DD Form 1172-2 for DEERS Enrollment: Sections and Appointment

DD Form 1172-2, the Application for Identification Card/DEERS Enrollment, is the paperwork you complete to register yourself or a family member in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System and obtain a DoD identification card. You download the fillable PDF from the DoD Executive Services Directorate, fill in the sponsor and dependent sections at home, get the sponsor’s signature validated, and bring the form with supporting documents to a RAPIDS-equipped ID card office in person.¹²

The card that comes out the other end is what unlocks base access, TRICARE coverage, and commissary and exchange privileges. Getting the form right the first time is the difference between a single appointment and a return trip.

Who Fills Out the Form

The sponsor drives the paperwork. That’s the service member, retiree, or DoD-affiliated person whose status creates the benefit eligibility. Sponsors use the form to enroll themselves, to add or update a dependent, or to replace a card. A single DD Form 1172-2 can cover the sponsor plus up to two dependents on the same submission.³

Standard dependent categories are spouses, unmarried children under 21, children under 23 in full-time accredited college enrollment, unremarried widows and widowers, and children incapable of self-support because of a condition that began before they aged out. Parents, parents-in-law, legal wards, and certain former spouses can qualify under narrower rules.⁴

How the Form Is Laid Out

Six sections, and you won’t touch all of them. Knowing which ones apply to your situation is the first thing to sort out before you start typing.⁵

Section I (Blocks 1–20), Sponsor/Employee Information: name, SSN or DoD ID, status, branch, pay grade, organization, contact details.
Section II (Blocks 21–23), Sponsor Declaration and Remarks: the sponsor’s signature, a remarks field, and a notary block.
Section III (Blocks 24–39), Authorized By: used only when a DoD official is sponsoring someone for a Common Access Card. Most family enrollments skip it.
Section IV (Blocks 40–43), Verified By: completed at the ID card office by the verifying official.
Section V (Blocks 44–71), Dependent Information: split into Section A and Section B, one dependent each.
Section VI (Blocks 72–73), Receipt: filled in at the end of the process.

A sponsor enrolling dependents fills Sections I, II, and V. A sponsor updating only their own record fills Sections I and II. A DoD sponsor issuing a CAC to a contractor or affiliate fills Section III as well. Sections IV and VI belong to the office staff.

Completing the Sponsor Section

Start with Block 1: the sponsor’s last name, first name, and middle name or initial, spelled the way they appear in official military records. Block 3 is the sponsor’s SSN or DoD ID number. Block 4 records current status (active duty, reserve, retired, civilian employee), and Block 6 records pay grade.⁵

Every entry has to match personnel records exactly. A misspelled surname or a stale pay grade can cause RAPIDS to reject the record during data entry, which means walking back out and coming back another day.

Completing the Dependent Section

Section V asks for each dependent’s full legal name, date of birth, gender, Social Security Number, and relationship to the sponsor. The relationship code (spouse, child, stepchild, ward) drives which documents you’ll have to produce and which benefits attach, so pick it accurately.

Also specify the action: initial enrollment, card replacement, or a change to existing information. If you’re replacing an expired or damaged card, note that in the remarks field in Section II. Two dependents fit on one form using Section A and Section B; a third would require another form.

Documents to Bring

You’ll need originals or certified copies proving the sponsor-dependent relationship, plus identity documents for everyone getting a card.⁶

Spouse: marriage certificate, spouse’s birth certificate, spouse’s Social Security card, and the spouse’s photo ID.
Child: certified birth certificate (or Form FS-240 Consular Report of Birth Abroad if born overseas) and the child’s Social Security card. For a stepchild, add the marriage certificate linking the sponsor to the biological parent.
Ward: court document placing the child in the sponsor’s household for at least 12 consecutive months, a DFAS letter of approval, the child’s birth certificate, and Social Security card.

Foreign-language documents must be accompanied by a certified English translation, and the translator cannot be the sponsor or the dependent.⁷ A foreign birth certificate with a certified English translation is acceptable as a secondary identity document.⁸

For your two identity documents at the appointment, at least one must be a primary document: U.S. passport or passport card, state driver’s license or state photo ID, Permanent Resident Card, foreign passport, or an existing military ID. The second can be another primary document of a different type or a secondary document like a Social Security card, certified birth certificate, voter registration card, or naturalization certificate. Nothing expired, nothing photocopied. If your two documents show different names, bring proof of the name change.

Getting the Signature Valid

The sponsor signs Section II, Block 22, certifying the information is true.⁹ The cleanest path is signing in person at the ID card office in front of the verifying official. When the sponsor can’t be present (deployment is the standard scenario), you have two options:

General power of attorney. The dependent brings the form pre-signed by the sponsor along with a valid general POA. Wet or digital signature is acceptable.³
Notarized signature. If the sponsor signs outside the verifying official’s presence, the signature must be notarized in the notary block within Section II.⁹

A signed DD Form 1172-2 is valid for 90 days from the signature date. Miss that window and the sponsor has to sign a fresh one.⁶

Booking and Attending the Appointment

Enrollment and card issuance require an in-person visit to a RAPIDS-equipped ID card office. You can’t add or remove family members from DEERS online.² Use the ID Card Office Online portal at idco.dmdc.osd.mil to locate the nearest office and reserve a time slot.¹⁰ Some offices accept walk-ins, but wait times can be long. Book ahead when you can.

Routine changes like a new mailing address, email, or phone number can be handled through milConnect without visiting an office. Enrollment, card issuance, and SSN corrections cannot.

At the office, the verifying official inspects your identity documents, compares them against your form entries, enters the data into the RAPIDS terminal, and completes Section IV. The system captures a digital photograph and may collect fingerprints.¹¹ For Uniformed Services ID cards issued to dependents, no background investigation is required; Common Access Cards do require a favorably adjudicated investigation before issuance.¹² The card is typically printed and handed over during the same visit.

Enrolling a Parent Requires a Second Form

DD Form 1172-2 alone is not enough for a parent or parent-in-law. Secondary dependency requires DD Form 137-3 in addition to the 1172-2. The sponsor must provide more than 50 percent of the parent’s living expenses, and the parent must reside in the sponsor’s household.⁴⁷

Expect to produce the sponsor’s birth certificate showing the parent’s name, proof of financial support (allotment records, canceled checks, electronic transfer records, copies of bills paid on the parent’s behalf), and income verification for the parent (pay stubs, tax returns, Social Security benefit letters, records of state or federal aid). Cash payments and simple purchase receipts don’t count. Every block on DD Form 137-3 has to be filled in; blank fields will get the packet returned without action, so mark inapplicable items “N/A” or “0.00.”¹³

Penalties for False Statements

The form itself warns that submitting false information can lead to a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment.⁹ The broader federal false statements statute allows up to five years in prison for knowingly providing false information to a government agency.¹⁴ Fraudulent enrollment can also cost the sponsor and every linked dependent their benefits. Verifying officials are trained to catch discrepancies between documents and form entries, so match everything to the letter.

1
Executive Services Directorate. DD1172-2
2
TRICARE. Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System
3
Common Access Card. Getting Your ID Card
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 U.S.C. 1072 – Definitions
5
Department of Defense. DD Form 1172-2 Instructions
6
TRICARE. Required Documents
7
Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Army Secondary Dependency Claim – Parents DD Form 137-3 Application Assistance
8
Department of Defense. Department of Defense List of Acceptable Identity Documents
9
Department of Defense. DD Form 1172-2 DoD Application
10
ID Card Office Online. ID Card Office Online
11
Common Access Card. ID Card Lifecycle
12
Department of Defense. DoDI 1000.13
13
Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Secondary Dependency – General Information
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally