To fill out DA Form 7349, the Initial Medical Review – Annual Medical Certificate, you complete Part I yourself: answer the six health questions truthfully, write a specific explanation in Item 8 for every “yes,” list all current medications in Item 7, fill in your SSN, rank, MOS, and date, then sign. Attach records from any civilian care you received since your last periodic physical. Parts II, III, and IV are completed by reviewers, not you.
Get the Current Version of the Form
Download the blank form from the Army Publishing Directorate at armypubs.army.mil, the central repository for standardized Army forms.1Division of Military and Naval Affairs. DA Form 7349 Initial Medical Review – Annual Medical Certificate Some unit sites link straight to the PDF; U.S. Army Japan’s Reserve Forms page is one example.2U.S. Army Japan. Army Reserve Forms The edition in circulation is dated MAR 2002. The form’s header points to AR 40-501 for completion instructions.
Answer the Six Health Questions Honestly
Part I opens with six yes-or-no questions. Each one asks about changes since your last periodic physical examination:
- Do you currently have any medical or dental problems?
- Have you had any medical or dental problems since your last periodic physical examination?
- Have you been seen by or treated by a dentist, physician, or other health care provider since your last periodic physical examination?
- Have you been hospitalized or had surgery since your last periodic physical examination?
- Are you currently taking medication, or have you taken prescription medication since your last examination?
- Are you currently or have you in the past received a VA disability, workers’ compensation, or other compensation for a health or physical reason?
Any “yes” answer requires a written explanation in Item 8. Be specific. Name the condition, when it started, what treatment you received, and whether it has resolved. Vague answers slow the review and can result in a referral for further evaluation that a clear explanation would have avoided.1Division of Military and Naval Affairs. DA Form 7349 Initial Medical Review – Annual Medical Certificate
List Every Medication in Item 7
Item 7 asks for every medication you currently take. That includes over-the-counter drugs and supplements when they relate to a medical condition. Leaving something off because it seems minor is the wrong instinct; the reviewer needs the full picture to decide whether further evaluation is warranted.
Complete the Administrative Fields
The remaining Part I fields are straightforward: Item 9 (SSN), Item 10 (Rank/Grade), Item 11 (MOS), Item 12 (Date), Item 13a (Printed Name), and Item 13b (Signature). Double-check your MOS code. An incorrect entry can route the form to the wrong reviewer or trigger an unnecessary occupational health screening.
Attach Civilian Medical Records When They Apply
If you answered “yes” to anything involving care outside the military health system, attach supporting documentation: hospital discharge summaries, surgical reports, specialist notes, diagnostic imaging results, and pharmacy records for prescribed medications. Your written explanation alone is enough only for minor issues. Anything more, and the reviewing physician needs objective evidence that the condition is stable or resolved.
Getting records from a civilian provider usually means signing a release. Within the military health system, the standard authorization is DD Form 2870, which governs disclosure of protected health information under DoD’s HIPAA implementation. Civilian providers use their own release forms and may charge retrieval fees that vary by state. Substance abuse treatment records and psychotherapy notes require separate authorization and are not covered by the standard DD Form 2870.3Executive Services Directorate (WHS). DD Form 2870 Authorization for Disclosure of Medical or Dental Information
Start gathering records early. Waiting until the last week of your annual review window is the single most common reason Soldiers show up with an incomplete packet. If records are still in transit, submit what you have and note that fact in Item 8. Missing records don’t stop you from submitting, but they can lead to a finding that you’re not medically ready, which drops your Medical Readiness Classification and may block deployment.
What Happens After You Submit
Once you sign and turn in Part I with any attachments, the form moves through three levels of professional review. Knowing what each reviewer does helps you anticipate what comes back.
Part II: Initial Reviewer
An initial reviewer, often a medic, nurse, or physician assistant at your unit or local Medical Department Activity, checks the form for completeness and screens your answers. Item 14 is for the reviewer’s notes; Item 15 records the determination as either “Fully Fit” or “Requires Further Evaluation.” Blank explanations or missing attachments come back to you at this stage. A “Requires Further Evaluation” finding doesn’t mean you’re unfit; it means a physician needs a closer look.1Division of Military and Naval Affairs. DA Form 7349 Initial Medical Review – Annual Medical Certificate
Part III: Physician Review
A physician reviews your health data against the medical fitness standards in AR 40-501.4Department of the Army. Army Regulation 40-501 – Standards of Medical Fitness Item 18 holds the physician’s notes. Item 19 marks the outcome: Fit; Unfit (USAR), meaning a Reserve referral under paragraphs 9-13 and 9-14 of AR 40-501; or Unfit (ARNG), meaning a National Guard referral to the Medical Duty Review Board.
Item 20 requires a PULHES evaluation using the Physical Profile Functional Capacity Guide in Table 7-1 of AR 40-501. PULHES assigns a rating from 1 to 4 across six functional areas: Physical capacity, Upper extremities, Lower extremities, Hearing, Eyes, and pSychiatric stability. A 1 is a high level of fitness with no identified defects. A 2 is a stable condition with some activity limitations. A 3 signals significant limitations. A 4 means duty performance is drastically limited.1Division of Military and Naval Affairs. DA Form 7349 Initial Medical Review – Annual Medical Certificate
Item 21 asks whether a DA Form 3349 (Physical Profile) is attached. If the physician assigns a PULHES designator of 2 or higher that warrants duty restrictions, the DA Form 3349 spells those out. Profiles lasting longer than 30 days must be recorded on that form, and all permanent profiles require it.
Part IV: Approving Authority
The approving authority signs off in Items 22 through 26, including any miscellaneous recommendations. Profiles carrying a PULHES designator of 3 or 4 require two profiling officers’ signatures, one of whom must be the physician approving authority. Once Part IV is complete, the results are entered into MEDPROS.
How the Result Affects Your Deployability
Your DA Form 7349 outcome feeds your Medical Readiness Classification in MEDPROS, the Army’s system for tracking immunization, medical readiness, and deployability data across all components.5Medical Protection System. Welcome To MEDPROS MRC 1 is fully medically ready and deployable. MRC 2 covers minor deficiencies and is generally deployable. MRC 3 covers more significant issues, some deployable with a commander’s assessment and some not, including pregnancy and permanent profiles that indicate a Medical Evaluation Board or retention review. MRC 4 means your status is unknown, usually because a Periodic Health Assessment or dental exam is overdue by more than 15 months.
If your review results in a new profile or a PULHES change, your MRC updates accordingly. Dropping from MRC 1 to MRC 3 or 4 can pull you from a deployment roster, so complete the form early enough to resolve any issues before mobilization.6U.S. Army Reserve. Medical Readiness Leaders Crib Sheet An “Unfit” finding paired with a permanent P3 or P4 profile can eventually lead to the Disability Evaluation System, though the referral is not automatic from the form alone.7U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Medical Boards – Disability Evaluation System
Why Truthful Answers Matter
Your signature on Part I certifies your answers are truthful. Under 10 U.S.C. § 907 (UCMJ Article 107), any person subject to military law who signs a false official document knowing it to be false, or makes a false official statement with intent to deceive, can be punished as a court-martial may direct.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 907 – Art 107 False Official Statements and False Swearing Most cases involving incomplete medical forms are handled through non-judicial punishment under Article 15 rather than a full court-martial, but the legal exposure exists.
The Privacy Act Statement on the form cites 10 U.S.C. § 133 as the authority for collecting your information. Furnishing the information is mandatory, but the statement notes that if you decline, comprehensive health care may not be possible, though care will not be denied.9Missouri State University. Initial Medical Review – Annual Medical Certificate
The practical reason to be complete is just as strong. An undisclosed condition that flares up in theater becomes a medical evacuation that could have been managed stateside. And an undocumented pre-existing condition complicates any future disability claim, because there’s no baseline showing the condition existed before deployment.