DA Form 7746 Sexual Harassment Complaint: Deadline and Appeal

To fill out DA Form 7746, you work with a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) or Victim Advocate (VA), who walks you through the form’s identifying blocks and narrative section, then accompanies you when you deliver the signed complaint to the commander with authority over the person you’re filing against.¹ Filing this form is the Army’s formal SHARP complaint under Army Regulation 600-20, and it triggers a mandatory investigation that an informal complaint does not.

Who Uses This Form

DA Form 7746 is for active-duty Soldiers, National Guard members, and Army Reserve members on active status. Family members of service members can also file when the alleged harassment occurred in a military setting.

Two groups do not use this form. Department of the Army civilian employees file sexual harassment complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Office within 45 days of the incident.¹ DoD contractor employees cannot file a formal SHARP complaint at all; they are limited to an Unrestricted Report and must use their company’s internal complaint process.²

You Have 60 Days from the Incident

The filing window is 60 calendar days from the date of the incident.³ After that, a commander has discretion to accept or reject a late filing, and there’s no guarantee the complaint will move forward.⁴ Memories fade, witnesses transfer, and digital evidence gets deleted, so start pulling your information together as soon as you decide to file.

What to Gather Before You Meet with Your SARC

The form itself is available from the Army’s Directorate of Prevention, Resilience and Readiness, which hosts the current DA Form 7746 along with the companion DA Form 7746-1 used for the Resolution Assessment after investigation.⁵ You don’t complete the form on your own; your SARC or VA sits down with you and helps you fill it in.¹ Showing up prepared makes that meeting faster and captures details while they’re fresh.

Bring the following:

The subject’s full name, rank or grade, and unit. The unit determines which commander receives the complaint, so accuracy matters.
Dates, times, and locations of each incident. If the harassment happened more than once, list each occurrence separately.
A description of what was said or done, and whether it was verbal, nonverbal, or physical. Direct quotes and specific descriptions of conduct carry more weight than general characterizations.
Names and contact information for anyone who witnessed the incident or anyone you told about it afterward.
Screenshots of texts or emails, photos, and any other documentation. Preserve the originals and bring copies.

Completing the Form Section by Section

The opening blocks capture your personal information, the subject’s information, and the military status of everyone involved at the time of the incident. Your SARC or VA will help you get these right. Getting the subject’s unit right matters most, because it drives where the complaint goes.

The narrative block does the real work. Write in chronological order, starting with the earliest incident and moving forward. For each occurrence, state what happened, when and where, and who else was present. Stick to facts rather than conclusions. Instead of writing “he was being inappropriate,” describe exactly what was said or done. If the harassment built up over time, a pattern shown through specific dated examples is far more useful to an investigator than a general statement about a hostile environment.

Classify the harassment as verbal, nonverbal, or physical. The investigating officer and SARC use that classification to categorize the complaint. If you experienced more than one type, note each. Reference any physical evidence or digital records in the narrative so the investigator knows to ask about them.

Check every applicable box and make sure all required signature blocks are filled in. Incomplete forms get kicked back for correction, and that delays the start of the investigation.

Delivering the Signed Complaint

Once the form is complete, your SARC arranges a date and time to accompany you to deliver the complaint to the subject’s brigade commander or another designated officer.¹ You are not expected to deliver the form alone.

The receiving official verifies your identity, confirms all signature blocks are complete, and signs an acknowledgment of receipt. That signature starts the formal administrative clock. Request a copy of the signed form for your records. You’ll need it to track timelines and, if it comes to it, to file an appeal.

If you’re uncomfortable delivering the complaint to your own chain of command, alternative channels exist. You can bring it to a higher echelon commander, an Inspector General, or a Staff Judge Advocate. What matters is that the form reaches a commander with authority over the subject of the complaint.

What Happens After the Commander Signs for It

The commander who receives your complaint must notify you when the investigation begins, explain the process, point you to victim support resources on and off the installation, and inform you of your appeal rights.⁶

The investigation must be completed within 14 calendar days of receipt of the complaint. If it can’t be finished in that window, the commander submits a progress report to the General Court-Martial Convening Authority (GCMCA) and then provides another progress report every 14 calendar days until the investigation wraps up. The final report gets a legal review before it goes to the GCMCA.⁶ When the investigation concludes, the commander tells you whether the complaint was substantiated or unsubstantiated. You will not be told which specific disciplinary action, if any, was taken against the subject.

If You Want to Appeal

If you believe the investigation missed relevant facts or the command’s response was inadequate, you can appeal to the next higher commander. The appeal must be in writing and submitted within 7 calendar days of being notified of the outcome. Reserve Component members have until the next MUTA-4 period instead of the 7-day window.⁷

Once submitted, the commander who received the original complaint has 3 calendar days to forward it up. The next higher commander then has 14 calendar days to approve the appeal, deny it, or order a new investigation.⁷ One limitation: you cannot appeal the specific disciplinary action taken against the offender. The appeal addresses only whether the investigation was thorough and whether the command’s response was sufficient.

Protection Against Retaliation

Federal law prohibits anyone from taking or threatening unfavorable personnel actions against you for filing. Under 10 U.S.C. § 1034, retaliation covers threats of unfavorable action, withholding favorable actions like awards or promotions, reassigning you to duties below your grade, and a supervisor knowingly ignoring harassment by subordinates directed at you because you filed.⁸

The statute also bars retaliatory investigations, meaning inquiries opened for the primary purpose of punishing or ostracizing you for making the complaint. These protections apply regardless of your motive for filing, whether you reported in writing or verbally, and whether you were on or off duty at the time.⁸ If retaliation happens after you file, you can report it through your chain of command, an Inspector General, or a member of Congress.

1
U.S. Military Academy West Point. Sexual Harassment Assault Response and Prevention
2
Department of the Army. SHARP Guidance
3
U.S. Army. Equal Opportunity / Sexual Harassment Complaint Process
4
U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command. SHARP
5
Directorate of Prevention, Resilience and Readiness. Forms
6
U.S. Army. Army Regulation 600-20 – Army Command Policy
7
U.S. Army. SHARP Guidebook
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1034 – Protected Communications; Prohibition of Retaliatory Personnel Actions