Learn · Your records · as of October 14, 2026 · we do not request them · we do not file

Service and personnel records

How to ask for your Official Military Personnel File. That file can include your DD214, duty stations, awards, and training. As of October 14, 2026. Medical records from service are on the service treatment records page.

On this page: DPRIS: who can use it · iPERMS: who can use it · What a veteran uses instead · Army · Navy · Marine Corps · Air Force · Space Force · Coast Guard · National Guard and Reserve · The 1973 fire

DPRIS: who can use it

DPRIS is the Defense Personnel Records Information Retrieval System. It is a page inside milConnect, not a separate veteran website.

milConnect says you can use DPRIS if you are a veteran, or a member of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, or Coast Guard, and you are on active duty, in the Reserve, in the Guard, or retired. You use it to request scanned copies of documents in your own personnel file.

That page does not name Space Force. It does not describe a login for a Veterans Service Officer. If you are not in the group milConnect names, check with your branch or VSO.

After you sign in, milConnect says to open Correspondence/Documentation, then Defense Personnel Records Information (DPRIS). You enter your email, pick your branch, pick one or more document groups, and send the request. DPRIS emails you when a file is ready. Log in within 10 days to download the PDF. milConnect says the copy is then removed. You can request it again.

milConnect says many replies come back in under two hours, and some take up to two days. That is milConnect's note about its own system. It is not a promise about your file.

Health records are rarely in DPRIS. The FAQ says you can try the Administrative group and type Medical/Physical/Exam/Findings to see if anything is there. For service medical records, use the service treatment records page.

Air Force cutoff: October 1, 2004.
Marine Corps cutoff: January 1, 1999.
Navy cutoff: January 1, 1995.
Army cutoff: October 1, 2002.
Coast Guard cutoff: October 1, 2006.

milConnect sign-in · milConnect: DPRIS overview · milConnect: How to request a personnel file in DPRIS

Sources: milConnect: DPRIS overview · milConnect: DPRIS questions and cutoff dates · milConnect: How to request a personnel file in DPRIS

iPERMS: who can use it

iPERMS is the Interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System. The Army records PDF we checked describes who can open it. It does not say every veteran can.

That PDF says a current soldier with a Common Access Card (CAC), the military ID card, can open iPERMS and pick the role Soldier (view your own record). It names the site iperms.hre.army.mil.

The same PDF says electronic access also calls for service in the Army, Army Reserve, or Army National Guard after April 1, 1996, plus a CAC, an Army Knowledge Online account, or a DS Logon. It says a veteran or retiree who left before April 1, 1996 must request the records instead of opening them online.

The PDF also says soldiers, retirees, and discharged veterans need a Premium (level 2) DS Logon to open the file through eBenefits. A newer Army page, dated August 24, 2026, does not say that. It says discharged and retired soldiers, in every component, still ask Army Human Resources Command by phone or email for records that moved into IPPS-A. The exception on that page is a Retired Reserve soldier who is waiting to collect retired pay. That soldier can open the record in IPPS-A with a MyAuth login.

Those two Army pages do not give the same steps. We will not guess which one fits you. Check with your branch or VSO.

The official pages we checked do not name an iPERMS sign-in for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Space Force. Check with your branch or VSO. DPRIS in milConnect is the personnel-file tool those pages do name for several branches.

Army: Accessing or requesting your personnel file (PDF) · Army iPERMS (the PDF says current soldiers with a CAC use this site) · Army: Veteran records moved in IPPS-A (August 24, 2026)

Sources: Army: Accessing or requesting your personnel file (PDF) · Army: Veteran records moved in IPPS-A (August 24, 2026) · milConnect: DPRIS overview

What a veteran uses instead

If you cannot open DPRIS or iPERMS, you still have official ways to ask. VA.gov, updated August 12, 2026, sends you to the National Archives and, for some discharge dates, to milConnect.

Online: use eVetRecs, the National Archives tool. VA.gov says to select Make a new request. You sign in with an identity-verified ID.me account. The Archives may ask for a live selfie with your phone. You get an email that the request was received.

By mail or fax: use Standard Form 180, Request Pertaining to Military Records. VA's form page, updated December 19, 2025, says the revision date is November 2015. VA says you can use it for a DD214, orders, and military medical records. Mail or fax it to the address on the form. Use the first chart on the last page. Match your branch, your separation date, and the type of record. We do not mail it.

The Archives says most basic copies are free for a veteran or next of kin when the discharge was less than 62 years ago. The Archives asks you not to send a follow-up before 90 days. You can check status in eVetRecs, or call the National Personnel Records Center at 314-801-0800.

VA.gov says that if you were discharged after the dates below, you can request records from the Defense Department through milConnect. You need your own account.

VA.gov also says that if you are filing for VA benefits, VA requests your DD214 when it gets your application. You do not have to order that DD214 from the Archives for that step. If you want your own copy in hand, you can still request it. We do not file.

Air Force: discharged after October 1, 2004, use milConnect.
Army: discharged after October 1, 2002, use milConnect.
Marines: discharged after January 1, 1999, use milConnect.
Navy: discharged after January 1, 1995, use milConnect.
VA.gov's milConnect list does not name the Coast Guard or Space Force. See those sections below.

National Archives: eVetRecs · National Archives: Standard Form 180 (reviewed September 22, 2026) · VA.gov: Standard Form 180 (updated December 19, 2025) · milConnect sign-in · VA.gov: Request military service records (updated August 12, 2026)

Sources: VA.gov: Request military service records (updated August 12, 2026) · National Archives: Request military service records (reviewed September 14, 2026) · National Archives: Standard Form 180 (reviewed September 22, 2026) · VA.gov: Standard Form 180 (updated December 19, 2025)

Army

The National Archives lists Army personnel files through September 30, 2002.

Later files are stored at Army Human Resources Command, and VA.gov and DPRIS say you can use milConnect after October 1, 2002.

If a page does not name a website, check with your branch or VSO.

Office codes

Discharged October 1, 2002 to December 31, 2013, and January 1, 2014 forward: stored at U.S. Army Human Resources Command. The National Personnel Records Center handles the request.
Still serving, active duty and active Army Reserve: U.S. Army Human Resources Command.
Army National Guard, on duty or not: Adjutant General of the state, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico. The chart does not name a website.
Missing DPRIS pages: [email protected]. Do not put a Social Security number in the email. Include the request ID, your name, and the date. Phone (888) 276-9472.
iPERMS: the August 24, 2026 Army page says most veterans ask Army Human Resources Command. See the iPERMS section above.

Email Army Human Resources Command about a DPRIS follow-up · National Archives: Where each branch keeps service records (reviewed August 28, 2026) · Army: Veteran records moved in IPPS-A (August 24, 2026)

Sources: National Archives: Which personnel files NPRC holds (reviewed July 20, 2026) · National Archives: Where each branch keeps service records (reviewed August 28, 2026) · VA.gov: Request military service records (updated August 12, 2026) · milConnect: DPRIS questions and cutoff dates · Army: Accessing or requesting your personnel file (PDF) · Army: Veteran records moved in IPPS-A (August 24, 2026)

Navy

The National Archives lists Navy personnel files through December 31, 1994.

One page puts later files at the records center, and another says milConnect after January 1, 1995.

Those pages do not agree, so check with your branch or VSO.

Office codes

Discharged, deceased, or retired from January 1, 1995 forward, including January 1, 2014 to the present: National Personnel Records Center.
milConnect date on VA.gov and DPRIS: January 1, 1995.
Current active duty, Reserve, and TDRL (temporary disability retired list): Navy Personnel Command. The chart does not name a website.
A short DPRIS file: Marines and Navy follow-ups stay inside DPRIS. Open the request and use Follow Up. Do not put a Social Security number in the note.

Marine Corps

The National Archives lists Marine Corps personnel files through December 31, 1998.

Later files are stored with a Marine personnel office, and VA.gov and DPRIS say you can use milConnect after January 1, 1999.

If a page does not name a website, check with your branch or VSO.

Office codes

Discharged May 1, 1994 to January 1, 1999: National Personnel Records Center.
From January 1, 1999 forward: stored at U.S. Marine Corps Manpower Management Performance Branch (MMPB), system ORMA. The National Personnel Records Center handles the request.
VA.gov also says Marines from 1998 to the present: contact your personnel command, or ask the National Archives to send the request.
Individual Ready Reserve or Fleet Marine Corps Reserve: Marine Forces Reserve.
Current active duty, Selected Marine Corps Reserve, and TDRL (temporary disability retired list): MMPB. No website named.

Air Force

The National Archives lists Air Force personnel files through September 30, 2004.

Later files are stored at the Air Force Personnel Center, and VA.gov and DPRIS say you can use milConnect after October 1, 2004.

If a page does not name a sign-in site, check with your branch or VSO.

Office codes

Discharged May 1, 1994 to October 1, 2004: National Personnel Records Center.
From October 2, 2004 forward: stored at HQ AFPC/DPSSRP, system ARMS. The National Personnel Records Center handles the request.
Missing DPRIS pages: send Standard Form 180. Fax (210) 565-3124 or email [email protected]. Total Force Service Center (800) 525-0102.
Current Air Force active duty, National Guard on active duty, Space Force on active duty, TDRL (temporary disability retired list), and general officers retired with pay: HQ AFPC/DPSSRP.
Current Reserve, including retired reserve not drawing pay: Air Reserve Personnel Center, Buckley Air Force Base.
A retiree drawing pay, often at age 60: use the discharged or retired rows.

Email the Air Force about a missing DPRIS file · National Archives: Standard Form 180 (reviewed September 22, 2026)

Space Force

DPRIS does not name Space Force.

The National Archives lists Space Force with the Air Force through September 30, 2004.

We did not find a Space Force-only download site, so check with your branch or VSO.

Office codes

DPRIS overview names the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The cutoff table does not name Space Force.
Current Space Force on active duty: HQ AFPC/DPSSRP, in the same row as current Air Force active duty.

Sources: milConnect: DPRIS overview · milConnect: DPRIS questions and cutoff dates · National Archives: Which personnel files NPRC holds (reviewed July 20, 2026) · National Archives: Where each branch keeps service records (reviewed August 28, 2026)

Coast Guard

DPRIS includes the Coast Guard, with a cutoff of October 1, 2006.

The National Archives lists Coast Guard files through September 30, 2006, but the dates on these pages do not match.

If your year sits between them, check with your branch or VSO.

Office codes

VA.gov's milConnect list does not name the Coast Guard. VA.gov says Coast Guard from 2008 to the present: contact your personnel command, or ask the National Archives to send the request.
Discharged, deceased, or retired files at the National Personnel Records Center: January 1, 1898 to March 31, 1998; April 1, 1998 to September 30, 2014; and October 1, 2014 to the present.
Current active duty, Reserve, or TDRL (temporary disability retired list): USCG Personnel Command. The chart does not name a website.
Incomplete DPRIS file: [email protected]. Do not put a Social Security number in the email. Include the request ID, your name, and the date.

Email Coast Guard personnel records about a DPRIS follow-up

National Guard and Reserve

The records center does not keep files for people still in the Reserve or the National Guard.

Use an office in the list only when the Archives chart names it.

If your status is not listed, check with your branch or VSO.

Office codes

Army National Guard, on duty or not: Adjutant General of your state, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico.
Active Army Reserve: U.S. Army Human Resources Command.
Air National Guard enlisted, not on active duty: Adjutant General of your state, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico.
Air National Guard officers not on active duty, or released from active duty: Air Reserve Personnel Center, Buckley Air Force Base.
Air Force Reserve, including retired reserve not drawing pay: Air Reserve Personnel Center, Buckley Air Force Base.
Marine Corps Individual Ready Reserve or Fleet Marine Corps Reserve: Marine Forces Reserve.
Selected Marine Corps Reserve: Manpower Management Performance Branch (MMPB), with current active duty.
Navy Reserve, with current active duty and TDRL (temporary disability retired list): Navy Personnel Command.
Coast Guard Reserve, with current active duty and TDRL: USCG Personnel Command.

Sources: National Archives: About service records · National Archives: Where each branch keeps service records (reviewed August 28, 2026)

The 1973 fire

On July 12, 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center destroyed about 16 to 18 million personnel files. The Archives says the Army loss was about 80 percent of personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960. The Air Force loss was about 75 percent of personnel discharged September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964, with last names after Hubbard.

If your records may have been in that fire, the Archives explains how people rebuild basic service facts. A rebuilt note is not a promise that every page can be replaced. VA.gov links to that same fire guidance from its military records page.

National Archives: The 1973 fire

Sources: National Archives: Which personnel files NPRC holds (reviewed July 20, 2026) · National Archives: The 1973 fire · VA.gov: Request military service records (updated August 12, 2026)

Keep a copy you already have

When the file is in your hands, you can store it in My Records. Storing it does not send it to VA and does not file a claim.

Add a copy you already have to My Records

Questions

Can I sign in to iPERMS?

The Army PDF we checked says a current soldier with a CAC can open their own record in iPERMS. It does not say every veteran can. A newer Army page says many veterans ask Army Human Resources Command instead. If you cannot sign in, check with your branch or VSO.

Is DPRIS only for a VSO?

No. milConnect says a veteran, or a member of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, or Coast Guard on active duty, in the Reserve or Guard, or retired, can use DPRIS to request their own personnel file. That page does not name Space Force, and it does not describe a VSO login. Check with your VSO about what they can see.

What this page is not

Education only. Not legal advice. Not medical advice. Not a VA decision.
We do not request records. We do not sign in to VA.gov, milConnect, or the National Archives for you. We do not file.
We are not an accredited representative, and this page does not appoint one.
A link is not a promise that a record exists, that an office still uses the same menu, or that VA will grant a claim.
As of October 14, 2026. If a page does not match what you see, check with your branch or VSO.

How to get your records · VA medical records · Service treatment records and your C-file · Add a copy you already have to My Records

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