A lot of people ask:

How do I request an official copy of my DD214?

Hey Everyone,

Often people arrive at VETS.COM because they think we are the VA but we are not affiliated with them, other than me being a veteran.

There are several ways to request a copy of your DD214 and they are outlined on the Department of Veterans Affairs website at: https://www.va.gov/records/get-military-service-records/

They outline thoroughly how to use milConnect to get your service records so if you are a Veteran and you wish to request your records through milConnect I would go to the VA first.

The rest of the information is for people who might find setting up a milConnect account difficult.

The VA lists these several other way to request your records:

• Mail or fax a Request Pertaining to Military Records (Standard Form SF 180) to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).
  Get Form SF 180 to download
• Write a letter to the NPRC. Send it to:
  • 1 Archives Drive
    St. Louis, Missouri 63138
• Visit the NPRC in person
• Contact your state or county Veterans agency
  • The resource to find your local agency is at: https://www.va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation/index.asp
• Hire an independent researcher
  • I’m sure Google will yield plenty of results when it comes to finding and hiring researchers but if you want to fly me out to the NPRC and put me up for a week I’d be happy to search through microfilm for you.

There is also a section for people who are looking for the military records of their next of kin which is exactly the same as the information above. Although, they do list next of kin officially as:

• Surviving spouse who hasn’t remarried, or
• Parent, or
• Child, or
• Sibling

Finally, if you are NOT a veteran looking for your own records and NOT the next of kin you can still potentially get the full record of any servicemember from before 1962 (unless it was destroyed in a fire that hit the archives). You might also be able to receive partial records depending on your level of authorization for servicemembers after 1962.

You can visit the National Archives online to begin your request.

Hope that helps and thanks for writing in,
-Specialist Carroll-