How to Fill Out and Submit DA Form 4187: Personnel Action in IPPS-A

To fill out DA Form 4187, enter the soldier’s identifying information in Section I, complete Section II only if you are recording a duty status change, check the requested action in Section III and sign Block 9 if the request is voluntary, justify the request in the Section IV remarks, and leave Section V and the page-two addendum for the commander and higher reviewers. In most units the paper form has been replaced by a digital Personnel Action Request (PAR) submitted through IPPS-A, which routes the request through the approval chain automatically.1United States Army. Soldiers Advised to Look for IPPS-A Makeover of Legacy Paperwork

What DA Form 4187 Is For

DA Form 4187 is the catch-all Department of the Army form for personnel actions that don’t have a dedicated form of their own. Its purpose statement directs its use “to request or record personnel actions for or by Soldiers in accordance with DA PAM 600-8.”2United States Army Reserve. DA Form 4187 – Personnel Action Section III lists pre-printed checkboxes for the most common requests: airborne, ranger, or Special Forces training; Officer Candidate School; compassionate reassignment; married Army couples reassignment; Exceptional Family Member assignment; overseas volunteering; name, SSN, or date-of-birth change; reclassification (MOS change); identification card or tags; separate rations; leave; and retesting in Army Personnel Tests. An “Other” checkbox handles anything not on the list, including financial actions like hostile fire pay or proficiency pay, stabilization requests, and record corrections that lack their own form.3National Guard. DA Form 4187 – Personnel Action

Some actions start with the soldier. Others are directed by the command. On a voluntary, soldier-initiated request, the soldier signs Section III, Block 9. On a command-directed action such as a duty status change or involuntary reassignment, the commander fills the form out and signs Section V; no soldier signature in Block 9 is required. Either way, the commander’s signature in Section V has to be there before the action can move.2United States Army Reserve. DA Form 4187 – Personnel Action

Filling Out Each Section

The form runs six sections across two pages. Small errors in any of them are the reason most forms come back.

Section I — Personal Identification

Enter the soldier’s full name (last, first, middle initial), grade or rank with Primary Military Occupational Specialty (PMOS) or Area of Concentration (AOC), and Social Security Number. Providing the SSN is technically voluntary under the Privacy Act, but leaving it blank will likely stall processing.2United States Army Reserve. DA Form 4187 – Personnel Action Newer versions of the form ask for “DOD ID Number” in place of SSN, so use whichever identifier the version in front of you requests.3National Guard. DA Form 4187 – Personnel Action

Section II — Duty Status Change

Section II records changes to a soldier’s duty status under AR 600-8-6, such as moving from present for duty to absent without leave, or from leave back to present for duty.4Army Resilience Directorate. DA Form 4187 Personnel Action Enter the status the soldier is changing from, the status they are changing to, and the effective date and time. If your request has nothing to do with a status change, leave Section II blank and move to Section III.

Section III — Request for Personnel Action

Check the box that matches your action from the pre-printed list, or check “Other” and briefly describe the request. Block 9 is the soldier’s signature line, required on voluntary requests. Block 10 captures the date signed.2United States Army Reserve. DA Form 4187 – Personnel Action

Section IV — Remarks

Remarks apply to Sections II, III, and V, and this is where you make your case. Write a clear justification: why you need the action, when it should take effect, and how it serves both the Army’s interests and yours. A reclassification request should explain why you’re seeking a new MOS and reference any prerequisites you’ve already met. A compassionate reassignment should tie the facts of the hardship to the specific relief you’re asking for. If you run out of room, continue on a separate sheet and reference it in Section IV. Vague remarks are one of the fastest ways to get a form kicked back.

Section V — Certification, Approval, or Disapproval

The commander or authorized representative acts here. Block 11 contains a certification statement confirming the action “has been verified.” The commander then checks one of four options: approved, recommend approval, disapproved, or recommend disapproval. Blocks 12 through 14 capture the commander’s name, signature, and date.2United States Army Reserve. DA Form 4187 – Personnel Action “Recommend approval” means the form has to keep moving up the chain before the action takes effect.

Section VI — Addendum (Page 2)

Page two holds additional recommendation blocks for actions that need review at multiple levels. Each block captures a reviewing official’s name, rank, title, signature, date, comments, and approval or disapproval recommendation. A compassionate reassignment, for example, may need endorsement from a colonel-level commander or higher before final action, and each level’s block gets filled as the form travels.

Supporting Documents to Attach

Many actions require attachments before the S-1 will accept the packet. Submitting without them is the most common reason a form gets returned without action.

  • Name change: a marriage certificate, divorce decree, court order, social security card showing the new name, or a notarized copy of a public record proving the legal name change. A marriage certificate or divorce decree used for this purpose must specify that a legal name change is authorized.5U.S. House of Representatives. Department of the Army Pamphlet 600-8-104 – Updating Data Related to the Record Brief
  • Compassionate reassignment: DA Form 3739 (Application for Compassionate Actions), a personal statement from the soldier, and problem-specific documentation. Medical problems require a signed statement from the attending physician giving diagnosis, prognosis, hospitalization history, and anticipated recovery period. Legal problems require a statement from a licensed attorney explaining why reassignment is the only viable solution, plus any relevant court orders. If the request involves a dependent’s medical condition, the dependent must be enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program before the action will process.6Fort Polk MWR. Compassionate Reassignment/Deletion/Deferment and Attachments
  • EFMP stabilization: DA Form 4187 endorsed by an O-6 commander or higher, DD Form 2792 (Family Member Medical Summary), DD Form 2792-1 (Special Education/Early Intervention Summary) where applicable, and correspondence from a treating physician or education specialist.6Fort Polk MWR. Compassionate Reassignment/Deletion/Deferment and Attachments
  • Training requests: documentation showing you meet the course prerequisites, such as PT scores, medical screening results, or security clearance verification, either attached or referenced in the remarks.

Every attachment should be current, legible, and match the identifying information in Section I exactly. A name that doesn’t match between the form and a marriage certificate will slow the packet down.

Submitting the Form

The paper routing starts with your immediate supervisor, who reviews the form for completeness before passing it to the company commander. The commander reviews the request and supporting evidence, then marks Section V. If higher approval is required, the form moves through battalion or brigade with each level endorsing the page-two addendum. The S-1 at each echelon verifies the form is complete, the data matches the soldier’s records, and all attachments are present.

IPPS-A Personnel Action Requests

For most actions, IPPS-A has replaced the paper DA 4187. Instead of printing, signing, and hand-carrying a form, soldiers submit a Personnel Action Request digitally:7IPPS-A. IPPS-A Self-Service User Guide

  • Log into IPPS-A and open “My Personnel Action Requests.”
  • Select “Create Personnel Action,” pick an effective date, and choose the action and reason from the dropdowns.
  • Enter your justification in the “More Information” field, which replaces the Section IV remarks, and upload supporting documents.
  • Validate and submit. The system checks for errors and shows you the approval chain before final submission.

The whole process can be done from the IPPS-A mobile app, which handles all self-service functions including PARs.8Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Bye, Bye DA Form 4187 Once submitted, the request routes automatically through the approval chain.

Tracking and What Happens After Approval

Soldiers can track every step of a submitted PAR and receive a notification when the action is complete.1United States Army. Soldiers Advised to Look for IPPS-A Makeover of Legacy Paperwork Status is visible through the HR IPPS-A portal at hr.ippsa.army.mil, not the “My IPPS-A” portal at my.ippsa.army.mil, which is where the request is originally submitted. If you can’t see the status, you can open a Customer Relationship Management case through the system for an update.9Facebook. Integrated Personnel and Pay System – Army (IPPS-A) If your unit is still on paper, stay in contact with your S-1 clerk to find out which office holds the form.

Once the approval authority signs off, the approved DA 4187 or its digital PAR record becomes part of your Official Military Personnel File. Whether the change is a pay adjustment, a new school qualification, or a reassignment, it should appear in your records after the OMPF is updated. Pull your records brief after the action closes and confirm the change posted correctly. Catching a missing or wrong entry now is far easier than fixing it later when you need that record for a promotion board or PCS orders.