What to Do If You Lost Your DD214: milConnect, SF 180, and Costs

If you’ve lost your DD214, you can get a free replacement from the National Archives by submitting Standard Form 180 through the mail, by fax, or through the eVetRecs online portal. Veterans whose service branch has digitized their personnel file can often download a copy immediately through the milConnect portal instead. The DD214, formally the Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, is the document that proves your military service for VA healthcare, education benefits, home loans, federal hiring preference, and most state and local veteran programs.¹

Try milConnect First

Before filling out any paperwork, check whether your DD214 is already available for download. The milConnect portal, run by the Defense Manpower Data Center, lets you sign in and request specific documents from your Official Military Personnel File, including the DD214, for immediate viewing and download.²

Availability depends on whether your branch has scanned your file into the system. Older records are less likely to be digitized, and if yours isn’t there, you’ll need to fall back on the paper process. The check itself takes a few minutes, and when the file exists the turnaround is essentially immediate.

Requesting a Replacement With Standard Form 180

The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, part of the National Archives and Records Administration, holds the military personnel files and processes replacement requests.³ The standard way to request a replacement is by completing Standard Form 180 (SF-180), “Request Pertaining to Military Records.”⁴

Fill in as much as you can. Missing information is the most common reason requests come back delayed or unfilled. The form asks for:

Full name used during service
Service number or Social Security number
Branch of service
Dates of service (entry and separation)
Last duty station

Date and place of birth help too, particularly if you don’t have your service number.⁴ You can download the SF-180 from the NARA website, pick one up at a VA office, or get one from a veterans service organization.⁵

You have three submission options: mail, fax, or the eVetRecs portal at vetrecs.archives.gov. The online route requires identity verification through ID.me before you can submit, and it gives you a case number to check status. If you mail or fax, use the tables on page 3 of the SF-180 to find the correct address or fax number, which vary by branch, separation date, and record type. The general NPRC address is 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138, and the general fax is 314-801-9195.⁴

Processing times swing widely. A clean, complete request may come back in a few weeks. Complex searches or high-volume periods can stretch to several months. Keep a copy of whatever you send.

One thing worth knowing if your reason for needing the DD214 is a VA benefit: when you file a VA benefits application, the VA requests your DD214 from the National Archives on your behalf.⁶ The same is often true when enrolling in VA healthcare, where the system pulls service information internally once you sign in.⁷ You should still request a personal copy for employer verification, state benefits, property tax exemptions, and anything else outside the VA.

Emergency and Burial Requests

The NPRC treats certain situations as emergency requests and processes them faster: burials, medical emergencies, and natural disasters.⁸

Online: Use eVetRecs and select “Emergency Request” from the drop-down on the Veteran Service Details page.
Burial at a VA National Cemetery: Call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117. They contact the Archives directly to verify service for burial benefits.
Burial at a non-VA cemetery: Fax the SF-180 with next-of-kin signature and proof of death to 314-801-0764.
Natural disaster: Write “Natural Disaster” in the Comments section of eVetRecs or in the Purpose section of the SF-180.

For phone help, the NPRC Customer Service Line is 314-801-0800, staffed weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central. Hold times run long between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.⁸

Requests by Next-of-Kin

Family members can request a deceased veteran’s DD214 if they qualify as next-of-kin, defined by NARA as the un-remarried widow or widower, son, daughter, father, mother, brother, or sister.⁴ Submit the SF-180 by mail, fax, or eVetRecs along with proof of death: a copy of the death certificate, a letter from the funeral home, or a published obituary all work.⁹

If Your Records Were Lost in the 1973 Fire

A fire at the NPRC on July 12, 1973 destroyed an estimated 16 to 18 million military personnel files, with no backups, microfilm, or indexes.¹⁰ Two groups took the heaviest losses:

Army personnel discharged between November 1, 1912 and January 1, 1960 (about 80% destroyed)
Air Force personnel with surnames alphabetically after Hubbard, James E., discharged between September 25, 1947 and January 1, 1964 (about 75% destroyed)

If your service falls in these ranges, a standard replacement request may come back empty. The NPRC and VA can reconstruct a service history from alternate sources such as unit records, morning reports, and hospital admission records from the surgeon general’s office.¹¹

For a disability claim tied to fire-damaged records, complete NA Form 13055, Request for Information Needed to Reconstruct Medical Data. Give as much detail as you can about assignments down to the unit, company, battalion, or wing level. The VA also asks veterans to gather supporting evidence on their own: statements from fellow service members who witnessed an injury or illness, military accident reports, letters and photographs from the period, and records from private doctors who treated you during or shortly after service.¹¹ Reconstruction cases are slow and document-intensive; an accredited VSO who has handled them before can save you months.

Cost, and a Warning About Paid Services

Requesting your DD214 from the National Archives is free for veterans and their next-of-kin. The exception is archival records, meaning files for service members who separated 62 or more years before the current date. For 2026 that covers separations before 1964. Archival requests require purchasing a complete photocopy of the OMPF at $25 for files of five pages or fewer and $70 for six or more pages, which is where most fall.⁹

Private companies advertise “expedited” DD214 retrieval for $90 to $150. The VA has warned veterans about these operations and called it unethical to charge for records earned through military service.¹² Report suspected fraud to your state’s veterans affairs agency or to the Fraud Watch Network at 877-908-3360.

Proof of Service While You Wait

Federal record requests take time. Depending on who’s asking, other documents may serve as interim proof of service: a military ID card, official orders, discharge certificates from other periods of service, or a VA letter confirming benefit eligibility. If a requester needs the DD214 specifically, tell them you’ve submitted a replacement request and ask whether they’ll accept alternative documentation in the meantime. Most organizations are used to federal processing timelines.

When Your Replacement Arrives

Review every field on the new DD214 as soon as it comes. If you find a factual error such as a wrong discharge date, a missing award, or an incorrect duty station, the correction path depends on the record’s age. For non-archival records (separation within the last 62 years), contact the personnel command of your service branch directly. For archival records, apply to your branch’s Board for Correction of Military Records using DD Form 149. The board can change any military record to correct an error or remove an injustice. You generally have three years from the date you discover the error to file, though the board can waive that deadline for good cause. Include supporting evidence: signed witness statements, copies of orders, award citations, anything that shows what the record should say. DD Form 149 is available from VA offices, veterans organizations, or the DoD Forms Management Program site.¹³

Once the record is correct, protect it so you don’t have to repeat this process. Make several photocopies stored in different places. Keep the original in a fireproof safe or safety deposit box. Scan a digital copy and store it somewhere secure, such as an encrypted cloud backup or a password-protected drive. Many counties also let veterans record their DD214 with the register of deeds or county recorder’s office, usually at no charge. Once recorded, you can walk in and get a certified copy any time you need one, which beats waiting on St. Louis.

Veterans service organizations like the VFW, American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans, along with state and local veterans affairs offices, can help you complete the SF-180, submit it correctly, and follow up with the NPRC. The help is free, and it’s especially worth using for fire-damaged records, discharge upgrades, or correction cases.

1
National Archives. DD Form 214 / DD214 / DD 214 Discharge Papers and Separation Documents
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milConnect. DD214 – milConnect – Search
3
National Archives. Military Personnel Records
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National Archives. Request Military Personnel Records Using Standard Form 180
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GSA. Standard Form 180 – Request Pertaining to Military Records
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Veterans Affairs. Request Your Military Service Records (Including DD214)
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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Apply for VA Health Care
8
National Archives. Emergency Requests
9
National Archives. Request Military Service Records
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National Archives. The 1973 Fire, National Personnel Records Center
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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Reconstruct Military Records Destroyed in NPRC Fire
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VA News. Veterans: Be Wary of Scams Regarding Job Offers and the Sale of Military Records, Government Forms
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National Archives. Correcting Military Service Records