To fill out DA Form 1380, enter your identifying information in Items 1 through 8, log each date of duty in Item 9 with the hours worked, points claimed, a specific description, and the authorizing rule from AR 140-185, Table 2-1, then have the officer with direct knowledge of your duty sign Items 10 and 11. The completed form has to be processed no later than the last day of the month in which the duty was performed.
The current version of the form is available through the Army Publishing Directorate at armypubs.army.mil. Before you start, pull your assignment orders or the authorization memo for the duty. You will need the specific regulatory citation, the exact dates, and the name and position of whoever can certify you did the work.
Items 1 Through 8
Items 1 through 3 cover the reporting period, meaning the dates your duty fell within. Item 4 is the complete designation and address of the records manager who maintains your Army Military Human Resource Record. If you are not sure which office that is, confirm it with your unit S-1 before submitting. A wrong or blank Item 4 is one of the most common reasons a form gets misrouted.
Item 5 is your name in last-first-middle initial format. Item 6 is your current grade. Item 8 is your assigned organization. Recent transfers cause trouble here. Writing the old unit designation after a reassignment will bounce the form back.
Item 9: Dates, Hours, Points, and Description
Item 9 is where most of the work happens, and it is where most rejections start.
At the top of the block, check the box that matches the type of duty performed: Equivalent, Appropriate, Suitable, or Other. If a single form covers duty periods of different types, leave those checkboxes blank and identify the type for each entry inside Column d instead. Checking one box while the rows mix categories creates a contradiction the reviewer will flag.
Next to the checkbox, cite the documentary authority from AR 140-185, Table 2-1. For rescheduled training in a nonpay status, that means writing something like “Table 2-1, Rule 2.” A description without the table reference is incomplete no matter how clear the narrative is.
The four columns work like this:
- Column a. The day, month, and year the duty was performed.
- Column b. Total hours worked that day. Four hours is the floor for earning a retirement point. Two three-hour sessions on two different days earn zero points, because each falls short on its own.
- Column c. Retirement points earned. One point per period of at least four hours performed in one day.
- Column d. A brief description of the duties, training, or instruction performed. If the work spanned an extended project, add the inclusive dates. Specifics matter: “Prepared and delivered land navigation block of instruction for B Co training assembly” survives review; “training support” does not.
Items 10 and 11: The Verifying Officer
Item 10 takes the typed name, grade, and position of the officer who has direct knowledge that you performed the duty. Item 11 is that officer’s signature. Both fields are required. A signature without a typed block, or a typed block without a signature, means the form is not properly certified and will come back.
You do not fill in Item 10 for yourself. Who signs depends on where and how the duty was done:
- Duty in an attached status. The commanding officer of the unit you were attached to prepares and signs the form.
- Attachment with another service branch. You complete the form yourself and get the signature of the duly authorized official from the other service’s unit.
- Training projects. The chief of the proponent agency for the project signs.
- Professional or trade conventions. The designated military representative at the meeting signs.
The common thread is firsthand knowledge. An officer at your home unit who was not present for the duty cannot certify it, and forms signed by someone without direct knowledge get rejected quickly.
Where to Send the Completed Form
Routing depends on whether you are assigned to a unit or serving as a nonunit member such as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee.
If you belong to a unit, forward the original to your unit of assignment. The unit files one copy in your Army Military Human Resource Record. If you are a nonunit member, forward the original and a duplicate directly to HRC, ATTN AHRC-PDR-TR, 1600 Spearhead Division, Fort Knox, Kentucky 40122-5402. Keep one copy for your own records either way.
For points-only submissions, many soldiers now use the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army. The workflow is to initiate a Personnel Action Request as an administrative records update, select “Other” as the reason, and attach the signed DA Form 1380. The PAR routes to the appropriate approval authority, who adds the points and uploads the form to your iPERMS record. Pay-related submissions do not follow that path. Those still go through the Regional Level Application Software module or your unit’s Reserve Personnel Action Center.
The Month-End Deadline
The form instructions are direct: units must ensure DA Form 1380 is processed for both pay and nonpaid retirement points no later than the last day of each month. Submit each form during the same month the duty was performed. Letting them stack up creates reconciliation problems and can cost you credit if the paper trail breaks.
What Gets Forms Returned
Most rejections come down to a short list of errors. Checking your form against them before submission saves a round trip.
- Missing regulatory citation. Item 9 needs the specific rule from AR 140-185, Table 2-1. “RST” or “funeral honors” on its own is not enough.
- Hours below the four-hour threshold with points still claimed. If Column b shows fewer than four hours in a day, Column c has to show zero for that day.
- Outdated or blank records manager address in Item 4. Confirm this with your S-1 rather than guessing.
- Incomplete Item 10 or Item 11. Both the typed name-grade-position and the actual signature are required.
- Vague Column d entries. “Additional training” and “admin support” invite questions. Name the task, the unit supported, and the location.
- Mixed duty types with a header box checked. When rows cover different categories, leave the boxes blank and specify the type per row.
One boundary worth noting: Army correspondence courses used to earn one retirement point for every three credit hours completed, but the program stopped awarding credit after April 15, 2016. Older guidance that references correspondence course points on DA Form 1380 no longer applies.
If Your Points Do Not Post
Once the form is processed, the earned points should appear on your Retirement Points Accounting Management statement, which you can check through IPPS-A. If points from a submitted form do not show up within a reasonable timeframe, contact the HRC Retirement Points Team. They handle discrepancies for both TPU soldiers and Individual Mobilization Augmentees.
Compensation for duty performed in a paid status follows the normal military pay cycle after the finance office receives the approved form. Keep your own signed copy of every DA Form 1380 you submit. If the original goes missing in the system, that personal copy is what makes the difference between straightforward recovery and lost credit.