 180 chart.

On milConnect, the records tool is called DPRIS. DMDC, which runs it, suggests requesting the whole Service Computation Group, where your DD-214 and any DD 215 sit, because documents are sometimes misfiled. Log in within 10 days of a response or the system purges it. A wait of more than two days is DMDC's cue to contact DPRIS tech support.

Each system has its own sign-in. Without a CAC, milConnect takes a myAuth account, which is replacing DS Logon. If sign-in fails, the DMDC/DEERS Support Office is at 800-368-3665. eVetRecs needs an ID.me account, and VA.gov takes ID.me or Login.gov.

Asking the National Archives

Online, you use eVetRecs. You sign in with ID.me, and NARA may ask for a live selfie from your phone. You verify through ID.me again to retrieve the response.

File one request with as much detail as you can. NARA says not to create separate requests for each menu choice, and missing information can cause delays. You get a case number that starts with C-, which you use for status checks. Whenever possible, NARA sends a digital response to the email address you entered, so let mail from nara.gov through your spam filter.

NARA says every request must be signed and dated by the veteran or next of kin. The eVetRecs help ends with a Submit Request button that says you are agreeing to the statement shown, and it describes no separate signature page. An older NARA page (reviewed March 2025) said a written signature was still required online, and NARA's access page (reviewed September 2026) still refers to a "signature page from eVetRecs" for urgent burial requests. If you're unsure, call 314-801-0800 before you count on the online request alone.

To use paper, the form is the SF 180, and the current edition is REV. 06/2026. The form marks the previous edition as unusable, so replace any older copy you saved or printed, including one from a county or state site. Mail it to the National Personnel Records Center (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138, or fax it to 314-801-9195. Federal law requires a written request to be signed and dated within the last year, so a form you signed and set aside can go stale.

Service addresses, from the SF 180 chart:

• Air Force: HQ Air Force Personnel Center, HQ AFPC/DPSOR, ATTN: Military Personnel Records Custodian, 550 C Street West, JBSA-Randolph, TX 78150-4721.
• Marine Corps: Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Manpower Management Performance Branch (MMPB-21), 2008 Elliot Road, Quantico, VA 22134-5030.
• Navy: Navy Personnel Command, Records Management Policy Branch (PERS-313), 5720 Integrity Drive, Millington, TN 38055-3130.

NARA says there's generally no charge for basic personnel and medical record information from non-archival records. The SF 180 instructions say there's no charge for most services and a nominal fee for certain types. If a fee applies, an invoice comes with your records. Archival records are covered below.

What to put on the request

Section I of the SF 180 says to furnish as much information as possible: the name you used in service, your Social Security number, your date and place of birth, and each period of service with the branch, entry and release dates, officer or enlisted status, and service number or DoD ID. Write "unknown" for a service number or DoD ID you don't have. The instruction sheet says to show "NA" for any other item you can't obtain. It also asks for your last duty station, whether you retired, and your VA claim number if you filed a claim.

Section II asks for the "DD Form 214 or equivalent" and the year or years of separation, and it's where you choose between an undeleted and a deleted copy. The SF 180 sends the undeleted copy unless you check the box for a deleted one, and says an undeleted DD-214 is ordinarily required to determine eligibility for benefits. A deleted copy blacks out the authority and reason for separation, the reenlistment eligibility code and the separation (SPD/SPN) code. For separations after June 30, 1979, it also blacks out the character of separation and the dates of time lost.

That default comes from the SF 180 itself. NARA's eVetRecs help page doesn't say how to choose between a deleted and an undeleted copy online, so if you need your character of service to show, confirm with the center at 314-801-0800.

The SF 180's Purpose box is required unless the veteran is the one asking. A legal guardian must attach a court appointment, and an authorized representative must attach an authorization letter or power of attorney.

If you need a correction, not a copy, NARA no longer creates a DD 215 to fix a DD-214. Corrections for files under 62 years old go to the service's personnel command. For archival files, and for any change to the character of your discharge, they go to the service's review board. Check your DD-214 covers corrections, and discharge upgrade covers changing the character of service.

If you're asking for someone who died

NARA's list of next of kin is short: a surviving spouse who hasn't remarried, a father, mother, son, daughter, sister or brother. Without a signature from the veteran or a listed next of kin, NARA can release only limited types of information, unless the record is archival.

You must send proof of death. NARA's access page names a death certificate, a letter from the funeral home or a published obituary. The SF 180 instructions add items such as a coroner's report, a funeral director's signed statement of death or a DD Form 1300 casualty report. NARA says original documents submitted with your request will not be returned.

In eVetRecs, you pick Next of Kin and name your relationship. Supporting documents go into eVetRecs as PDF files under 5 MB, or as a link to an obituary. On the SF 180, you check the next-of-kin box and attach the proof of death.

How long it takes

NARA publishes no standard time. It says response times vary with the complexity of your request, the availability of the records and its workload. It does give two checkpoints. Allow about 10 days for the request to be received and processed, then check the status with your case number online, with its online form if you lost the number, or by phone at 314-801-0800, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central. Don't send a follow-up request before 90 days have passed, because it may cause further delays.

The last official performance numbers are from May 2024. A report to Congress dated May 25, 2024 said NARA was filling 97 percent of routine DD-214 requests in under ten workdays, averaging 4.2, with no backlog. The report's 20-workday performance standard leaves out fire-affected records and requests with unpaid fees. The 97 percent and 4.2-workday figures describe routine requests two years ago and aren't a promise.

If the need is urgent, say so. In eVetRecs, choose Emergency Request in the drop-down that asks why you're requesting the records, on the Veteran Service Details page. NARA's examples are an upcoming surgery or a funeral. On an SF 180, write the emergency in the Purpose section and fax the form to NARA's customer service team at 314-801-0764.

For burial in a VA national cemetery, the family calls the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117, and the office contacts NARA to verify service. For a burial elsewhere, the next of kin signs an SF 180 and faxes it with proof of death to 314-801-0764. After a natural disaster, write "Natural Disaster" in the Comments box of eVetRecs or the Purpose box of the SF 180.

Guard and Reserve

Not everyone in the Guard or Reserve has a DD-214. NARA says one is generally issued for active duty or at least 90 consecutive days of active duty training. The Guard's own separation paper is the NGB 22, the Report of Separation and Record of Service. VA's list of discharge documents, which it publishes for burial and memorial benefits, includes it among the documents that must show prior active federal service other than training, or at least 20 years of total service for pay. The table shows the other forms and where each counts.

NARA says NPRC does not have records of members who are still in the active or inactive reserves or in the National Guard. Its "Records not at NPRC" page says former Guard members who were never called into active federal service should contact the Adjutant General of the state where they served. The locations table lists The Adjutant General of the state, DC or Puerto Rico as the custodian for Army National Guard records and for Air National Guard enlisted records. For Air National Guard enlisted members not on active duty, the SF 180 chart lists the Air Reserve Personnel Center (ARPC) at Buckley instead, so confirm with both. Current Air Force Reserve members and Air National Guard officers not on active duty are also with ARPC.

Older records and the 1973 fire

After 62 years, a military record becomes open to the public. NARA calls these "archival" records, and nobody needs the veteran's or next of kin's authorization to ask for one, though a privacy exemption can still limit what NARA releases. Counting back from 2026, that means separations in about 1964 or earlier, and the cutoff moves forward each year. Archival copies cost $25 for 5 pages or fewer and $70 for 6 or more, and most files fall in the larger group. You receive an invoice. You can ask by eVetRecs, by SF 180 mailed to the National Personnel Records Center, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138, or faxed to 314-801-9195, or in the Archival Research Room in St. Louis.

On July 12, 1973, a fire at the records center destroyed an estimated 16 to 18 million personnel files. NARA's list names Army personnel discharged from November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960, where about 80 percent of files were lost, and Air Force personnel discharged from September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964, with last names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E., where about 75 percent were lost. No duplicate or microfilm copies of those files were ever made.

A burned file doesn't end the search. The records center rebuilds basic service information from other records, such as VA claims files, state records, pay vouchers, Selective Service registration records and military hospital medical records. Sometimes it can do that promptly from its own holdings, and other times it must ask other agencies, so these requests can take longer.

Other places a copy may be

If you or a family member ever recorded the DD-214 with a county auditor or recorder, the county may have a copy. Rules differ by county. Thurston and Island counties in Washington record DD-214s and issue copies free. Washington's Department of Veterans Affairs says county auditors may charge up to $7 in total to record a veteran's request to exempt older discharge papers from public disclosure. Butler County, Ohio, records and copies free but releases copies only to people Ohio law allows, such as the veteran, power-of-attorney holders and executors, with identification.

Some state veterans agencies keep copies for veterans who filed one. Illinois releases a copy on a Release of Information form. If it has none on file, its veteran service officers help request a certified copy from NPRC. Butler County's veterans service commission, at 513-887-3600, helps veterans whose DD-214s are lost.

If you've ever filed with VA, you can request your own VA file with VA Form 20-10206, a Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act request, online or by mail. VA says it requests your DD214 for you when you apply for benefits, so a copy may be in your file.

What to use while you wait

Not every office needs your own copy in hand. Here's what each office's own pages say.

Check your DD-214 explains the numbered copies. If you're about to file a claim, VA disability claim after separation covers what happens next.

VA's Veteran ID Card is meant for discounts, so you don't carry your discharge papers, and it requires an honorable or general discharge. For other ways to show you served, see proof of veteran status.

One example, start to finish

Example (fictional) Tamika Reyes is a former Air Force staff sergeant who left active duty on August 18, 2011. Her DD-214 disappeared in a move, and she has a VA home loan closing on November 20, 2026.

VA lists the Air Force after October 1, 2004 among the branches that can use milConnect. Tamika files with the National Archives instead, because she already has an identity-verified ID.me account from signing in to VA.gov. She enters as much detail as she can and gets a case number that starts with C-. She files no second request, because a follow-up before January 3, 2027 could slow the first one. She waits for her October 15 status check, and makes it a call to 314-801-0800 so she can ask whether the online request needs a signature.

Her loan officer says the lender may be able to get her Certificate of Eligibility online through VA's Web LGY system, so she asks him to try that now. NARA's May 2024 average of 4.2 workdays would beat her closing date, but NARA promises no time, so she doesn't count on it.

This is general information, not legal advice. Some county and state veterans service offices help with records requests; Illinois's, for example, helps veterans request copies from the National Personnel Records Center. The center's customer service line is 314-801-0800, or toll-free 1-866-272-6272.