How to Fill Out DD Form 2648: eForm, Capstone, and CAC Deadline

Filling out DD Form 2648, the Service Member Pre-Separation/Transition Counseling eForm, is done entirely inside the milConnect portal: you initialize the form under the DoDTAP module, complete items 1 through 31 with your personal information and chosen transition track, attend the mandatory Transition Assistance Program (TAP) workshops your counselor logs against it, produce the Career Readiness Standards deliverables for your track, and then electronically sign so your commander can verify the form at Capstone.¹ Your DD Form 214 cannot be issued until the eForm is verified, so treat every field as consequential.²

Before You Start: Who Fills It Out and When

Active Component members across all branches use DD Form 2648. Reserve and National Guard members being released from active duty after at least 180 continuous days use DD Form 2648-1 instead. Members discharged before completing 180 continuous days are generally exempt from the formal counseling requirement.³

Timing matters because the eForm is not something you sit down and finish in one session. It tracks completion of workshops and readiness benchmarks that take months. Standard separations require pre-separation counseling to begin no later than 365 days before discharge. Retirees can start up to 24 months out. If your separation is unplanned, the process begins as soon as possible within whatever time remains.⁴

Getting Into the eForm on milConnect

There is no blank PDF to download. The 2648 is a live digital record that you, your counselor, and your commander all update over time. To open yours:

Sign in to milConnect at milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil with your Common Access Card or DS Logon credentials.
Go to Correspondence/Documentation, then DoD Transition Assistance Program (DoDTAP).⁵
On the My Dashboard tab, click Initialize Pre-Separation Counseling. Your eForm then appears on the Transition Documents tab.

Once initialized, the form stays open. You return to it as you complete requirements, and counselors update it after each workshop.

Filling In Items 1 Through 31

The form runs from item 1 to item 31, covering personal details, service information, and your transition plan. Required fields display in red until you fill them.⁶ A few entries deserve extra attention:

Post-separation email (item 26) and phone (item 27). Use a personal, non-military address. Once your CAC deactivates, this is how agencies will reach you.
Permanent mailing address. Where you plan to live after discharge; the VA and other partners use it for benefits correspondence.
Anticipated separation date and character of service. These determine which benefits you can access.
Transition track. You pick one primary track: Employment, Education, Vocational Training, or Entrepreneurship. This selection sets the Career Readiness Standards you have to meet.
Consent for Information Sharing, items 1 through 4a. This section authorizes DoD to share your information with partners such as the VA and Department of Labor so they can follow up after discharge.

The form also records the readiness tier assigned to you after an initial assessment. Higher-risk tiers trigger more intensive counseling and additional benchmarks.

Workshops Your Counselor Logs

You cannot finalize the eForm until required TAP workshops are logged against it. Counselors enter attendance directly into the system. The core curriculum includes:

DoD Transition Day, covering Managing Your Transition, Military Occupational Code Crosswalk, and Financial Planning for Transition.⁷
VA Benefits and Services, a full-day session on health care enrollment, disability compensation, education benefits, and other VA programs.
Department of Labor Employment Fundamentals of Career Transition, a one-day workshop on job search strategies, resumes, and interviewing.⁸

Your chosen track adds a two-day follow-on. Employment adds an extended DOL workshop on networking, salary negotiation, and federal hiring. Entrepreneurship runs through the Small Business Administration’s Boots to Business program. Miss a mandatory session and the eForm stalls, which stalls the 214.

Career Readiness Standards You Need to Show

Career Readiness Standards are the concrete deliverables proving you have a viable post-military plan. Every separating member meets a common set plus track-specific items.

Common Standards

Whichever track you pick, you produce evidence of the following:⁴

A completed Individual Transition Plan and self-assessment.
A post-separation financial plan. It must include total household income; projected expenses for housing, health care, transportation, childcare, and food; insurance; household debt with a debt-to-income ratio; assets; a financial action plan; and short- and long-term goals.
A registered VA.gov account.
Continuum of Military Service Opportunity counseling (active component only).
MOC Gap Analysis, or verification of employment.

The financial plan is where people most often get stuck. A vague budget will not pass. Start early, because gathering accurate cost-of-living numbers for your destination takes time.

Track-Specific Standards

Employment: a resume meeting civilian hiring standards, or proof of a job already lined up.⁹
Education: a completed comparison of higher education or training institutions, plus evidence of an application or an acceptance letter from an accredited school.¹⁰
Vocational Training: a comparison of technical training programs, focused on career and technical institutions.
Entrepreneurship: completion of the SBA Boots to Business program.

Signing, Capstone, and Commander Verification

Once counseling sessions and Career Readiness Standards are documented, you electronically sign the eForm inside milConnect. Your signature confirms you received the required counseling and understand the resources available. The form then moves into a digital workflow where a Transition Counselor or Command Career Counselor reviews it for completeness.

Capstone is the final check and must happen no later than 90 days before your separation date.⁴ Bring your financial plan, resume or school application, ITP, and evidence of every mandatory workshop. Your commander or a designated representative reviews the eForm and verifies whether you have met all standards. That commander signature must occur before your DD-214 is issued.¹¹

If You Have Not Met the Standards

Falling short does not waive you through, and it does not automatically block your separation. It triggers a warm handover: a person-to-person connection between you and an outside agency that can help fill the gap.¹² A counselor makes a direct introduction, in person, by phone, or by email, and the receiving partner must confirm they have acknowledged the referral.¹¹

The primary partners are the Department of Veterans Affairs for health care and benefits gaps, the Department of Labor for employment assistance, and DoD Military OneSource for broader support such as financial counseling. Counselors can also connect you with local military or veteran service organizations by selecting Other on the form and listing the agency. The handover gets recorded in Section 4 of the eForm, including the partner’s name, contact details, and confirmation that the connection was made. Your commander then signs verifying either that you met the standards or that the handover was properly executed.

Get a Copy Before Your CAC Deactivates

After the form is finalized it transmits automatically to your permanent electronic personnel file. Download a personal copy before your CAC turns off. You will want it during final out-processing, and the VA sometimes requests it when you apply for benefits.

You can still retrieve the form after separation through milConnect. As of mid-2025, milConnect is moving from DS Logon to myAuth for non-CAC sign-in; create an account from the milConnect home page if you do not already have one.¹³ Once in, go to Correspondence/Documentation, then DoDTAP, and look under Transition Documents Reported for Me on the My Dashboard tab.

1
United States Navy. Release of the Transition Assistance Program Electronic Form for Transition, Goals, Plans, Success Counseling
2
Department of Defense. DoD Instruction 1332.35
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1142 – Preseparation Counseling; Transmittal of Certain Records to Department of Veterans Affairs
4
Department of Defense. DoD Instruction 1332.35 – Transition Assistance Program (TAP)
5
milConnect. Filling in Your eForm
6
U.S. Marine Corps. Initiate PreSeparation Counseling and Digitally Sign eForm (e2648)
7
Air Force Personnel Center. Transition Assistance Program
8
Transition Assistance Program. Transition Assistance Program Resources – Documents
9
Air Force Personnel Center. Career Readiness Standards Overview
10
U.S. Department of Labor. DD Form 2958 Service Member Career Readiness Standards/Individual Transition Plan Checklist
11
Transition Assistance Program. Military Leader’s Guide to TAP
12
U.S. Government Accountability Office. Service Members Transitioning to Civilian Life: Agencies Can Improve Warm Handovers for Additional Assistance
13
milConnect. milConnect – Access Documents