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Military Records |
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Requesting Your DD Form 214 (Report of Separation) |
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Note: Some
companies claim they can get a copy of your DD Form 214 to you
for a fee. There is no need to pay a fee to a company (unless
you want an expedited copy), as you can request a copy
yourself, using the information and form below. Beware of
"scam" DD 214 Websites. If you need an expedited copy of your
DD Form 214, MNN recommends Touchstone
Research Store. |
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The National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel
Records (NPRC-MPR) is the repository of millions of military
personnel, health, and medical records of discharged and
deceased veterans of all services during the 20th century.
(Records prior to WWI are in Washington, DC. NPRC (MPR) also stores medical treatment
records of retirees from all services, as well as records for
dependent and other persons treated at naval medical
facilities. Information from the records is made available
upon written request (with signature and date) to the extent
allowed by law.
If you are a veteran or
next-of-kin of a deceased veteran, you
may use vetrecs.archives.gov
to order a copy of your military records. For all others, your
request is best made using
Standard Form 180 (PDF)
(SF 180).
It includes complete instructions for preparing and submitting
requests. Please Note: All requests
must be in writing, signed and mailed
to the address shown below. |
National
Personnel Records Center
Military Personnel Records
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100
Directions
The Military Personnel Records (MPR) facility of the National
Personnel Records Center (NPRC) is located in the St. Louis
suburb of Overland, MO, about 10 miles west-northwest of the
Gateway Arch.
From Interstate 170 take Page Avenue west for a mile, and turn
left into the Federal Records Center (FRC) complex at the
Spencer Avenue traffic light. From Interstate 270 take Page
Avenue east for four miles and turn right at the Spencer
Avenue traffic light. The Guard at the gate will provide
further information about parking and building entry. |
Contact Information
Telephone: 314-801-0800
E-mail: MPR.center@nara.gov
Status Check: mpr.status@nara.gov
Fax: 314 801-9195
Checking the Status of Your Request by E-mail:
Once you have allowed sufficient time for your request to be
received and processed (about 10 days), you may check the status
of your request by e-mail through the NPRC Customer Service
Center at mpr.status@nara.gov.
Provide the request number if you have one, the name,
address and phone number of the requester, and the veteran's
branch of service to aid finding your request in the
system. You will receive a return e-mail with a
projected completion date for your request.
Special Note on Calling by Phone: If you
have already submitted a request and need to know its status
you may speak to a Customer Service Representative. Peak
calling times are weekdays between 10:00 am CST and 3:00 pm
CST. Staff is available to take your call as early as 7:00 am
and as late as 5:00 pm CST. The above number will allow you to hold
until a technician is available to help you.
Special Note on Contacting by E-mail:
Requests for military personnel records or information from
them cannot be accepted by e-mail at this
time. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and Department
of Defense directives require a written request, signed and
dated, to access information from military personnel records.
The e-mail address should only be used only to request general
information (hours of operations, procedures, and forms) or to
submit compliments, complaints or concerns.
Order Response Times: Response times for records
requested from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)
vary depending on the nature of the request. For
example, the NPRC Military Records Facility receives about
10,000 requests per week for DD-214s. Most requests take about
a week to process and send back to the veteran. Extensive
requests that require research can take up to a month. |
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DD Form 214 (Report of Separation) |
 Image
right: Example of a DD Form 214 from the Vietnam War era
(click to enlarge).
A Report of Separation is generally issued when a service
member performs active duty or at least 90 consecutive days of
active duty training. The Report of Separation contains
information normally needed to verify military service for
benefits, retirement, employment, and membership in veterans'
organizations. Information shown on the Report of Separation
may include the service member's:
- Date
and place of entry into active duty
- Home
address at time of entry
- Date
and place of release from active duty
- Home
address after separation
- Last
duty assignment and rank
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Military job specialty
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Military education
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Decorations, medals, badges, citations, and campaign awards
- Total
creditable service
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Foreign service credited
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Separation information (type of separation, character of
service, authority and reason for separation, separation and
reenlistment eligibility codes)
The
report of separation form issued in most recent years is the
DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from
Active Duty. Before January 1, 1950, several similar
forms were used by the military services, including the WD AGO
53, WD AGO 55, WD AGO 53-55, NAVPERS 553, NAVMC 78PD, and the
NAVCG 553.
(Source: Archives.gov) |
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