A DD Form 215 is the military’s official correction to a DD-214. Rather than reissuing the original discharge certificate, the service branch generates a separate document that lists the specific errors and their corrected entries, and the two papers are presented together from then on. To get one, you send a written request with supporting evidence to the personnel command of your service branch, which now handles these corrections directly since the Department of Defense moved the work away from the National Archives.1National Archives. Correcting Military Service Records
What a DD-215 Can Fix
The form is built for factual and clerical errors. A misspelled name. A wrong Social Security number. Dates of service that don’t match your actual time in. Awards, decorations, deployments, or training you completed but that never appeared on the original document. If someone typed something incorrectly, or left something off that belonged on, a DD-215 is the fix.
It is not the fix for anything requiring judgment. A discharge characterization you believe should be upgraded, or a separation reason you consider unjust, goes to a Board for Correction of Military Records, which has statutory authority to correct any record “when necessary to correct an error or remove an injustice.”2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1552 – Correction of Military Records: Claims Incident Thereto The line is clean: typing mistakes and missing verifiable entries go through the DD-215 process; anything requiring someone to weigh evidence and decide goes to the board.
Where to Send Your Request
Since the National Archives stopped generating these corrections, requests go to the branch that discharged you, and which office within that branch depends on how old the records are.1National Archives. Correcting Military Service Records
Records Less Than 62 Years Old
These are non-archival records, and requests go to the service personnel command:
- Army: U.S. Army Human Resources Command, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Dept. 420, Fort Knox, KY 40122-5402
- Navy and Marine Corps: Navy Personnel Command, PERS-313, 5720 Integrity Drive, Millington, TN 38055
- Air Force: Air Force Personnel Center Total Force Service Center at 800-525-0102
- Coast Guard: DHS Office of the General Counsel, Board for Correction of Military Records, 2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, Stop 0485, Washington, DC 20528-0485
Records 62 Years Old or Older
Once a record crosses the 62-year mark (measured from discharge, retirement, or death in service), it becomes archival. Requests for archival records go to the review board of the relevant service branch, not the personnel command.1National Archives. Correcting Military Service Records The National Archives publishes an address list if you need help identifying the right office.3National Archives. Personnel Records Center Address List
Documentation You Need
The government will not change a permanent federal record without proof, so every request has to connect the error to verifiable evidence.
Start with Standard Form 180, the Request Pertaining to Military Records, which formally describes what needs fixing.4National Archives. Request Military Personnel Records Using Standard Form 180 Federal law requires the form be signed in cursive and dated within the past year. In the request, name the specific block number on the DD-214 that contains the error and state exactly what the corrected entry should read.
Then attach evidence appropriate to the type of error:
- Name corrections: a certified birth certificate or a court order for a legal name change.
- Missing awards or decorations: deployment orders, award citations, or performance evaluations that show you earned them. For valor awards, the Army requires eyewitness statements on DA Form 7791 or equivalent sworn affidavits describing the action firsthand.
- Incorrect service dates or locations: orders, travel vouchers, or unit records that document the correct dates or assignments.
Organize your documents chronologically and label each one with the DD-214 block number it supports. A clerk reviewing a well-organized package where every piece of evidence points to a specific correction will move it faster than a stack of unsorted paperwork.
How to Submit the Request
The eVetRecs portal at the National Archives website lets you enter request information digitally and upload scanned evidence, though you’ll verify your identity through ID.me before submitting.5National Archives. eVetRecs Help If the portal isn’t cooperating, download the SF-180, complete it, and mail it with your documents.4National Archives. Request Military Personnel Records Using Standard Form 180
Mail everything by certified mail with return receipt. That gives you proof of delivery if anything goes missing.
Navy veterans can also submit correction requests by encrypted email to the Navy Personnel Command organizational mailbox. The command asks that you put all information in the body of the email rather than as attachments, and that you pick one submission method to avoid duplicates and processing delays.
Keep copies of everything. After the receiving office logs your request, you should get a tracking number for follow-up.
There is no charge. Basic military personnel record services are provided free to veterans, next of kin, and authorized representatives.6National Archives. Request Military Service Records Some commercial websites charge fees for the same work; you don’t need to pay them.
Emergency and Time-Sensitive Requests
For a funeral, a home closing, or another situation that won’t wait, the NPRC has an expedited path. In eVetRecs, choose “Emergency Request” from the drop-down menu on the Veteran Service Details page.7National Archives. Emergency Requests
You can also call the NPRC Customer Service Line at 314-801-0800, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central. For burial at a VA National Cemetery, call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117 instead. For burial at a non-VA cemetery, fax the SF-180 with the next of kin’s signature and proof of death to 314-801-0764.7National Archives. Emergency Requests
If a natural disaster destroyed your separation document and you need priority replacement, write “Natural Disaster” in the comments section of eVetRecs or the purpose section of the SF-180.
Processing Time and What You Receive
Times vary with the complexity of the correction and the workload at the office handling it. A misspelled name moves faster than a missing valor award that has to be verified against unit records. Expect at least several months, and longer for complicated cases.
When approved, the DD Form 215 arrives by mail. It lists only the items being corrected, identifying each original block number on the DD-214 alongside the revised entry. It does not replace your DD-214. It works as a permanent addendum, and the two documents together form the complete record.
If Your Request Is Denied
A denial isn’t the end. DD Form 149 is the application for correction through the Board for Correction of Military Records, or for Navy and Marine Corps veterans, the Board for Correction of Naval Records.8Executive Services Directorate. DD Form 149 – Application for Correction of Military Record Under the Provisions of Title 10, US Code, Section 1552 These boards are the highest appellate authority within the military for record corrections, and they expect you to have tried the normal administrative channel first.
You generally have three years from discovering the error to file. The board can waive that deadline if it decides doing so serves the interest of justice, but the burden is on you to explain why you filed late and why the case still deserves review.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1552 – Correction of Military Records: Claims Incident Thereto
Before escalating, consider why the request was denied. Sometimes the problem is insufficient documentation rather than a disputed fact, and a stronger evidence package resubmitted through the normal channel resolves things without going to the board.
After You Receive Your DD-215
Store the DD-215 with your DD-214, and present both every time. An uncorrected DD-214 handed over without the DD-215 can cause denied VA benefits, rejected home loan applications, and problems with employment background checks. The corrected record is what verifies eligibility for VA healthcare, education benefits, and home loans.
The VA does not appear to receive an automatic notification when a DD-215 is issued. If you have an active claim or already receive benefits, send the VA a copy yourself so they can update their file. Waiting on an automatic update that may not come can hold up benefits you’ve already earned.
If Your Records Were Lost in the 1973 Fire
A 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center destroyed roughly 16 to 18 million military personnel files, mostly Army veterans discharged between 1912 and 1964 and Air Force veterans with surnames alphabetically through Hubbard discharged between 1947 and 1964. If your file was among them, correction becomes harder but not impossible.
The NPRC reconstructs basic service data from alternate sources, including about 19 million final pay vouchers that carry names, service numbers, dates of service, and discharge characterization. Combined with enlistment ledgers, service number indexes, and hospital admission records, staff can often verify enough to issue a Certification of Military Service.9National Archives. Other Methods to Obtain Military Service Records That certification is not a DD-214, but it can serve the same purpose when you apply for benefits.