How to Fill Out DA Form 4949: Administrative Adjustment Report (AAR)

DA Form 4949, the Administrative Adjustment Report, corrects property book records when the paperwork is wrong but the equipment on hand is right. To fill out DA Form 4949, enter the incorrect data exactly as it currently appears in the Change From columns, put the corrected data in the Change To columns, cite the regulation or catalog that authorizes the change, write a short explanation on the reverse, and route the form to the Property Book Officer or commander for signature. Use it only when the physical count does not change; if property is actually missing, the correct document is a DD Form 200, not this one.¹

Before You Start

Pull the current version of DA Form 4949 from the Army Publishing Directorate at armypubs.army.mil. Have the affected DA Form 3328 (or its automated equivalent) in front of you so you can copy the existing entries character for character. Verify the corrected national stock number against the Army Master Data File or FED LOG before you write anything down. If the adjustment involves a serial number swap done during maintenance, grab the supporting GCSS-Army Form 5990 or SAMS Form 2407E to attach.²

Prepare enough copies to satisfy your local filing needs. Procedures live in DA PAM 710-2-1; the underlying policy is AR 710-2.

Filling Out the Form Block by Block

Work through the form top to bottom.

Organization/Activity: the unit that holds command responsibility for the property book.
Document Number: assign the next number in your unit’s document register. For a manual-to-automated conversion, use the number that closes out the old property book pages.
Change From columns: enter the data exactly as it currently appears on the property book or hand receipt, including the existing NSN, Line Item Number, item description, quantity, and serial number where applicable. Copy it character for character, errors included. This is where most rejections start.
Change To columns: enter the corrected data. Verify every digit against AMDF or FED LOG.
Authority: cite the specific regulation, pamphlet paragraph, catalog, or directive that authorizes the change. See the next section for the right citation to use.
Action block checkboxes: mark “Adjust Item” for most corrections. For a system conversion, mark “Change Accounting.”

If you are correcting a serial number rather than a stock number, DA PAM 710-2-1 directs you to cross out “Change Stock No.” on the form and write “Change Serial No.” in its place.²

Picking the Right Authority

The Authority block is where preparers most often go wrong. It changes with the type of correction:

NSN change directed by the Army Master Data File, SB 700-20, or a supply status card with a BG code: cite “AMDF” or “SB 700-20.”
Serial number correction: cite DA PAM 710-2-1, paragraph 4-12.
Difference in make, model, or size between the property book and the item on hand: cite AR 710-2 and mark “Adjust Item.”
Conversion from manual records to an automated system such as GCSS-Army: the Change From section states that property has been dropped from manual records with the affected Unit Identification Codes, and the Change To section names the automated system receiving the property.

Citing AR 710-2 on a form that should reference DA PAM 710-2-1 paragraph 4-12, or leaving the block blank altogether, signals that the preparer did not look up the correct procedure and the PBO will return the form.²

What Goes on the Reverse Side

Write a brief, plain narrative on the back of the form explaining why the adjustment is needed. One sentence is often enough. Name the source of the discrepancy: a transposition during receipt posting, a manufacturer change in packaging, a catalog-directed NSN update, an ORF exchange. The approving authority reads this to confirm the change is administrative rather than an attempt to hide a shortage. Skip it and the form comes back.

Signature, Posting, and Filing

The Primary Hand Receipt Holder typically prepares the AAR and submits it to the PBO. Either the commander or the PBO signs and dates the form, depending on local policy.²

After approval, the PBO decreases the balance on hand for the Change From item on its DA Form 3328 and increases the balance for the Change To item, creating a new DA Form 3328 if none exists. Hand receipts, hand receipt annexes, and the reverse-side data on both DA Form 3328s get updated. The document register is annotated to show the AAR as completed. Controlled Cryptographic Item Serialization Program changes are reported per AR 710-3, and Army National Guard units handling RICC 2 items send a copy of every completed AAR to the United States Property and Fiscal Officer.²

The signed AAR is filed in the property book supporting document file. AR 710-2 makes the AAR itself the support document for the adjustment.³ The PBO returns a finalized copy to the unit to confirm the transaction processed.

Errors That Get the Form Returned

Three problems account for most rejections. First, the Change From entry does not match the property book exactly. If the PBO pulls the DA Form 3328 and any digit of the NSN, serial number, or description differs from your form, the AAR comes back. Copy the erroneous data as it is, not as it should have been.

Second, the Authority block is blank or points to the wrong regulation. Match the citation to the type of adjustment.

Third, supporting documentation is missing. Serial number swaps done during maintenance need the associated GCSS-Army Form 5990 or SAMS Form 2407E attached, and the reverse-side narrative has to be there.

When Not To Use This Form

The AAR only reconciles paperwork to a physical count that already matches. Ten radios on hand and ten on the property book with one wrong serial number is an AAR situation. Nine radios on hand and ten on the property book is a loss, and the required document is a DD Form 200, Financial Liability Investigation of Property Loss.¹

Using an AAR to erase a shortage is a serious matter. Under Article 108 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 908, any service member who without proper authority loses, destroys, damages, sells, or suffers military property to be lost or disposed of faces punishment as a court-martial may direct.⁴ The statute reaches both willful and negligent conduct, and maximum punishments under the Manual for Courts-Martial scale with the value of the property, from confinement and forfeiture of pay for lower-value items to a dishonorable discharge and years of confinement for higher-value losses. Short of court-martial, falsifying supply records can produce administrative action, relief from duty, or an adverse evaluation. When property is actually gone, do the DD Form 200.

1
Department of Defense. DoD 7000.14-R Financial Management Regulation Volume 12 Chapter 7
2
Army Safety. DA PAM 710-2-1 Using Unit Supply System Manual Procedures
3
Army Safety. AR 710-2 Inventory Management Supply Policy Below the National Level
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 908 Art 108 Military Property of United States Loss Damage Destruction or Wrongful Disposition