How to Fill Out and Submit DD Form 1850: Delivery Day and Post-Move Claims

DD Form 1850, the Notification of Loss or Damage at Delivery, is how Department of Defense personnel tell a Transportation Service Provider that household goods arrived broken, missing, or destroyed after a military move. To fill out DD Form 1850, list each damaged or missing item by its inventory tag number, describe the damage in specific terms, sign the form with the delivery driver on delivery day, and get it to the TSP within 75 days so you keep your right to file a claim at full replacement value.¹ The form itself warns that any item not identified within 180 days after delivery loses eligibility for recovery, so treating delivery day as your real deadline is the safest approach.

What to Have Ready Before the Truck Arrives

The form asks for shipment identifiers you will not remember from memory. Pull your moving paperwork out before the crew shows up and keep it beside you.

The GBL or personal property shipping order number from your move authorization.
The Transportation Service Provider’s legal name and its Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC), both printed on your shipping documents.
The origin inventory sheet, so you can match the small colored tags on boxes and furniture to the carrier’s list as items come off the truck. Each tag number is what ties a specific item to the shipment on paper.

If a tag is missing from an item entirely, that is worth noting on the form too.

Filling In the Form Line by Line

Each line on the 1850 pairs one inventory number with a description of what went wrong. Delivery crews usually bring pre-printed copies. If they do not, your local Transportation Office can provide one, and the form is also accessible through the Defense Personal Property System.

Write the inventory tag number in the designated column, then describe the damage in plain, specific language. “Scratched” tells the adjuster nothing. “Deep gouge on right side panel, approximately six inches long” tells them exactly what to look for. Note whether the item is broken, dented, stained, or missing entirely.

Cartons deserve attention even when you have not opened them. If a sealed box looks crushed or the tamper seal is broken, list the carton’s inventory number and describe the external damage. You can add the contents to a later notification once you unpack.

Do not sign a blank or partially completed form. The instructions on the related DD Form 1840 warn against this explicitly, and the same principle applies here.² If you run out of room, attach a continuation sheet and reference it on the main form.

High-Value Items

Any item worth more than $100 per pound counts as a high-value item under military moving rules and should have been listed on a separate high-value inventory before your shipment left origin. Electronics, antiques, and musical instruments fall into this bucket often. When one arrives damaged, note it on the 1850 like any other item, but add extra detail: manufacturer, model, materials, and pre-move condition. The more specific your description, the stronger your position when the claim reaches valuation.

Signing and Submitting on Delivery Day

You and the driver both sign and date the front of the form on delivery day.¹ The driver’s signature only acknowledges that you reported the damage. It is not an admission of fault, and drivers sometimes need to be reminded of that before they sign. Keep at least one signed copy. If carbon copies are not available, a clear phone photograph of the completed, signed form works as a backup.

One thing to be clear about: the 1850 is not your claim. It is a notification to the TSP that damage exists and that you intend to file a claim later.¹ Handing the driver a signed 1850 does not start the payment process or entitle you to any money. It starts the clock and protects your ability to file.

Reporting Damage You Find After the Crew Leaves

You will not catch everything on moving day. Boxes stay sealed, furniture gets shoved against walls, and some damage only shows up during unpacking. For damage found later, you have two options: complete a separate Notification of Loss/Damage After Delivery form, or enter the damage directly into the Defense Personal Property System.

The DPS route is faster and creates its own timestamp. Log in, open the Claims tab, and select Loss/Damage Reports on the right side of the screen. Click Add Loss/Damage, choose the correct GBL number from the popup, fill in the required fields describing each damaged or missing item, and click Save. Repeat for each item.³ DPS collects the information through its own input fields, so you do not need to scan and upload a paper 1850.

Whichever method you use, actually submit it. Saving a draft in DPS does not count. The Coast Guard’s claims office warns that missing the 75-day notification deadline is grounds for the TSP to deny the entire claim for lack of timely notice.¹

Deadlines That Change What You Get Paid

Military household goods claims run on a stacked set of deadlines, and each one you miss reduces what you can recover.

75 days after delivery: the notification (DD Form 1840/1840R, DD Form 1850/1851, or a DPS loss/damage report) must reach the TSP. Missing this can trigger a complete denial.¹
9 months after delivery: the formal claim must be submitted to the TSP through DPS to qualify for full replacement value. For shipments with a requested pickup date on or after May 15, 2019, the TSP’s maximum liability is $5,000 or $6 per pound times shipment weight, whichever is greater, up to $75,000.⁴
Between 9 months and 2 years: you can still file, but the TSP’s liability drops to depreciated value only, capped at $1.25 per pound times the net weight of the shipment.⁴
2 years after delivery: absolute cutoff. The Coast Guard’s claims office states plainly, “There are no exceptions to this unless you are present in a war zone.”¹

The drop between the 9-month and 2-year windows is steep. A sofa with a full replacement value of $2,000 might carry a depreciated value of $400. Filing at month eight versus month ten can be the difference between a replacement and a small check.

Protecting Your Claim After You Submit

Keep the damaged items and their original packing materials until the TSP finishes its inspection or tells you in writing that inspection is waived. Throwing out a crushed box before anyone can see how the item was packed weakens the claim considerably, because the TSP can then argue the damage happened after delivery.

The 1850 gets you through the door, but it is only notification. The formal claim itself uses DD Form 1842 and DD Form 1844, filed through DPS with proof of value and replacement cost estimates for items claimed at $100 or more.¹ If the TSP later denies or underpays, you can transfer all or part of the claim to your military claims office, though the claims office pays fair market (depreciated) value rather than full replacement.⁴ Filing the 1850 correctly on delivery day is what keeps both of those doors open.

1
United States Coast Guard. Household Goods Claims
2
Department of Defense. DD Form 1840 – Joint Statement of Loss or Damage at Delivery
3
U.S. Army. Filing a Claim on DPS
4
VA St. Petersburg. Transferring HHG Claims to DPS