How to Get a Copy of NGB Form 22: SF-180 and State Requests

To get a copy of NGB Form 22, the Report of Separation and Record of Service, contact the Adjutant General’s office in the state where you served in the National Guard, or submit a completed Standard Form 180 (SF-180) to that office. National Guard records are held by the states, not by the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, so requests routed to the federal records center are generally sent back or forwarded to the state.¹

Why the Request Goes to Your State, Not to St. Louis

The National Guard operates under state authority unless federalized, and each state’s Adjutant General keeps its own personnel files. That applies to current and former Guard members who were never called into active federal service, as well as to those who were federalized but still need their Guard-side separation document.¹

If you were mobilized under Title 10 orders, you may also have one or more DD Form 214s covering those federal activation periods. Those active-duty documents are held at NPRC and must be requested separately. The NGB Form 22 itself, however, comes from the state.

Sending your request to the wrong office is the most common cause of long delays. If you served in more than one state’s Guard, ask the state where you were serving at the time of discharge.

Filling Out Standard Form 180

The SF-180 is the official request form for military records. You can download it from the National Archives website or the GSA forms library.²

Complete each section carefully. In Section I, list the veteran’s full legal name as used during enlistment, Social Security number or service number, date of birth, and branch (Army National Guard or Air National Guard). Add approximate dates of entry and separation; they don’t have to be exact, but close dates help the records staff find the file.

In Section II, name the document you want. Write “NGB Form 22” explicitly. If you think you may also need retirement-points documentation, ask for NGB Form 23 (the ARNG Retirement Points History Statement) at the same time. Some state tax exemptions and reserve-component benefits require both forms together to prove cumulative active duty of at least 90 days.³ Vague requests get incomplete responses.

In Section III, sign and date the form by hand. Federal law requires a handwritten signature dated within the past year to authorize release of these records.⁴ A digital signature or an older-than-one-year date will hold up the request.

Where to Send the Completed SF-180

Send the form to the state headquarters of the state where you were discharged or last served.⁵ Each state’s Adjutant General office handles its own records requests, and contact information is available through the National Guard Bureau website or by searching for your state’s military department online.

Some states accept requests by email or through their own online portals. Check the state military department’s website before you mail anything, because a direct submission through the state’s preferred channel is often faster than a mailed form.

Using eVetRecs

The National Archives runs an online portal called eVetRecs that walks you through the same SF-180 fields electronically and routes the request.⁶ For Guard records, the system may forward your request to the Adjutant General of the appropriate state.² Because the records live at the state anyway, contacting your state’s Adjutant General directly is often quicker. eVetRecs is a reasonable option if you don’t know where to start.

Processing Times and Fees

Response times vary by state and by the age of the records. The National Archives notes that turnaround depends on the complexity of the request, the availability of the records, and current workload.⁷ Plan for anywhere from a few weeks to several months. State offices generally move faster on straightforward requests than NPRC does on active-duty searches, but that isn’t guaranteed.

There is generally no fee to request your NGB Form 22 or other basic military personnel records if the discharge occurred less than 62 years ago. Records 62 years old or older are considered archival and carry a fee of $25 for files of five pages or fewer and $70 for files of six pages or more.⁷

Be careful with third-party record-retrieval companies. The National Archives warns that these services are not affiliated with the government and that you can obtain the same records directly at no cost.⁷

Emergency and Burial Requests

If you need the document urgently for a funeral, a medical emergency, or a natural disaster, the National Archives offers an expedited process. Submit through eVetRecs and select “Emergency Request” in the dropdown on the Veteran Service Details page.⁸

For burials at a VA National Cemetery, contact the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117; the scheduling office coordinates with NPRC to verify service. For burials at non-VA cemeteries, next of kin can fax the SF-180 along with proof of death to the NPRC Customer Service Team at 314-801-0764. For a replacement separation document after a natural disaster, write “Natural Disaster” in the comments section of your eVetRecs submission or on the SF-180.⁸

For phone assistance, the NPRC Customer Service Line is 314-801-0800, staffed weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central Time.⁸ Note that for a Guard-only member, NPRC will still direct the underlying NGB Form 22 request to the state, though it can help with active-duty portions and emergency coordination.

Requests by Next of Kin or Other Third Parties

If the veteran is deceased, next of kin can request the NGB Form 22. The National Archives defines next of kin as the un-remarried widow or widower, son, daughter, father, mother, brother, or sister of the deceased veteran. You must provide proof of death: a copy of the death certificate, a letter from the funeral home, or a published obituary.⁴

Anyone else — an attorney, an employer, a genealogist — needs a signed release from the veteran or their legal representative in Section III of the SF-180.² Without that signed authorization, the office will not release the file.

What to Check When Your Copy Arrives

Review the form as soon as it comes in. The entries that most affect benefits are Block 23 (authority and reason for separation), Block 24 (character of service), and Block 26 (reenlistment eligibility code). Errors in any of these can delay or deny VA benefits and block reentry into any branch of the armed forces.⁹

For factual mistakes such as a misspelled name, wrong dates, an incorrect MOS or AFSC, or a missing award, the National Guard Bureau maintains NGB Form 22A, “Correction to NGB Form 22.”¹⁰ Contact your state Adjutant General with supporting documentation such as orders, award certificates, or corrected personnel records. The state issues the NGB Form 22A, which is filed with your original as a permanent amendment.

Changing the character of service or the reason for separation is a different process that runs through the Army Discharge Review Board (DD Form 293) for discharges within the past 15 years, or the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (DD Form 149) for older or more serious cases. Guard members typically have to work through the State Adjutant General and the National Guard Bureau first.¹¹

Protecting the Copy You Receive

Once your NGB Form 22 arrives, treat it like a birth certificate. Make several photocopies and keep the original in a fireproof safe or a safe deposit box. Many county recorder offices will record military discharge papers at no charge, creating a government-held backup copy you can retrieve later if the original is lost. Contact your local county recorder to ask about recording military documents.

If you lose your copy, you can request another one through the same SF-180 process. A previously recorded copy at the county, or a clean photocopy on hand, will let you prove service to the VA, state agencies, or an employer while you wait for the certified replacement.

1
National Archives. Records Not at NPRC
2
General Services Administration. Instruction and Information Sheet for SF 180, Request Pertaining to Military Records
3
New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Military Pension/Exemption Information
4
National Archives. Request Military Personnel Records Using Standard Form 180
5
National Guard Bureau Publications and Forms Library. NGB Form 22 Report of Separation and Record of Service
6
National Archives and Records Administration. Request Veteran Records
7
National Archives. Request Military Service Records
8
National Archives. Emergency Requests
9
Air National Guard. Air National Guard Instruction 36-3201 – Air National Guard Separations
10
National Guard Bureau Publications and Forms Library. National Guard Bureau Forms
11
U.S. Army. Army Board for Correction of Military Records Applicants Guide