How to Get a Copy of DD Form 2064: Certificate of Death

To get a copy of DD Form 2064, the Certificate of Death (Overseas), next of kin submit a records request to the National Personnel Records Center, either online through vetrecs.archives.gov with ID.me verification or by mail using Standard Form 180. The request has to identify the service member, include proof of death, and be signed by an eligible family member.¹

Who Can Request the Form

The National Personnel Records Center limits next-of-kin access to a specific list of relatives: a surviving unremarried spouse, parent, son, daughter, sister, or brother of the deceased service member. If you fall outside that list, you generally cannot obtain the record as next of kin, though limited information from military records may be available to the public through a Freedom of Information Act request.¹

Because the DD-2064 is generated by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System after a forensic pathology investigation and then filed into the service member’s records, the request pathway is the same one used for other military service records. You are not writing to AFMES directly; you are asking the archive that holds the completed file.

How to Submit the Request

Online Through eVetRecs

The fastest option is the online portal at vetrecs.archives.gov. You will need to verify your identity through ID.me before the system will accept a next-of-kin request. Once inside, you complete the request electronically and upload supporting documents.¹

By Mail Using Standard Form 180

If you prefer paper, download and complete Standard Form 180 and mail the signed, dated form to:

National Personnel Records Center
1 Archives Drive
St. Louis, MO 63138

Whichever route you use, the request should include the service member’s full name as used in service, Social Security number, branch of service, and dates of service. Next of kin requesting the records of a deceased veteran must also provide proof of death, such as a death certificate or a published obituary.¹

The more precise your identifying information, the faster the search. If you don’t have the Social Security number, include date and place of birth to help the archivists locate the correct file.

What the DD-2064 Is

The DD-2064 is the official death record issued by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System when the Department of Defense investigates a death outside the United States. AFMES generates the form after completing a forensic pathology investigation, and the examining pathologist signs it. Families do not fill it out.²

For surviving family, the completed form functions as the civilian-equivalent death certificate. It unlocks military death benefits, authorizes repatriation of remains, and stands in for a domestic death certificate while local records catch up. The document mirrors the layout of a standard U.S. death certificate: demographics, cause of death in the two-part format, certifying pathologist information, and disposition of remains.³

Don’t Wait for a Separate State Department Certificate

Families sometimes hold off on benefit paperwork thinking they also need a Consular Report of Death (DS-2060) from the State Department. When the Department of Defense conducts the forensic investigation and issues a DD-2064, the State Department will not issue a DS-2060. The military form serves in its place for both next-of-kin and governmental purposes.⁴

A separate death certificate may still be issued by the foreign country where the death occurred, but it has no bearing on military benefits processing and can take months to obtain through diplomatic channels. If you have the DD-2064, you have what federal agencies and the VA need.

Blank Template vs. an Issued Copy

These are two different requests, and confusing them is a common reason families end up on the wrong phone line. The blank DD-2064 template is controlled by the Defense Health Agency. The Executive Services Directorate’s forms page directs anyone seeking a blank copy to contact DHA directly.⁵

A completed DD-2064 for a specific individual, on the other hand, lives in that service member’s records. That is what the National Personnel Records Center provides, and it is what next of kin actually need for benefit claims.

If the Copy You Receive Has Errors

A misspelled name, wrong date, or incorrect manner-of-death entry can block benefit claims and complicate legal matters. Under 10 U.S.C. § 1552, the secretary of each military department can correct errors in military records, acting through a civilian Board for Correction of Military Records.⁶

You request a correction by filing DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) with the appropriate service branch, not with the National Archives. Include supporting evidence: signed witness statements, medical records, or a written explanation of the error. The application must be filed within three years of discovering the mistake, though the board can consider late applications if you explain the delay and the board finds it would be in the interest of justice to proceed.⁷

Submission methods vary by branch. The Army and Air Force have online application portals; the Navy accepts submissions by email. All branches accept mailed applications. Check page 3 of DD Form 149 or the individual service BCMR website for the current mailing address. If the board denies your request and you later find new evidence, you can submit a fresh DD Form 149 for reconsideration.

Do not try to alter the document informally. Providing false information on the form is a federal offense under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, punishable by fines and up to five years in prison, with the penalty rising to eight years if the false statement involves terrorism or certain other serious offenses.⁸ The pathologist signing the form stakes their professional credentials on its accuracy, so corrections belong in the BCMR process.

What to Have Ready Before You File

Before you start the online request or fill out SF-180, gather:

The service member’s full legal name as used in service
Social Security number, or date and place of birth if the SSN is unavailable
Branch of service and dates of service
Your relationship to the deceased and documentation showing it (marriage certificate, birth certificate)
Proof of death, such as a death certificate or published obituary
A government-issued ID for identity verification through ID.me if using the online portal

Having these together in one place before you sit down to submit the request will spare you a second round of correspondence with the archive.

1
National Archives. Request Military Service Records
2
Federal Register. Federal Register – Notices
3
Reginfo.gov. DD Form 2064 Certificate of Death
4
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 7 FAM 270 Consular Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad
5
Executive Services Directorate. DD2064
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1552 – Correction of Military Records
7
National Archives. Correcting Military Service Records
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally