How to Fill Out and Maintain DA Form 348: Transfer and GCSS-Army Tracking

DA Form 348, the Equipment Operator’s Qualification Record, is the Army’s permanent file documenting every vehicle and piece of equipment a soldier or Department of Defense civilian is authorized to operate, and it must be completed before an OF 346 operator’s permit can be issued. The blank form is available as a free PDF from the Army Publishing Directorate at armypubs.army.mil, and it is governed by AR 600-55, The Army Driver and Operator Standardization Program.¹ If the original sections fill up, DA Form 348-1-R is the authorized continuation sheet for Sections I and III only.²

Rules Before You Write Anything

All entries must be typed or made in black ink. Rubber stamps are acceptable if they fit inside the designated block. AR 600-55 prohibits erasures, correction fluid, and correction tape. If you make a mistake, line through the incorrect entry and initial the correction.³

Signing authority is limited. Only examiners designated in writing by the commanding officer can certify entries, and the examiner must be licensed and qualified on the vehicle or equipment being tested.³ A senior operator can supervise in the field, but the designated examiner is the one who certifies the form.

The Header: Identifying the Soldier

The top of the form ties the record to a specific personnel file. Enter the soldier’s last name, first name, and middle initial; Social Security number; and date of birth. These identifiers travel with the soldier through every unit change.¹

Section I: Equipment Qualifications

Section I lists every piece of equipment the soldier is authorized to operate. Each row calls for the type of equipment written in the correct official nomenclature, the date the soldier qualified, the size classification, and permit information including the state or issuing agency. The examiner initials the row.¹

Nomenclature matters. An entry that reads “truck” instead of the official name creates problems during inspections and can delay licensing, so pull the correct designation from the equipment’s technical manual before writing it down.

Section II: Civilian Licenses and Experience

Section II captures what the soldier brought to the Army from civilian life. Document any civilian driver’s licenses, commercial driver’s licenses, and specialized certifications. Fields also ask for the number of additional licenses held and whether satisfactory driving experience has been verified.¹

Section III: Credits and Debits

Section III is the running chronological log of the operator’s career, and it splits every entry into one of two columns.

Credits include awards, completed training, retraining, testing, retesting, roadeo participation, permit renewals, and relicensing. Debits include accidents, arrests, violations, warnings, revocations, and suspensions. AR 600-55 requires the form to be reviewed at least once a year. The reviewer checks for safety award eligibility, expiring permits, unreported accidents and moving traffic violations, remedial or refresher training needs, reexamination requirements, and license suspensions, then signs and dates in Section III.³

Section IV: Examination Findings

Section IV is the most involved part of the form and records the results of every evaluation the soldier must pass to qualify.

Battery I: Physical Evaluation

The first battery tests physical fitness to drive. Each measure needs both a raw score and a standard score:

Visual acuity, left and right eye tested separately
Field of vision
Hearing, left and right ear tested separately
Reaction time
Depth perception
Color perception

A designated medical authority signs the results on the line the form provides.¹

Battery II: Written Tests

Battery II uses DA Forms 6122, 6123, and 6124 as standardized written tests. Each produces a standard score, and the Battery II total is the sum of the three standard scores divided by three. The examiner also checks boxes confirming the applicant’s knowledge of local laws, operating procedures, and accident reporting requirements.¹

Road Test

The scored road test has three phases taken in order: a preventive maintenance checks and services (PMCS) test, a vehicle control test, and an on-the-road driving test. A failure in any phase terminates the entire road test. Scoring is captured on DA Form 6125-R, and the final road test score out of 100 is entered in block 51 of DA Form 348. A score of 75 percent or higher is passing.⁴

The applicant then signs an acknowledgment on the form: “My driving weaknesses have been made known to me and I have been shown how to overcome or adjust them.” The road test examiner and the medical authority sign in their designated blocks.¹

Why the Form Matters: The OF 346

A completed DA Form 348 is the prerequisite for the OF 346 (U.S. Government Motor Vehicle Operator’s Identification Card) or DA Form 5984-E. All training for vehicles and equipment that require licensing must be documented on DA Form 348 before the permit is issued, and the examiner’s signature on the OF 346 verifies both the record and passing scores on written and performance testing.⁵ Renewal can be requested up to 90 days before the current permit expires, and the renewal process mirrors initial qualification: record review, current physical evaluations, and any required check rides.⁶

Keeping the Record Current

DA Form 348 is permanent. AR 600-55 states plainly that the form will not be destroyed or remade.³ Update the master record promptly every time the soldier qualifies on new equipment, and conduct the annual review on schedule.

The form no longer lives in the Military Personnel Records Jacket or the civilian Official Personnel Folder. AR 600-55 directs that it be withdrawn from those files and forwarded to the supervisor who controls the unit’s vehicle or equipment operations, so the driver training coordinator and unit commander can actually get to it.³ The training coordinator, often called the master driver, keeps the supporting documentation alongside it: commander’s interview records, DA Form 6125-R road test score sheets, PMCS exams, sustainment training worksheets, and copies of civilian licenses.⁵

Transferring the Record During a PCS

Before a soldier departs on a Permanent Change of Station, the losing unit’s records reviewer verifies that every entry on the DA Form 348 is accurately posted. The record then moves with the soldier to the gaining unit, where the driver training coordinator or transport officer reviews it during in-processing.³

If the gaining unit finds entries that are incorrect, incomplete, or illegible and cannot verify them, those entries get lined through and initialed. The soldier loses credit for anything the new unit cannot confirm, which can mean requalifying on equipment they’ve been running for years. Careful entries at the losing unit prevent this.

Electronic Tracking in GCSS-Army

Units using the Global Combat Support System–Army enter operator qualifications through the PPPM transaction. The driver training coordinator searches for the soldier, selects the equipment qualification category (such as TACOM combat vehicles), assigns a proficiency level and permit type, and saves. Operator permits can be issued and printed from GCSS-Army using the ZoPID transaction.⁷

The electronic system supplements the paper form but doesn’t replace it. AR 600-55 recognizes the automated form for units under the Unit Level Logistics System, but the hard-copy DA Form 348 remains the only authorized record of an equipment operator’s qualifications.⁵ Keep the paper record current even in fully digital units.

If the Record Is Lost

Because DA Form 348 cannot be remade, a lost original is a real problem. For soldiers still serving, start with the unit’s master driver or driver training coordinator and check whether the qualification data was entered into GCSS-Army. If it is in the system, the unit can reconstruct the paper record from the electronic entries. Soldiers who have moved between units should also contact the master driver at the previous assignment, since records sometimes remain in the old unit’s system.

For separated personnel the options narrow. Electronic records for service members who have been out of the Army for more than roughly two years are unlikely to still be accessible. The remaining avenues are a Freedom of Information Act request through the U.S. Army Records Management and Declassification Agency, which can take months, or a congressional inquiry to the former unit’s commander requesting production of the record. Keeping personal copies of the form throughout a career is the surest way to avoid ending up in that position.

1
U.S. Army Publishing Directorate. DA Form 348 Equipment Operator’s Qualification Record
2
Army.com. DA Form 348-1-R Equipment Operator’s Qualification Record Continuation Sheet
3
AsktopNet. AR 600-55 The Army Driver and Operator Standardization Program
4
Army in Europe. AR 600-55 The Army Driver and Operator Standardization Program
5
U.S. Army Reserve. USAR Regulation 600-3 The Army Driver and Operator Standardization Program
6
Army in Europe. AE Regulation 600-55 The Army Driver and Operator Standardization Program
7
GCSS-Army. GCSS-Army Maintenance Smart Book