DD Form 214

The DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, generally referred to as a "DD 214", is a document of the United States Department of Defense, issued upon a military service member's retirement, separation, or discharge from active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, e.g., U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force or U.S. Coast Guard.

The first DD Form 214s were issued in 1950, replacing the older "WD AGO" (War Department Adjutant General's Office) Forms and the NAVPERS (Naval Personnel) discharge documents. These documents had existed since 1941. In earlier versions of the form (1 November 1972) it was called a "Report of Separation from Active Duty"; the current title dates from 1 July 1979.

DD Form 214 is the capstone military service document, as it represents the complete, verified record of a service member's time in the military (Active and Reserve), awards and medals, and other pertinent service information, such as highest rank/rate and pay grade held on active duty, total military combat service and/or overseas service, Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) or Navy officer designator, Navy Officer Billet Code (NOBC), Additional Qualification Designation (ACD) or Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) identifiers and a record of training and schools completed. Individuals who served exclusively in the Air National Guard or Army National Guard do not receive a DD Form 214, but will receive a form called NGB-22 from the National Guard Bureau.

The DD Form 214 is commonly used by various government agencies, chief among them the Department of Veterans Affairs, to secure veteran benefits, and may be requested by employers should a person indicate he or she has served in the military.

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