NAVPERS 1070/602 Dependency Application: NSIPS Filing and Recertification

The NAVPERS 1070/602 Dependency Application is the Navy form that officially records your spouse, children, and other dependents so the Navy can pay you the correct entitlements, most importantly Basic Allowance for Housing. You complete and sign it electronically in the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS) self-service portal, a personnel clerk reviews your supporting documents, and a supervisor releases the transaction into your Official Military Personnel File.¹ Both active duty sailors and reservists are responsible for keeping the record accurate throughout their service.

Gather Your Documents First

Collect everything before you log into NSIPS. Stopping mid-entry because you don’t have a Social Security number or a marriage certificate is how applications sit unfinished for weeks. Scan supporting documents as PDFs in advance, because personnel will compare the uploads against what you type, and mismatches bounce the form back.²

For a spouse, have the full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, current residential address, citizenship, and a certified copy of your marriage certificate. If you were previously married, bring your final divorce decree to show the earlier marriage was terminated.

For each child, have the full legal name, Social Security number, and date of birth. Bring a certified birth certificate for biological children or formal adoption papers for adopted children. For stepchildren, the marriage certificate connecting you to the child’s biological parent establishes the relationship.

For a parent or other secondary dependent, have their full name, date of birth, address, and financial documentation showing you provide more than half of their support. Secondary dependents also require a separate DD Form 137, which is covered further down.

Filling Out the Form in NSIPS

Log into NSIPS self-service at nsips.navy.mil using your Common Access Card on a CAC-enabled workstation.³ Open your Electronic Service Record and select the dependency data link. The system walks you through several panels.

On the summary panel, enter the effective date. This is the date your pay entitlement changes, not the date you happen to be filling out the form. If you got married last month, the effective date is your wedding date.

The spouse panel takes your spouse’s identifying information, current address, and whether your spouse is next of kin. The parents panel is for parents you’re claiming as secondary dependents. The child and dependent panel adds each child individually. If you’re a single service member with a dependent child, indicate whether the child lives with you; if not, provide the custodian’s name and address and the monthly support amount you contribute.

The remarks panel is where you flag anything unusual about your situation, such as a complicated custody arrangement or a pending adoption, so the personnel clerk understands your record.

Before you sign, check every Social Security number. A single transposed digit is the most common reason a form gets rejected or delayed. When you’re satisfied, apply your electronic signature with your CAC. NSIPS routes the submission to a personnel clerk for review, and a supervisor releases the transaction.¹

Claiming a Parent or Other Secondary Dependent

Adding a parent, parent-in-law, stepparent, or someone who stood in loco parentis to you is more involved than adding a spouse or child. The law requires you to prove the person is in fact dependent on you, meaning you provide more than half of their total living expenses.⁴ A general sense that you help out financially is not enough.

You prove financial dependency one of two ways: submit a copy of your prior year’s tax return showing the person as your dependent, or complete the Worksheet for Determining Financial Support attached to DD Form 137.⁵ The worksheet compares what you contribute against every other source of support the person receives, including their own income actually spent on living expenses. DFAS processes DD Form 137 separately from your NAVPERS 1070/602. You submit it through the AskDFAS portal or by mail.⁴

Other secondary dependents include unmarried children ages 21 and 22 enrolled full-time at an accredited college, wards of the court in your permanent legal custody, and unmarried children over 21 who cannot support themselves because of a mental or physical condition that began before they aged out.⁶ Each of these categories requires annual recertification.

After You Submit

Your electronically signed form goes to your servicing personnel office, either a Personnel Support Detachment or a Transaction Service Center. The clerk checks your uploads against your entries, a supervisor releases the transaction, and the finalized form is filed electronically to your OMPF.⁷ Any pay entitlement change flows from there. If something doesn’t match, such as a misspelled name or a missing document, the form comes back for correction.

Confirm the form actually made it. Use the RED/DA Inquire link in NSIPS self-service to see the latest version pulled from your OMPF.² If nothing has appeared after a few weeks, follow up with your personnel office. Don’t assume silence means success. Keep a saved copy of the signed form so you can reference it during a pay dispute or while deployed with limited NSIPS access.

When You Have to Update or Re-Verify

You are solely responsible for the accuracy of your NAVPERS 1070/602.² You must prepare a new version whenever your dependent status actually changes, including marriage, divorce, birth of a child, adoption, or the death of a dependent. You also file a new entry when a dependent’s name, address, or citizenship changes.⁸

Even when nothing has changed, your command must ensure you verify the record at least once a year. Additional verifications are required at specific career milestones:⁸

PCS moves, both when you depart the old duty station and when you report to the new one.
Before any deployment, regardless of length.
Temporary duty over 30 days.
Reservists coming on active duty, each time, including active duty for training. Selected Reserve members must also verify within 180 days before annual training.
Any request tied to government housing or dependent travel, at least 30 days before you apply for base housing, claim dependent travel reimbursement, or request a dependent-related pay or benefit.

If nothing needs to change, you don’t have to redo the whole form. Log into NSIPS self-service, select Verify my RED/DA, review the displayed data, and click Verify at the bottom.² If your command is heading somewhere with limited or no NSIPS access, print a copy of the current form before you leave.

Categories That Require Annual Recertification

Some dependents have to be recertified every year even if nothing about the situation has changed. That includes secondary dependents such as parents, stepparents, parents-in-law, and anyone who stood in loco parentis, along with dependent children ages 21 and 22 who qualify as full-time students and incapacitated children over 21. Reserve members recertify every three years.⁸ NSIPS sends a system notification 90 days before a recertification is due.

Why Accuracy Matters for Your Pay

The most immediate financial effect of NAVPERS 1070/602 is your BAH rate. Sailors with approved dependents receive the with-dependents rate, which is higher than the single rate. If you lose a dependent through divorce or a child aging out and you don’t update the form, you can continue drawing a rate you are no longer entitled to. Correcting it promptly is a minor administrative task. Letting it ride creates a real problem.

Collecting BAH at the wrong rate because you didn’t report a change in dependency status can be treated as fraud under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. An honest clerical error becomes a liability the moment you discover it and do nothing. If your pay office identifies an overpayment, at a minimum you owe the money back. The line between a correctable mistake and a criminal charge often comes down to whether you knew and how fast you acted. When in doubt, update the form and let your personnel office work out the effective dates.

What This Form Does Not Cover

NAVPERS 1070/602 records dependents for pay purposes only. It does not update your emergency contacts, your person authorized to direct disposition of remains, or your Death Gratuity and Unpaid Pay beneficiaries. Those live on DD Form 93.⁹ It also does not change your Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance beneficiary, which is designated on SGLV 8286. Each form has to be updated on its own. When a life event prompts you to open one of them, open all three.¹

1
MyNavy HR. NAVPERS 1070/602 Dependency Application and Record of Emergency Data SOP
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Navy Personnel Command. MILPERSMAN 1070-270 – Dependency Application
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Department of the Navy. How to Create an NSIPS Self-Service Account
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Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Secondary Dependency
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Department of Defense. DD Form 137 Secondary Dependency Application
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MyNavy HR. NAVPERS 1070/602 Dependency Application/Record of Emergency Data Legacy SOP
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U.S. Navy. Self Service Record of Emergency Data and Dependency Application Regional Phased Implementation Schedule and Training Availability
8
Department of the Navy. MILPERSMAN 1070-270 – Dependency Application/Record of Emergency Data
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Department of Defense. DD Form 93 Record of Emergency Data