NPRC

Military & Veterans

National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)

Military service records families request for burial and survivor benefit claims

When someone dies Survivor benefits Forms

The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) is the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) repository that holds Official Military Personnel Files for discharged and deceased veterans of all service branches. Families need a copy of the veteran's DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) from NPRC before claiming most VA burial benefits, headstones or markers, military funeral honors, or burial in a VA national cemetery. NPRC accepts expedited requests from next of kin for funerals and other urgent needs, and receives approximately 4,000 to 5,000 requests per day.

The NPRC when someone dies

No notification is needed. NPRC's page on what to do after a death →

Call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117 when the burial will be in a VA national cemetery. VA works with NARA directly to verify service, so no request to NPRC is needed for that burial.

Gather the veteran's service details and one proof of death:

•Name used in service, service number, Social Security number, branch, and dates of service
•Date and place of birth; place of discharge, last unit and place of entry help locate a record hit by the 1973 fire
•Proof of death: the death certificate, an obituary or death notice, a coroner's report, or a funeral director's signed statement

Request the DD Form 214 and personnel file by one of three routes:

•Online: eVetRecs at vetrecs.archives.gov, with ID.me identity verification
•Mail: Standard Form 180, signed and dated, to National Personnel Records Center, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138
•Fax: Standard Form 180 to 314-801-9195

Mark a request for a funeral as urgent: choose Emergency Request in eVetRecs, or write the purpose on the SF-180 and fax it with the next of kin's signature and proof of death to 314-801-0764.

Wait about 10 days, then check the status at archives.gov/personnel-records-center/forms or call 314-801-0800 or 1-866-272-6272. Send no follow-up request before 90 days have passed.

Required Documents

The veteran's service details: Complete name as used in service, service number, Social Security number where applicable, branch of service, and dates of service.
The veteran's date and place of birth
Proof of death: A death certificate, newspaper obituary or death notice, coroner's report of death, funeral director's signed statement of death, verdict of coroner's jury, or DD Form 1300 Casualty Report.
Place of discharge, last assigned unit, and place of entry into service: when the record may have been affected by the 1973 fire
Standard Form 180: when not using eVetRecs. Signed and dated within the last year; the signature block reads "Signature Required – Do not print." No signature is required for archival records.

Timeline

Allow about 10 days for NPRC to receive a request and begin processing it before checking status. Response times vary with the complexity of the request, the availability of records and workload.

What NPRC pays or provides to survivors3

DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)

Document or record the agency issues

A copy of the veteran's DD Form 214, which establishes character of service. VA and the National Cemetery Administration require it before approving burial benefits, headstones or markers, presidential memorial certificates, military funeral honors and burial in a VA national cemetery.¹

Who qualifies: Next of kin of the deceased veteran: a surviving spouse who has not remarried, father, mother, son, daughter, sister or brother. Veterans and next of kin have the same access rights to the record.

Amount: No cost to next of kin for records of veterans who separated less than 62 years ago.

How to apply: Request it through eVetRecs, or mail or fax Standard Form 180 to NPRC in St. Louis. Include proof of death and sign and date the request within the last year. Form SF-180.

Official Military Personnel File (OMPF)

Document or record the agency issues

The complete file: service history, awards and decorations, training records and separation documents. Next of kin can request a full copy to establish eligibility for awards or benefits, or to document service history.^{2, 3, 4, 5}

Who qualifies: The veteran, next of kin of a deceased veteran, or a representative with a signed and dated authorization, valid one year from signature. An archival file is open to the public, with no signature or next-of-kin authorization required.

Amount: Free to next of kin when not archival. Archival: $25 for a routine file of 5 pages or less, $70 for 6 pages or more, and $0.80 per page ($20 minimum) for a Person of Exceptional Prominence file.

How to apply: Online through eVetRecs, or by mail or fax on Standard Form 180. An archival request buys the complete photocopy of the file. Form SF-180.

Replacement Medals and Awards

Burial, funeral and memorial benefits

NPRC verifies the awards an Army or Air Force veteran is entitled to and forwards the request to the service department, which issues the medals. Air Force, Coast Guard and Space Force take no next-of-kin archival request; the family buys the file to find the awards due and gets the medals commercially.⁶

Who qualifies: Next of kin by branch. Air Force, Space Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard: the un-remarried widow or widower, son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister. Army: surviving spouse, eldest child, father or mother, eldest sibling or eldest grandchild.

Amount: No cost for Army, Navy and Marine Corps next of kin at any separation date. For Air Force, Coast Guard and Space Force, no cost only when the veteran separated less than 62 years ago.

How to apply: Request medals online, or send Standard Form 180 to NPRC marked as a request for replacement medals. Do not use the record-request addresses printed on page 3 of the SF-180. Form SF-180.

What happens to each matter1

Records the agency holds

A personnel file becomes archival, accessioned into the National Archives and open to the public, 62 years after the service member's separation. The date rolls: the current year minus 62.⁷

A fire on July 12, 1973 destroyed about 16 to 18 million personnel files: an estimated 80 percent of Army records for discharges from November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960, and 75 percent of Air Force records for discharges from September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964 with names after Hubbard, James E.⁸

No duplicate or microfilm copies or index existed, so there is no complete list of what the fire destroyed. NPRC reconstructs basic service information from auxiliary records such as VA claims files, state records, pay vouchers and Selective Service registrations.⁸

What NPRC's rules say4

What the agency does and does not handle

NPRC does not receive death notifications and does not pay benefits. Families request the veteran's DD Form 214 and personnel file from it to apply for VA burial benefits, headstones and markers, military funeral honors, and burial in a VA national cemetery.¹

Who may obtain records

A more distant relative, a friend, or an executor who is not on NARA's next-of-kin list is treated as a member of the general public.¹

For a veteran who separated less than 62 years ago, NPRC can release only limited information under the Freedom of Information Act without the consent of the veteran or next of kin. A member of the public may send a signed authorization from either, stating what may be released.⁹

Federal law requires a written request for a non-archival record to be signed and dated within the last year. No signature is required for an archival record.^{10, 11}

Fees

Basic military personnel and health record information from non-archival records is generally free to veterans, next of kin and authorized representatives. Some companies advertise DD Form 214 research for a fee; the National Archives provides it as a free service.¹

Processing and payment

Records can be requested at any time after the death. The DD Form 214 is needed before VA burial benefits, military funeral honors or burial in a VA national cemetery can be arranged.¹

Send no follow-up request before 90 days have passed, because duplicate requests cause further delays. Requests that need reconstruction of records damaged in the 1973 fire take longer.¹

NPRC accepts emergency requests, and a funeral qualifies. In eVetRecs, choose "Emergency Request"; on Standard Form 180, describe the emergency in the "Purpose" section and fax the form.¹²

eVetRecs is NPRC's online system for submitting new requests and checking the status of existing ones. Users verify their identity through ID.me when submitting a new request and retrieving an electronic response.¹³

Standard Form 180 is not mandatory, but it captures everything needed to locate a record.¹⁴

Forms NPRC issues1

SF-180: Request Pertaining to Military Records

Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans request copies of the DD Form 214, the Official Military Personnel File, medical records and replacement medals from the National Personnel Records Center.^{14, 15, 16}

Completed by the veteran or the next of kin.

Other agencies and offices involved1

National Cemetery Scheduling Office: Burial in a VA national cemetery; NARA works directly with VA staff to verify service for burial benefits¹²
Phone: 1-800-535-1117