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Suggest a Feature →Your DD-214, decoded.
Every block on your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty — explained like a human wrote it. The most important document you'll ever receive from the military.
Based on the standard DD Form 214 (Rev. 8/2009). Your specific form may vary slightly by branch or era of service. This guide covers the current format used across all branches.
Identification
Your legal name as it appears in official military records. Last, First, Middle.
Which branch and component you served in. Examples: "Department of the Army," "USN," "USMC." Active, Reserve, or National Guard.
Your SSN. This is how the VA, DFAS, and every government system identifies your service record.
Your rank at the time of separation. Written as the full title: "Sergeant," "Petty Officer Second Class," etc.
Your pay grade at separation (E-1 through E-9, W-1 through W-5, O-1 through O-10).
Your date of birth. Used for identity verification across all government systems.
Service Details
The date your total military service obligation (MSO) ends — typically 8 years from your initial enlistment date, regardless of active duty time served.
The city and state where you entered active duty — usually your MEPS location.
Your final unit, installation, and major command. This is the unit you belonged to when you separated.
Where your records go after separation. Usually "USAR Control Group (IRR)" for those with remaining obligation, or "N/A" if obligation is complete.
Your Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance coverage at separation. You have 120 days to convert SGLI to VGLI (Veterans' Group Life Insurance) without a health exam.
Your primary MOS/NEC/AFSC — the military job code, title, and how long you held it. Format: number, title, years and months.
Record of Service
When your current period of active duty began. For your first enlistment, this is usually your ship date to basic training.
Your official last day of active duty. This is the most important date on the entire document.
Total active duty time for this period: years, months, days. Calculated from 12a to 12b minus any lost time.
Active duty time from previous service periods (prior enlistments, prior service in another branch).
Time spent in the Reserves or National Guard in a non-active status (drilling, IRR time).
Total time spent on foreign soil during this service period. Includes deployments, OCONUS PCS assignments, and TDY.
Your total combined active duty service: current period (12c) plus prior active (12d). This is the number the VA and federal agencies use.
Accomplishments
Every award and decoration you received. This is the official record of your military achievements.
Formal military schools and training courses completed. AIT/MOS school, NCOES (BLC, ALC, SLC), OCS, flight school, Ranger, Airborne, etc.
Whether you contributed to the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB — Chapter 30). This is the old $1,200 pay reduction during your first year of service.
Administrative
Number of unused leave days you were paid for at separation (leave sell-back). Maximum 60 days career total.
Whether you requested Copy 4, which is sent directly to the VA for benefits processing.
The catch-all block. Contains critical information: additional MOS codes, overseas service details, special qualifications, GI Bill eligibility statement, deployment dates, and continuation of Block 13 if it ran out of space.
Separation
The administrative category of your departure: "Discharge," "Release from Active Duty," "Retirement," etc.
The single most important field on your DD-214. Honorable, General (Under Honorable Conditions), Other Than Honorable (OTH), Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD), or Dishonorable.
The regulation or directive that authorized your separation. Examples: AR 635-200 (Army enlisted), MILPERSMAN 1910 (Navy), AFI 36-3208 (Air Force).
A three-character alphanumeric code that tells the military (and anyone with the lookup table) the specific reason for your separation. Examples: JBK (completion of required service), KFS (failure to meet body fat standards).
Determines whether you can reenlist or rejoin the military. RE-1 = fully eligible. RE-2 = eligible with waiver. RE-3 = eligible with significant waiver. RE-4 = not eligible.
Plain-language reason for your separation. Examples: "Completion of Required Active Service," "Parenthood," "Personality Disorder," "Misconduct," "Disability, Severance Pay."
Dates & Signatures
Time that doesn't count toward service: AWOL, confinement, excess leave, unauthorized absence. Subtracted from total active service.
Your signature acknowledging receipt of the DD-214. Signing does NOT mean you agree with the contents.
The Copies
Goes to your branch's personnel records center. The official file copy. Contains ALL blocks, including the separation code and RE code.
Filed with your state's veteran affairs office. Typically recorded at your county courthouse. Contains all blocks.
YOUR complete copy. Contains every block — including Blocks 23-28 (separation details). This is the copy you keep forever.
The "sanitized" version. Omits Blocks 23-28 (character of service, separation code, RE code, and narrative reason). Safe to show employers.
Errors that will cost you for the rest of your life
If your character of service doesn't match what you were told at separation, this affects every VA benefit, your GI Bill, your VA home loan, and federal hiring preference. Challenge it immediately.
Compare against your ORB/SRB and iPerms/OMPF. Awards that were "in the system" at separation often get left off. Every missing combat award weakens future VA claims.
An RE-3 or RE-4 blocks reenlistment and can affect federal employment. If you left voluntarily and honorably, you should have RE-1 or RE-2.
Calculate the dates yourself. If total active service is undercounted by even one month, it can affect GI Bill percentage, retirement points, or federal hiring preference.
Block 18 should contain your Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility determination. Without it, VA education benefits processing takes significantly longer.
Deployment dates establish in-theater service for VA presumptive conditions (burn pits, Agent Orange, Gulf War illness). If they're not listed, your disability claims get harder to prove.
Thousands of veterans were separated for "personality disorder" when they actually had PTSD, TBI, or MST-related conditions. Discharge upgrade boards are actively correcting these under the Hagel and Kurta memos.
Your primary specialty must be correct — it's used by the VA to evaluate service-connected disability claims related to your job duties. A wrong MOS can lead to denied claims.
How to fix errors on your DD-214
- 1
Review every block against your service record (ORB/SRB, iPerms/OMPF, awards, orders). Document every discrepancy with evidence.
- 2
For simple factual corrections (misspelled name, missing award), submit a DD-215 (Correction to DD-214) through your branch's records center. This is the fastest path.
- 3
For substantive changes (character of service, RE code, narrative reason), petition the Board for Correction of Military/Naval Records (BCMR/BCNR). There is no time limit for BCMR applications.
- 4
For discharge upgrades within 15 years of discharge, you can also apply to your branch's Discharge Review Board (DRB), which is faster than the BCMR. After 15 years, only the BCMR can help.
- 5
Get help: your county Veterans Service Officer (VSO) will help you file for free. Organizations like the Legal Services Center at Yale and the National Veterans Legal Services Program also provide free legal assistance for discharge upgrades.
How to get a replacement
- 1
Request online through the National Archives (eVetRecs) at archives.gov/veterans. This is the fastest official method.
- 2
Or submit SF-180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records) by mail to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis.
- 3
Check your county recorder's office — if you filed Copy 2 after separation, they have a recorded copy you can get immediately.
- 4
Processing time varies: online requests typically take 2-4 weeks. Mail requests can take months. Emergency requests (funeral honors, medical emergencies) can be expedited by calling NPRC directly.