How to Get Your DD Form 2: RAPIDS Appointment, Renewal, and Replacement

To get a DD Form 2, book an appointment at a RAPIDS ID card office, bring two forms of identification plus documents proving your military status, and have a completed DD Form 1172-2 ready; a verifying official checks your records in DEERS, takes your photo, and prints the card on site. If you already hold an unexpired card, you may be able to renew online and have the new one mailed to you instead.¹

The DD Form 2 is the identification card for uniformed service members who are not on active duty. All legacy paper versions are being replaced by the Next Generation Uniformed Services ID card, a plastic card with updated security features.¹

Confirm You Need a DD Form 2

The DD Form 2 comes in several variants tied to your status:

DD Form 2 (Retired), for members entitled to retired pay and members on the Temporary or Permanent Disability Retired List.
DD Form 2 (Reserve Retired), for Reserve and Guard members who have earned retirement eligibility but have not yet reached age 60 — the “gray area” retirees.
DD Form 2 (Reserve), for members of the Individual Ready Reserve and Inactive National Guard.

One boundary worth flagging: Medal of Honor recipients and veterans with a 100 percent service-connected VA disability rating are issued a DD Form 2765, not a DD Form 2.² The RAPIDS process is essentially the same, but the eligibility category and the printed privileges differ.

Documents to Bring

You need two forms of identification. The first must be a valid, unexpired state or federal government-issued photo ID. The second can come from the DoD’s List of Acceptable Identity Documents.³

Acceptable primary documents include:

U.S. passport or passport card
State-issued driver’s license or ID card (REAL ID or non-REAL ID)
Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551)
Foreign passport
Federal agency Personal Identity Verification card

Your secondary document can be a different document type from the primary list, or something from a broader set that includes a Social Security card, certified birth certificate, voter registration card, naturalization certificate, or Native American tribal document.⁴ Both must be originals or certified copies. Photocopies will not be accepted.

Proof of Military Status

You also need documents that show your military status. Retirees should bring their DD Form 214, any correction of military record, or their retirement orders.³ Most retirees are already in DEERS through an authoritative personnel data feed, so the verifying official may not need to see these papers. Bring them anyway. If anything is missing or mismatched in the system, having the originals with you saves a return trip.

The DD Form 1172-2

Everyone applying for a DoD ID card must have a completed DD Form 1172-2, the Application for Identification Card/DEERS Enrollment.⁵ If you are the sponsor, you sign it yourself. If a dependent is applying, the sponsor must either sign at the RAPIDS site in person, sign and notarize the form, or authorize someone through a power of attorney to sign.⁶ You can download a blank copy from CAC.mil or start the process through the DEERS self-service portal.

Book a RAPIDS Appointment

Find the nearest RAPIDS office using the ID Card Office Online locator at idco.dmdc.osd.mil. You can search by ZIP code and book an appointment.⁷ Walk-ins are sometimes accepted, but scheduling ahead avoids long waits at busy installations.

At the appointment, a verifying official reviews your identity and eligibility documents, confirms your information in DEERS, and captures a digital photograph. If everything checks out, the card is printed on site. Expect the verifying official to examine your documents closely rather than glance at them; detecting fraud is part of the job.³

Renew Online by Mail

If you already hold a DD Form 2 that needs renewing, you may be able to skip the RAPIDS office. The Online USID Card Renewal program lets sponsors request a renewal online, and the new card is mailed to the cardholder’s home address by U.S. mail.⁸

All of the following must be true to use online renewal:

You are renewing an active, not expired, USID card.
The sponsor has a Common Access Card or a DoD Self-Service Logon account.
Both the sponsor and cardholder have email addresses listed in DEERS that they have authorized DoD to use.
The sponsor’s personnel status extends at least 30 days into the future.
The cardholder has a photo saved in DEERS taken within the last 12 years.
The cardholder’s mailing address in DEERS is a U.S. street address. Cards cannot be shipped to PO boxes.

If any condition is not met — for example, the card has already expired or the DEERS photo is older than 12 years — you will need to visit a RAPIDS office in person.

Replacing a Lost or Stolen Card

The replacement process is the same as getting a new one: book a RAPIDS appointment, bring two forms of ID, and have a new card printed. For dependents, a completed DD Form 1172-2 serves as the supporting documentation.⁹ Report the loss promptly to your installation’s security office or local police so the old card can be flagged in the system.

How Long the Card Lasts

Validity depends on your category. Permanent retirees drawing retired pay often receive cards with an indefinite expiration. Legacy cards marked “INDEF” remain valid, though DoD encourages you to replace them with a Next Generation USID card at your convenience.¹

Members on the Temporary Disability Retired List work on a shorter clock. Their card expires either 30 months from the date of TDRL placement (as shown on the DD Form 214) or on the date their TDRL status expires, whichever is first. TDRL status itself cannot exceed five years from the initial placement.¹⁰

Gray area retirees hold the DD Form 2 (Reserve Retired) until they begin drawing retired pay. At that point they receive a new card reflecting the updated pay status.

Update Your Record at Age 65

When you turn 65, update your DEERS record and get a new card. TRICARE For Life supplements Medicare for retirees over 65, and the system needs proof that you have enrolled in Medicare Part B. Bring your Medicare Part B enrollment documentation to a RAPIDS office.³ The requirement applies to retired members, retired Reserve members, Medal of Honor recipients, 100 percent disabled veterans, and spouses. Failing to update can create problems with TRICARE claims.

When You Have to Give the Card Back

A DD Form 2 can be confiscated on the spot by security personnel, military police, verifying officials, or gate controllers if the card is expired, is being used by someone other than the person it was issued to, is mutilated or illegible, or is being used fraudulently. After confiscation, the person taking your card must give you a written receipt and notify installation security, and you can request that a supervisor review the decision.¹¹

Federal law also makes it a crime to manufacture, sell, or possess an unauthorized DoD identification card or a convincing imitation. A conviction carries a fine, up to six months in jail, or both.¹² When your eligibility ends for any reason, turn the card in.

1
CAC.mil. Next Generation Uniformed Services ID Card
2
eCFR. 32 CFR Part 161 – Identification Cards for Members of the Uniformed Services, Their Dependents, and Other Eligible Individuals
3
CAC.mil. DoD Identity and Eligibility Documentation Requirements
4
Department of Defense. List of Acceptable Identity Documents
5
U.S. Department of Defense. Getting Your ID Card
6
Department of Defense. DD Form 1172-2 – Application for Identification Card/DEERS Enrollment
7
Defense Manpower Data Center. Identity Management
8
CAC.mil. Online Uniformed Services ID Card Renewal
9
Military OneSource. Military ID and CAC Cards for Military Community
10
Department of Defense. DoDI 1000.13 Supplement – ID Card Issuance
11
Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler. Confiscating ID Cards (MCO 5512.11E Vol 1)
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 701 – Official Badges, Identification Cards, Other Insignia