DAF Form 673, the Department of the Air Force Publication/Form Action Request, is the document you use to propose a new publication or form, revise an existing one, or rescind one that is no longer needed. Download the current fillable PDF from the Air Force e-Publishing website, complete the administrative and coordination blocks, secure the required certifying and approving signatures with your CAC, and route the signed package with the draft to your local Publications and Forms Manager. The whole process is governed by DAFI 90-160 and DAFMAN 90-161.
Where to Get the Current Form
Pull the form directly from the Air Force e-Publishing site at e-publishing.af.mil.1Department of the Air Force E-Publishing. Department of the Air Force E-Publishing Grab a fresh copy every time you start a new action. Older copies saved on your desktop may not match the current field layout, and packages built on stale forms get returned.
Before you open the PDF, confirm your Common Access Card certificates are valid. Every signature on the form must be applied digitally, so an expired signing certificate will stop the package cold.
Pick the Right Action Type
DAF Form 673 handles several distinct action types, and selecting the wrong one sends the package back before anyone reads the substance. Match the action to the scope of your change:
- New publication or form, for something that does not currently exist in the departmental library.
- Rewrite, a full revision that replaces the existing document.
- Interim Change (IC), a targeted update to specific paragraphs or sections.
- Administrative Change (AC), a minor correction like a typo, office symbol, or reference fix.
- Guidance Memorandum (GM), temporary guidance until a formal revision is completed.
- Rescission, canceling a publication or form that is obsolete.
An administrative change carries the lightest coordination load. A full rewrite triggers the broadest review cycle. Choosing accurately keeps the coordination scope proportional to the change.2United States Air Force. AFI 33-360 – Publications and Forms Management
Prepare the Draft and Justification First
A complete draft of the proposed publication or form must accompany the form. For a revision, mark changes clearly so reviewers can compare old and new language side by side. For a new publication, the draft should already conform to DAF formatting standards in DAFMAN 90-161.
Write a technical justification that explains why the change is needed, whether for regulatory compliance, mission readiness, or alignment with higher-headquarters guidance. Vague justifications slow approval because certifying officials need concrete reasoning to sign.
Identify the Office of Primary Responsibility (OPR) up front. The OPR owns the document, keeps the official files, drafts the content, coordinates with subject-matter experts, and designates a point of contact (POC) who runs the action day to day.2United States Air Force. AFI 33-360 – Publications and Forms Management If you are the POC, you carry the package from draft through final submission.
Filling In the Form
Work through the fillable PDF in order. The top section captures administrative identifiers: publication or form number, title, and the action type you selected. Enter the OPR’s office symbol and the POC’s name, phone number, and email so reviewers know who to contact with questions.
The coordination section takes up most of the form. Each reviewing office gets a row for the coordinator’s name, office symbol, coordination date, and a concur or non-concur entry. The POC must resolve all critical comments before submitting for final certification and approval.
One useful rule on stale coordination: if a coordination entry is more than a year old and no significant changes have been made to the draft, the POC can note on the form that re-coordination is not necessary. If the content changed substantially, coordinate again.2United States Air Force. AFI 33-360 – Publications and Forms Management
Mandatory Coordination
Depending on subject matter, specific functional offices must review the draft before the certifying official can sign. DAFMAN 90-161 contains a mandatory coordination table listing the offices required for different publication types. Any Air Force supplement to a Department of Defense directive or instruction, for example, must be routed to SAF/AAX for coordination before certification and approval.3Air Force E-Publishing. AFI 33-360 514 AMW Supplement – Publications and Forms Management Legal, safety, and manpower offices commonly appear on the list when a publication touches their functional areas, though the exact set depends on content.
Each mandatory coordinator records concurrence or non-concurrence on the DAF Form 673. If a coordinator non-concurs, the POC must attempt to resolve the disagreement and document the resolution. Skipping a mandatory coordinator is one of the fastest ways to get a package rejected at the Publications Manager level.
Who Can Certify and Approve
Only military members or Department of the Air Force civilian employees, including direct-hire foreign nationals, may serve as certifying or approving officials. Contractors and indirect-hire foreign nationals are not eligible, because certification and approval of publications are inherently governmental functions.4Department of the Air Force. DAFI 90-160 – Publications and Forms Management
The certifying official confirms two things for the approving official: that the publication or form is needed within its numbered subject series, and that its content is consistent with the policy directive or higher-headquarters publication it implements. The approving official then signs the DAF Form 673 to authorize release.
Approving officials below Headquarters Air Force level must also verify that the publication is not less restrictive than higher-headquarters publications, unless a specific exception allows it.4Department of the Air Force. DAFI 90-160 – Publications and Forms Management Chasing signatures before every coordination comment is resolved is a common reason packages stall.
Digital Signatures and CUI Markings
All signatures on DAF Form 673 must be applied digitally using the certificates on your Common Access Card. The CAC’s digital certificate infrastructure complies with FIPS 201-3, the federal standard for personal identity verification.5Department of the Air Force. DAFI 36-3026V2 – Common Access Card Wet signatures and scanned signature images are not acceptable. Confirm your signing certificate has not expired before routing; an expired certificate invalidates the signature block and the form comes back.
If the draft or any attachment contains Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), apply a “CUI” marking at the top and bottom of each page and include an indicator box specifying the reason for the designation. Email transmissions carrying CUI must also show these markings in the body and identify the point of contact, the creating office, authorized recipients, and the CUI category.6United States Air Force. DoD Moves From FOUO to CUI When in doubt, check the Department of Defense CUI registry before transmitting.
Submitting the Package
Once coordination is documented, comments are resolved, and the certifying and approving officials have signed, the POC submits the completed DAF Form 673 with the draft publication or form to the local Publications and Forms Manager (PM/FM). Submission methods vary by command. Some organizations use a designated SharePoint site; others accept packages by encrypted email. Follow local routing instructions, because sending the package to the wrong intake point can add weeks.
Missing attachments are the most common reason packages are rejected at intake. Before you send:
- Signed DAF Form 673 with all digital signatures applied and valid.
- Complete draft, formatted to DAFMAN 90-161 standards, with changes marked for revisions.
- Coordination records showing every mandatory coordinator, with non-concurrences resolved.
- Technical justification explaining the operational need.
What Happens After You Submit
The local PM/FM screens the package against DAFMAN 90-161 for formatting, completeness, and coordination. Anything missing or incorrect comes back to the POC for correction rather than moving up the chain.
After clearing local review, the package goes to the Air Force Departmental Publishing Office (AFDPO), which maintains the e-Publishing website and assists OPRs with creating and developing publications and forms.7Department of the Air Force E-Publishing. Department of the Air Force E-Publishing – About Us AFDPO verifies legal and formatting requirements, cross-references the existing library to prevent numbering conflicts, and performs final indexing.
Once AFDPO completes processing, the publication or form is posted on the official e-Publishing website and becomes available across the Department of the Air Force.1Department of the Air Force E-Publishing. Department of the Air Force E-Publishing That posting closes out the action request. The OPR then keeps the publication current through periodic reviews and any future action requests.