How to Fill Out and Submit DD Form 2131: Baggage and Boarding

DD Form 2131, the passenger manifest for military flights, records every traveler aboard along with baggage weights and identification data that feed directly into the aircraft’s weight and balance calculations. You fill in your own row, hand the form to the passenger service agent or loadmaster at the Air Mobility Command terminal, and the completed manifest becomes the official record of your presence on the flight. Blank copies are available on the Department of Defense Executive Services Directorate website or at any AMC passenger terminal.¹ The current edition is dated August 2019 with a December 2024 update.

Filling In Your Row on the Form

The header blocks at the top of the form carry flight-level information: flight number, departure point, and final destination. Terminal staff or the loadmaster usually enter these, but check them against your orders before you sign. A mismatch between your orders and the manifest can delay or prevent boarding.

Block 7 is where your personal data goes. Each column asks for a specific piece of information:²

Name (7a): last, first, middle, exactly as printed on your military ID or Common Access Card.
Rank (7b): your current grade or rank. Civilians use their civilian equivalent or title.
DoD ID (7c): the 10-digit number on the back of your CAC, not your Social Security Number.³
Status (7d): space-required or space-available, and your duty status.
ULN and Line Number (7e–7f): Unit Line Number and personnel line number for deployment or redeployment movements. Leave blank if your orders don’t include one.
Service (7g): Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force, or Coast Guard.

Names have to match your CAC character for character. If your orders spell your name one way and the manifest another, expect to be pulled aside until it’s cleared up.

Weight and Baggage Blocks

The right side of the passenger row is what the loadmaster uses to calculate the aircraft’s center of gravity, so the numbers have to be true.

Checked Pieces and Weight (7h): the number of checked bags and their combined weight in pounds.
Carry-On Weight (7i): the weight of everything you bring into the cabin.
Passenger Weight (7j): your body weight in pounds. An inaccurate number can push the aircraft outside safe balance limits or force last-minute cargo removal.

Weigh your bags at home or on a terminal scale before you approach the counter. Terminal staff verify weights, and bags over the limits get pulled. What you write on the form must match the physical items you present at check-in.²

Documents To Bring to the Terminal

Agents compare every entry on your form against the documents you carry. Missing paperwork is the fastest way to miss the flight.

Military ID or CAC. Dependents need a DD Form 1173, the Uniformed Services ID and Privilege Card.⁴
Official travel orders for space-required travel. Your orders must list the flight route and dates, and the manifest destination has to match.
Leave or pass authorization for space-available travelers, along with documentation proving the status.⁵
Passport for international flights, including on military aircraft.

Baggage Limits and Prohibited Items

Standard AMC allowances are two checked bags per passenger, each limited to 70 pounds and 62 linear inches (length plus width plus height). You can hand-carry one bag and one personal item into the cabin as long as the carry-on fits under a seat and does not exceed 45 linear inches.⁶

A duffel bag, sea bag, B-4 bag, or flyer’s kit bag can substitute for one checked piece even if it exceeds 62 linear inches, as long as it stays under 100 pounds. Space-required passengers may take these bags up to 80 linear inches. Excess baggage beyond two checked pieces costs $125 per extra bag and must be authorized on your orders. Space-available travelers cannot bring excess baggage at all; two bags at 70 pounds each is the hard limit.⁶

Federal law prohibits hazardous materials in checked or carry-on bags: explosives, compressed gases, flammable liquids and solids, oxidizers, poisons, corrosives, and radioactive materials. Smart luggage with non-removable lithium batteries will be refused; if the battery is removable, take it out and carry it on.⁷

Firearms must be declared, unloaded, and locked in a hard-sided container before check-in. Knives of any kind are prohibited in carry-on bags and on your person. Narcotics, including marijuana, are banned on all military flights regardless of state law. Violations carry federal penalties of up to five years in prison and fines up to $25,000.⁷

Submitting the Form and Boarding

Once your row is complete, hand the form to the passenger service agent at the AMC terminal. On smaller missions, you may give it directly to the aircraft loadmaster. The agent checks your form against your CAC, orders, and physical baggage. When everything lines up you are formally checked in, and the manifest becomes the official record of your presence on the flight.²

At automated terminals, agents enter your manifest data into the Global Air Transportation Execution System, which generates manifest registers and feeds tracking data to the DoD’s Integrated Data Environment/Global Transportation Network Convergence system.⁸ At non-automated locations or during system outages, the paper form is the primary manifest and local staff track passengers manually.

Before the doors close, the loadmaster performs a head count against the finalized manifest. Every person listed must be seated and accounted for. If someone is missing, the flight holds until the discrepancy is resolved or the name is removed. The paper form travels with the flight crew or stays in terminal records as a backup for emergencies and post-flight audits.

If You Are Flying Space-Available

Space-available travel lets eligible personnel fly when seats remain after all space-required passengers are manifested. You can register in person at any AMC terminal or through the online Space-Available Travel Registration Form, which emails your sign-up to your chosen departure terminal. The date and time on that email set your place in the queue. Because confirmation emails have had technical problems, AMC recommends printing the completed form or email and bringing it so an agent can verify your registration.⁵

Active-duty members must be on leave or pass status when they register and remain in that status through travel. A Space-A sign-up is valid for 60 days or until your leave expires, whichever comes first. As of March 2026, AMC has rolled out a new self-signup tool at all AMC locations for both space-required and space-available travel.⁹ Priority is assigned across six categories, and within each category your sign-up date and time decide the order.¹⁰

Privacy and Disclosure

The Privacy Act statement on the form lists the legal authorities for collecting your data and describes routine uses that include sharing information with other federal agencies for emergency notifications if something happens during the flight.²

Disclosure is technically voluntary. The form itself states that refusing to provide the requested information “may result in the inability to manifest passengers on a flight/secure air transportation hindering mission objectives.”² In practice, you will not board a military aircraft without a completed manifest entry.

1
Executive Services Directorate. DD Form 2131 – Passenger Manifest
2
Washington Headquarters Services. DD Form 2131 – Passenger Manifest
3
Defense.gov. How to Enter Your DoD ID Number in Your DTS Profile
4
Spacea.net. Space-A Eligibility
5
Air Mobility Command. Space-Available Travel Registration Form
6
Air Mobility Command. BWI Passenger Terminal
7
Air Mobility Command. Advice to Passengers
8
Air Force. DAFI 24-605 Volume 2
9
Air Mobility Command. AMC Travel Site
10
Air Mobility Command. AMC Space Available Travel Page