To fill out DAF Form 475, work through its three sections in order — identification data, report data, and the comments narrative — following the item-by-item rules in AFI 36-2406, then route the signed form through the training chain for upload to the officer’s permanent record. The current governing guidance is AFI36-2406_AFGM2026-01, dated 25 February 2026.
First, Confirm a 475 Is Required
The trigger is course length. A DAF Form 475 is mandatory when an officer completes, is interrupted from, or is eliminated from formal training or education scheduled to run eight weeks or more. Self-paced courses use the prescribed length, not the actual finish date.
Three courses require a 475 even when they run shorter than eight weeks: Chaplain or Medical Programs, Squadron Officer School, and Officer Training School–Accelerated.
Course length also matters for what happens after. Only training of twenty weeks or more resets the officer’s next evaluation period in MilPDS. Shorter courses generate a training report without interrupting the standard Officer Performance Report cycle.
Where to Download the Current Form
Pull the form from the Department of the Air Force e-Publishing site through the product index, searching by form number. Do not reuse a locally saved copy. Guidance memorandums update instructions periodically without changing the form number, so a stale copy can carry outdated field rules.
Section I: Identification Data
Section I identifies the officer and the course across ten items. Mistakes in this section are the most common reason a training report is kicked back, so verify each entry against orders and personnel records.
- Item 1, Name: last name, first name, middle initial, and suffix if applicable, in uppercase. No middle initial? Leave it blank; “NMI” is not required.
- Item 2, SSN: the officer’s Social Security Number.
- Item 3, Grade: current grade.
- Item 4, Duty AFSC: the Duty Air Force Specialty Code held as of the THRU date of the report, including any prefix and suffix.
- Item 5, Organization, Command, and Location: organizational data. For Squadron Officer School and OTS-Accelerated students, use the school’s organizational data, not the officer’s home unit.
- Item 6, Period of Report: FROM is the course start date; THRU is the date of completion, interruption, or elimination. These dates run independently of the officer’s regular evaluation period.
- Item 7, Length of Course: scheduled length in whole weeks, rounded down. Use the scheduled length even if the officer finished a self-paced course early, was held past the actual completion date, or was eliminated.
- Item 8, Reason for Report: mark the applicable box — graduation, course interruption, elimination, or other reason.
- Item 9, School Name and Location: official name and location of the training institution.
- Item 10, Course Title: exactly as it appears in official databases.
Section II: Report Data
Section II records what the officer earned and how they finished.
- Item 1, AFSC/Aero Rating/Degree Awarded: any specialty code, aeronautical rating, or academic degree awarded on completion.
- Item 2, Completion: mark the box if the officer completed the course.
- Item 3, Distinguished Graduate: on a final training report, mark “Yes” if the officer earned DG, or “No DG Program” if the course does not offer one. Leave blank if a DG program exists but the officer did not earn the designation.
- Item 4, DG Award Criteria / Non-Completion Reason: if the officer earned DG, describe the criteria (for example, “Top 10 percent of class” or “GPA above 3.5”). If the officer did not complete the course, state the reason here.
Section III: The Comments Narrative
Section III carries the most weight with promotion boards and has two items.
Item 1, Academic Training Accomplishments
Cover what the officer achieved academically. Include recognition for specific or above-average achievement: Distinguished Graduate designation, class standing, research awards, or completion of a particularly demanding course segment. Do not include promotion recommendations or stratifications here. Those belong in other evaluation instruments, not a training report.
Item 2, Professional Qualities
Comments in this block are mandatory. They must address the officer’s general attitude, military bearing, appearance, conduct, and fitness. Describe how the officer carried themselves outside the classroom: leadership within the student body, contributions to group exercises, overall professionalism during the training period. When geographic separation prevents the evaluator from personally observing these qualities, the instruction allows reliance on input from others who did.
For courses of twenty weeks or more, this same block documents the most recent physical fitness assessment when the report’s closeout date falls within 120 days of the officer’s static closeout date. Use this exact format: “PFA: [score]; Category; Exemptions: [list any component exemptions].”
Signatures
A standard, non-referral DAF Form 475 normally has only one evaluator. Additional evaluators come in only when there is disagreement about the report’s content or when the report is referred for derogatory information. The rated officer does not sign or formally acknowledge a standard training report before submission.
Digital signatures are preferred. AFI 36-2406 does not require them, though. If a CAC-based signature is not available, a wet signature or a typed signature is acceptable. Typed signatures use a specific format: two backslashes, the word “signed,” the signatory’s initials, DoD ID number, and date, closed with two backslashes. For example: \\signed, JAS, 0000000000, 15 MAR 26\\. A wet signature must have the date written next to it.
When the Report Must Be a Referral
A training report becomes a referral when it contains derogatory information. The most common trigger under current guidance is a fitness assessment that is unsatisfactory or shows “Required — Not Current” status as of the closeout date. When that applies, the evaluator must use the referral procedures in paragraph 1.11 of AFI 36-2406.
The referral steps are:
- Face-to-face notification. The evaluator whose comments caused the referral meets with the officer to discuss the report. Video conferencing satisfies this when rater and ratee are geographically separated.
- Opportunity to respond. The officer receives the referred report and may submit a written rebuttal. If the evaluator later changes the report’s content beyond minor spelling or punctuation fixes, the officer gets another three duty days to respond, or thirty calendar days for Reserve members not on extended active duty.
- Commander endorsement. After the officer responds or declines to, the commander of the school or unit endorses the report on a DAF Form 77, using the first evaluator’s block.
Officers with an unsatisfactory fitness score or a “Required — Not Current” rating cannot be stratified and cannot receive a “Definitely Promote” recommendation on the report. For Air Force Reserve officers, a referral report also blocks promotion vacancy nominations. Officers with documented full or partial fitness exemptions in the official fitness system are not subject to these restrictions.
Routing and Processing After Signature
Once the evaluator signs, the form routes through the training chain of command for review. For active-duty officers at Squadron Officer School, the path runs from SOS to the Air Force Personnel Center’s ARMS office, which uploads the form into the Automated Records Management System. From there it pushes to the Personnel Records Display Application and becomes part of the officer’s permanent file. Guard and Reserve reports are uploaded to MyPers instead.
AFI 36-2406 gives the training school sixty days to complete its portion of processing. The record should appear in the personnel file within that window after the final signature, though administrative backlogs sometimes stretch the timeline.
Fixing a Training Report That’s Already in the Record
If a completed 475 contains an error or reflects an injustice, there are two avenues, and they must be used in order.
Start with the Evaluation Reports Appeal Board. Regular Air Force members submit through vMPF electronically; Air Reserve Component members use myFSS through the Airmen Ask a Question portal. Once a report is a matter of record, it is presumed accurate, so the applicant carries the burden of showing clear evidence of an error or injustice. The strongest evidence is a statement from the evaluator who signed the contested report, explaining what facts or circumstances were unknown at the time and what the correct information should have been.
If the ERAB does not grant relief, the next and final step is the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records, reached by filing a DD Form 149. The ERAB process must be exhausted first. A three-year time limit applies, though a waiver can be requested by explaining unusual circumstances that prevented timely filing. The board considers whether the applicant exercised due diligence in reviewing their records; officers are expected to check their personnel file for accuracy at least once a year.