How to Get Your DD-214

PICK YOUR DOORWhich way in fits you

• Most veterans: online. Go to eVetRecs and select Make a new request. You sign in with an ID.me account, and the Archives may ask for a live selfie from your phone.
• No ID.me, or you want paper: mail or fax. Fill out Standard Form 180, sign and date it, and send it to the address or fax number on its last page for your branch, separation date, and record type. Most records are at the National Personnel Records Center, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138, fax 314-801-9195.
• Recently separated: milConnect. You may be able to pull it yourself from milConnect. VA's help article gives this path, with a Premium DS Logon: Correspondence/Documentation, Defense Personnel Records Information (DPRIS), the Personnel File tab, then Request My Personnel File. If the menus have moved, use eVetRecs.
• Applying for VA benefits: you may not need to. VA military records page: VA says it requests your DD-214 when it receives your application.
• Air Force, separating now. Air Force Wounded Warrior's fact sheet says the Air Force no longer mails the DD-214 and it stays in vMPF for 60 days only. Download it when the email comes.
• National Guard. The Archives records locations page lists the Adjutant General of your state, DC, or Puerto Rico as the place Guard records are held.
• Family of a veteran who has died. Next of kin can ask: a surviving spouse who has not remarried, a father, mother, son, daughter, sister, or brother. Include proof of death, such as a death certificate, a funeral home letter, or a published obituary.
• Urgent, or a burial. The Archives emergency requests page says to choose Emergency Request as the reason in eVetRecs. For a VA national cemetery, call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117, and it works with the Archives directly. For any other burial, next of kin can fax the signed SF-180 with proof of death to 314-801-0764.

WHAT TO HAVE READYWhat the Archives needs

• The complete name used while in service
• Service number and Social Security number
• Branch of service and dates of service
• Date and place of birth, especially if you do not know the service number
• If the 1973 fire may have touched the record: place of discharge, last unit, and place of entry if known

Every request must be signed and dated by the veteran or next of kin. Saying why you need it is optional, and it helps. Send copies of supporting documents: the Archives does not return originals.

HOW LONG IT TAKESNo set clock

The Archives gives no fixed time. It says response times depend on the request, the records, and its workload, and it gets about 4,000 to 5,000 requests a day.

• Wait 90 days before a follow-up. The Archives says an earlier one may cause further delays.
• Overnight mail does not help. It arrives sooner and is not processed any faster.
• Email does not work. The law requires a signed, written request.
• Check your status in eVetRecs under Check status of existing request, or call 314-801-0800, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central. The line is busiest from 10 to 3.

DO NOT PAY FOR ITThis one is free

The Archives puts it plainly: "Some companies advertise DD Form 214 research services and will charge a fee." It provides the same thing free to veterans, next of kin, and authorized representatives.

There is one exception. A record becomes archival and open to the public 62 years after the person left the service, and those requests carry a flat fee for the complete file.

THE 1973 FIREIf your record was in it

A fire at the records center on July 12, 1973 destroyed about 16 to 18 million personnel files, and no copies existed.

Ask anyway. The center uses other records to rebuild basic service information, and VA explains how to reconstruct a record. The Archives' account of the fire has the details.

IF IT IS WRONGFixing a record or a discharge

These go to your service, not to the National Archives. The Archives explains correcting a record.

• An error in your record: DD Form 149 to your service's board for correction of military records. You generally have three years from when you found the error, and the board can excuse a late filing in the interest of justice.
• Your discharge: DD Form 293 to your service's review board. If the discharge was more than 15 years ago, use the DD Form 149 instead.
• Not sure which: VA's discharge upgrade instructions walk you to the right form and address.

WHO TO ASKReal people who can help

The National Personnel Records Center answers at 314-801-0800. VA also notes that a state or county veterans agency can also help you get records, and a VA-accredited representative can help with a correction or an upgrade. StandWatch does not file forms or contact an agency for you.