DoD Directive 5210.56: Arming, Eligibility, and Use of Force

DoD Directive 5210.56 is the Department of Defense’s policy on arming personnel on military installations and the standards that govern their use of force. Last updated in November 2020, it covers two very different situations under one document: arming people for official security or protection duties, and letting an individual carry a privately owned handgun for personal protection unrelated to their job. The approval authority, duration, location limits, and training expectations shift depending on which track you fall into, and reading one track’s rules into the other is the most common mistake people make with this directive.

The Two Tracks the Directive Creates

Nearly every requirement in 5210.56 flows from a single distinction: are you being armed because your job requires it, or because you personally face a threat?

Official-Duty Arming

Security, law enforcement, counterintelligence, and investigative personnel carry government-issued firearms as part of their assigned duties. The directive also lets commanders arm other personnel whose duties expose them to elevated risk when existing security coverage is inadequate. For this track, the arming authority must be a colonel (O-6) or above in the chain of command, or the civilian equivalent, and the authorization can extend both on and off DoD property when tied to official duties.¹

Personal Protection Carry

A service member or DoD civilian who believes they face a personal threat unrelated to their job can request permission to carry a privately owned handgun on the installation. The approval authority here is at least a lieutenant colonel (O-5), or civilian equivalent, who is in charge of the DoD property. Written permission is valid for 90 days, or for whatever period the DoD component considers appropriate.¹ The authorization does not travel with you off the installation; once you leave DoD property, the directive no longer governs your carry status.

Who Is Eligible

The directive defines “DoD personnel” as U.S. military service members and DoD civilian employees, and those are the two groups eligible for either track.¹ Contractors sit in a narrower lane. Contractor personnel may be armed only when the DoD contract itself requires it, the contractor validates that its people have completed weapons training, qualification, and use-of-force briefings, and the individual’s acceptance of the weapon is voluntary.

No one is armed automatically. Every application is reviewed individually. The arming authority weighs the local threat environment, the person’s duties or circumstances, and whether existing security forces already provide adequate protection. The authorization must be written and must identify the specific individual, the timeframe, the location, the type of firearm authorized, and the arming authority’s identity and signature.¹

Screening: DD Form 2760 and the Lautenberg Question

Before authorization is granted, screening runs through several federal laws and DoD instructions. The most visible piece of paperwork is DD Form 2760, “Qualification to Possess Firearms or Ammunition,” which asks whether you have ever been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The form must be completed and returned to your commander or immediate supervisor within 10 days of receipt.²

The domestic violence question carries real weight. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition, with no exception for military service or official duties.³ A conviction that looks minor on a civilian record can permanently end your ability to be armed in any DoD capacity, and false information on the form can itself lead to criminal charges.

Screening also runs through Chapter 44 of Title 18, DoD Manual 5200.02 for personnel security, and DoDI 6400.06 for domestic abuse policy. Commanders review personnel records for disciplinary actions that might indicate a disqualifying issue. The directive does not require a standalone mental health evaluation up front, but it does require suspension of arming authorization for anyone with a medically certified disqualifying physical or mental health condition.¹

State Law and Concealed Carry Permits

Personal protection carriers must meet all applicable federal, state, and local requirements. The directive notes that proof of compliance “may include” a concealed handgun license valid under the laws of the state where the installation is located.¹ In practice, installation commanders treat a valid state concealed carry permit as the standard way to demonstrate compliance.

Reciprocity is not uniform. The installation commander decides which permits to recognize. Some bases accept permits from any state that has a reciprocity agreement with the host state; others recognize only the host state’s permit. Check with the provost marshal’s office or security forces at your specific installation before assuming your home-state permit will be honored. DoD personnel are personally responsible for compliance with all applicable firearms laws when carrying on DoD property.

Training and Qualification

Personnel authorized to carry firearms for official duties must complete DoD-approved firearms proficiency training, live-fire qualification, and use-of-force training at least every 12 months.¹ That covers classroom instruction on when force is legally justified and scenario-based training on recognizing threats, not just range time.

Miss the annual live-fire qualification and your DoD component can grant an extension of up to 12 months, but no extension can push you past 24 months since your last qualification. Even during an extension, annual firearms familiarization and use-of-force training still apply. Failing to qualify is grounds for immediate suspension.

For personal protection carry unrelated to official duties, the directive does not impose the same annual DoD training cycle, though the state concealed carry permit process typically has its own training requirements, and the handgun must meet state law on caliber, ammunition, capacity, and design.

Firearm, Ammunition, and Storage Rules

Personal protection authorization covers handguns only. Long guns are not authorized for personal self-defense carry. The handgun must be a commercially produced model that meets state law requirements, and it must be concealed at all times, in civilian clothes or in uniform, without interfering with normal duties. Open carry for personal protection is not permitted.¹

The directive does not name prohibited ammunition types. Your handgun and ammunition must meet whatever your state’s laws require regarding caliber, capacity, and design, and individual installations may add restrictions, so check local policy before selecting carry ammunition.

When the handgun is not on your person, it must be either unloaded or stored in a secure gun storage device. Left in an unattended vehicle, it must be in a secure device and hidden from view. While you move around the installation, it must be either holstered on your body or in a secure storage device. The directive defines secure storage by reference to federal law: a device designed to prevent an unauthorized person from firing the weapon such as a trigger lock, a built-in blocking mechanism, or a safe, lock box, or gun case that requires a key, combination, or similar means to open.⁴ A glove compartment or center console does not qualify. Installations often add their own storage rules, particularly for barracks and government family housing.

Where Personal Protection Carry Is Off-Limits

The directive does not publish a universal list of restricted buildings. It layers two limits instead. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 930 broadly prohibits firearms inside federal buildings, and the directive requires signs at every public entrance noting that restriction. On top of that, carrying inside buildings on DoD property under a personal protection authorization is not permitted unless the arming authority specifically determines, after consulting legal counsel, that a statutory exception applies.¹

In practice, a personal protection authorization may effectively limit you to outdoor areas and vehicles unless your arming authority has cleared you for specific buildings. Installations also designate additional restricted zones beyond the federal building prohibition, and those vary from base to base. Violating a geographic restriction can result in immediate revocation and potential criminal charges.

Use of Force

The directive lays out a scaled framework that applies to all armed DoD personnel. It is not a checklist you work through in order. Situations escalate and de-escalate within seconds, and the appropriate level of force shifts with them.

Less-Than-Deadly Force

Force short of deadly force may be used when reasonable under the totality of the circumstances. The directive authorizes it for self-defense or defense of others against an actual or imminent threat of physical injury or death; to overcome active or passive resistance during a lawful detention or arrest; to prevent a prisoner’s escape from custody; and to prevent the destruction of DoD property.

The directive warns that any use of force can produce unforeseeable consequences and that even non-lethal measures can cause serious injury. If someone needs medical attention after you use force, such as an asthmatic reaction to pepper spray, you are required to provide or coordinate prompt medical care.¹

Deadly Force

Deadly force is justified only when you reasonably believe the subject poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm, or in a small set of other narrowly defined situations. The directive states that DoD “recognizes and respects the paramount value of all human life” and requires that if less-than-deadly force could accomplish the same result without unreasonably increasing danger to you or others, you must use it instead. An oral warning must be given before deadly force whenever the situation permits.¹

Beyond direct self-defense, the directive authorizes deadly force in these circumstances:

Defense of others, covering both DoD and non-DoD personnel in your vicinity, provided that defending non-DoD personnel is reasonably related to your mission, duty status, or scope of federal employment.
Protecting assets vital to national security from actual theft or sabotage.
Protecting inherently dangerous property, meaning materials dangerous by their nature, from actual theft or sabotage.
Protecting national critical infrastructure from sabotage or destruction.
Preventing the escape of a fleeing subject when there is probable cause to believe the person committed an offense involving serious physical injury or death and their escape would pose an imminent threat to others.

Those broader deadly-force authorizations apply primarily to personnel in security or law enforcement roles. If you are carrying under a personal protection authorization, your authority centers on self-defense and defense of others facing imminent deadly threats.

Suspension and Revocation

Arming authorities must suspend authorization for anyone who is no longer qualified. Triggers include:

Failing to complete annual qualification or training.
Becoming ineligible under the Lautenberg Amendment through a new domestic violence conviction.
Developing a medically certified disqualifying physical or mental health condition.
Becoming ineligible under DoDI 6400.06, the DoD domestic abuse policy instruction.

When authorization is suspended, government-issued firearms, ammunition, and non-lethal weapons must be retrieved immediately.¹ Personal protection carriers must stop carrying and may need to remove the privately owned handgun from the installation. The list is not exhaustive; the directive uses “includes but is not limited to,” leaving commanders room to suspend for other conduct that raises safety concerns.

Carrying the Authorization and Reporting an Incident

You must carry your written authorization letter at all times while armed. If security forces or law enforcement ask to see it, produce it immediately and comply with instructions. An armed person on a military installation who cannot prove authorization is in a precarious legal position.

Any discharge of a firearm must be reported through your chain of command and to installation law enforcement, on the timeline set by your service’s regulations. Brandishing a weapon outside a genuine self-defense situation, or behaving aggressively while armed, can result in prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for service members, or in federal civilian court for DoD employees.

Civil Liability After Authorized Force

The Federal Tort Claims Act generally shields individual federal employees from personal civil liability for actions taken within the scope of their employment. A DoD employee or service member who uses authorized force while performing official duties has liability shifted from themselves to the government.⁵ Military regulations reinforce this by directing that the government will not seek reimbursement from personnel whose conduct gave rise to government liability under the Military Claims Act.⁶

These protections have limits. FTCA protection applies when you act within the scope of employment. Personal protection carry that is not related to official duties sits in a grayer area, and whether a use-of-force incident falls within the scope of employment can become a contested legal issue. If you are involved in a use-of-force incident, consult a military defense attorney or the installation legal assistance office before making any statements beyond what reporting requirements demand.

1
Department of Defense. DoD Directive 5210.56 – Arming and the Use of Force
2
Washington Headquarters Services. DD Form 2760 – Qualification to Possess Firearms or Ammunition
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2671 – Definitions
6
eCFR. 32 CFR Part 842 Subpart D – Military Claims Act