How To Request Your Military Records Online
One of the common questions we get through our website involves how to request military records. Many of these requests are from folks who don’t want to hire a lawyer for a military discharge upgrade; they just want to see their military personnel file. Sometimes they have misplaced their discharge paperwork or never received important documents in the first place. It can be unnecessary to hire a discharge upgrade lawyer simply to request your records, when you can request your own military records online for free.
(Please note that if you are a current client, you do not need to request your own records as we do this as a matter of course during representation for our discharge upgrade clients.)
If you don’t want to hire an attorney and just want your records, you can begin your request at archives.gov by clicking on the page for Veterans’ Service Records: Request Your Military Service Records
From there you will see a choice of records you can request, ranging from your DD214 and other separation documents to veteran medical records. If you have your DD214 already, it can be helpful to have it handy for some of the information you will have to input to complete your request for records (such as your discharge date).
When we request military records for our discharge upgrade clients, we want to see as much documentation as possible and go with the request for Official Military Personnel File
By choosing this option, you can specify in the “comments” box exactly which military records you want to have sent to you (for example: disciplinary records, records of nonjudicial punishment, letters of reprimand, etc.). This will help ensure that you receive a more comprehensive package of documents than just your DD214. This option can be useful if you are trying to upgrade your own military discharge or can’t afford to hire an attorney just yet.
Once you complete the online forms required, you will need to fax or mail a signed page to complete your request. It doesn’t take long to request the records, but it can take a few weeks or occasionally much longer to receive your records.
If you have an urgent situation and need to receive your records by a certain date, you might want to opt to click on the page for Veterans’ Service Records: Emergency Requests and Deadlines
If you prefer to consult with a discharge upgrade lawyer to handle your case, you can schedule a consultation with Mr. Mayer online.
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