How to Apply for and Renew Your USID Card (DD Form 3208)

To apply for a USID card (DD Form 3208), gather your eligibility documents, complete DD Form 1172-2 if you’re a dependent, book an appointment at a RAPIDS site through the ID Card Office Online, and bring two original forms of ID to the visit. The Verifying Official checks your paperwork against DEERS, takes your photo, and prints the card while you wait. DD Form 3208 is the card itself, not something you fill out; DD Form 1172-2 is the application.¹

Who Qualifies for a USID Card

Eligible sponsors include retired service members receiving retired pay, members on the Temporary or Permanent Disability Retired Lists, retired Reserve and National Guard members, Medal of Honor recipients, 100% disabled veterans, and certain civilians serving overseas with organizations like the USO. Dependents of active duty members, reservists on active duty more than 30 days, retirees, Medal of Honor recipients, and 100% disabled veterans get their own dependent cards. Surviving dependents of active duty and retired members also qualify.²

Former spouses qualify only under narrow rules. Under 20/20/20, the marriage lasted at least 20 years, the member served at least 20 years creditable for retirement pay, and those overlapped by at least 20 years; benefits then continue for life unless the former spouse remarries. Under 20/20/15, the overlap is at least 15 years but less than 20, and eligibility lasts one year from the divorce date.³ Remarriage ends privileges under either rule.

What to Bring to Your Appointment

Two Forms of ID

Everyone applying must bring two original forms of ID. At least one has to be a valid state or federal government-issued photo ID such as a passport, driver’s license, or current DoD ID card.⁴ The second can be another photo ID of a different type, or a secondary document like a Social Security card or certified birth certificate.⁵ Photocopies and expired documents will be rejected.

Proof of Eligibility

If a dependent is being enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) for the first time, or something about their status has changed, bring documents that prove the relationship to the sponsor:

Spouse: marriage certificate, spouse’s birth certificate, Social Security card, and photo ID.
Child: birth certificate (or Consular Report of Birth Abroad) and Social Security card; for stepchildren, add the marriage certificate.
Child born out of wedlock with a male sponsor: birth certificate, Social Security card, and either a court order establishing paternity or a state Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity form.
Adult child age 21 to 23: a letter from the school registrar confirming full-time enrollment in an accredited college pursuing an associate degree or higher.
Dependent parent or ward: a Defense Finance and Accounting Service letter of approval, plus the relevant birth certificates, photo IDs, and Social Security cards.

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If the dependent already has an established DEERS record and nothing has changed, the Verifying Official can pull the existing information without seeing these documents again.

Completing DD Form 1172-2

Sponsors applying for their own card in person do not need DD Form 1172-2; they just bring two forms of ID. Dependents must arrive with a completed application.⁴ A blank copy is available from the DoD Forms Management Program website.⁷

Section I captures the sponsor: full legal name, Social Security Number or 10-digit DoD ID Number, status code, branch, pay grade, date of birth in YYYYMMDD format, place of birth, and home address. The sponsor’s SSN or DoD ID is the field that links the dependent to the correct record, so double-check it.¹

Section II covers the dependent receiving the card. Enter the dependent’s legal name exactly as it appears on their identity documents; mismatches between the form and the supporting paperwork are one of the most common reasons applications get turned away.

The sponsor must sign the form. The cleanest option is to sign in front of the Verifying Official at the appointment. When the sponsor cannot be there, often because of a deployment, the signature has to be notarized before the dependent brings the form in.⁸

Booking and Visiting a RAPIDS Site

USID cards are issued at Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System (RAPIDS) sites, usually on military installations or in federal office complexes. Book through the ID Card Office Online at idco.dmdc.osd.mil, which has both a site locator and an appointment scheduler.⁹ Some locations accept walk-ins; availability varies, so an appointment prevents a wasted trip.

Bring the completed DD Form 1172-2 (dependents), two original IDs, and any supporting eligibility documents. The Verifying Official reviews your paperwork, checks it against DEERS, and resolves discrepancies on the spot when possible. Your photo is taken at the site and stored in DEERS along with the card record.⁴ Unlike a Common Access Card, the USID card does not require fingerprint collection. The card is printed during the same visit, so you leave with it in hand.

Renewing Online Instead

If you already hold a USID card, you may be able to skip the RAPIDS visit and renew through the ID Card Office Online. Every one of these has to be true:

The sponsor can log in with a CAC, DoD Self-Service Logon (DS Logon), or myAuth credential.
The recipient has a photo saved in DEERS from within the last 12 years.
Both the sponsor and recipient have an email address in DEERS with permission for DoD correspondence.
The recipient’s DEERS mailing address is in the United States, a U.S. territory, or an APO/FPO/DPO address.
The sponsor’s personnel status and the recipient’s benefits both extend at least 30 days beyond the renewal request date.

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Foreign affiliates, overseas local hires, non-U.S. citizen sponsors, and anyone with a locked or restricted DEERS record cannot use online renewal. One catch to know before you submit: once an online renewal is in progress, you can’t switch tracks and get a card issued in person at a RAPIDS site. You have to wait for the new card to arrive by mail.¹⁰

If Your Card Is Lost, Stolen, or Damaged

Report a lost or stolen card as soon as possible so it can be revoked in DEERS and cannot be used to access benefits or installations. You can report it through the RAPIDS self-service portal or by calling Military OneSource at 1-800-342-9647.¹¹

For a replacement, visit the nearest RAPIDS site with your two forms of ID.¹² Dependents also bring a completed DD Form 1172-2 signed by the sponsor, notarized if the sponsor isn’t present. The appointment itself works like a first-time issuance: document check, DEERS verification, photo, and same-day printing.

What About an Older Card

DD Form 3208 replaced several older card formats, including DD Form 2 (Armed Forces of the United States Identification Card), DD Form 1173 (Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card), and DD Form 2765 (Department of Defense/Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card). A legacy card stays valid through its printed expiration date, and cards marked INDEF remain valid indefinitely.²

DoD has stated that cards will not be reissued solely to move people to the new format. The switch happens when the current card expires or needs replacing for some other reason, and there is no deadline forcing an early swap.² If you’d rather carry the updated card, you can request the swap voluntarily at any RAPIDS site.

1
Department of Defense. DD Form 1172-2 Instructions
2
CAC.mil. Next Generation Uniformed Services ID Card
3
United States Coast Guard. Former Spouse Determination for ID Cards
4
CAC.mil. Getting Your Uniformed Services ID Card
5
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIST FIPS 201-2 Approved Identity Documents for HSPD-12 PIV Issuance
6
TRICARE. Required Documents
7
Executive Services Directorate. DD1172-2
8
DoD Forms Management Program. DD Form 1172-2
9
ID Card Office Online. ID Card Office Online
10
ID Card Office Online. Renewing Your Uniformed Services ID Card
11
USAGov. How to Report a Lost or Stolen Military or Veteran ID Card
12
CAC.mil. Managing Your Uniformed Services ID Card