Where Are Military Records Stored?

If you need a DD214 or another military document, figuring out where the record is maintained is one of the most important parts of the request process.

There is no single government database containing every military record for every service member.

Records can be maintained by:

The National Personnel Records Center;
the National Archives;
an individual military service personnel command;
Department of Defense electronic personnel systems;
a National Guard state headquarters;
military medical-record organizations;
or specialized archival and historical repositories.

The correct location depends on who served, when they served, their current military status, and what record you are trying to obtain.

Are All Military Records Stored at the National Personnel Records Center?

No.

The National Personnel Records Center, or NPRC, is one of the largest federal repositories for military personnel records, but the National Archives specifically states that:

Most, but not all, military personnel records are stored or serviced through NPRC.

NPRC primarily handles records associated with former service members who no longer have an ongoing military service obligation.

Current active-duty, Reserve, National Guard, and some more recent former-service records may remain under the control of the applicable military organization or electronic personnel system.

What Is the National Personnel Records Center?

The National Personnel Records Center is part of the National Archives and Records Administration, or NARA.

NPRC is a major federal repository for personnel-related records of former members of the U.S. military and former federal civilian employees.

Its military holdings include millions of Official Military Personnel Files, or OMPFs.

Those files can contain records relating to enlistment, assignments, training, qualifications, awards, administrative actions, separation, retirement, and DD214 or equivalent discharge documentation.

If you need the broader personnel record rather than only a DD214, read How to Get Your Complete Military Personnel File .

Where Are DD214s Stored?

A DD214 is generally part of the service member's military personnel record.

Where that personnel record is maintained depends on the Veteran's branch and service history.

For many former service members, the DD214 can be requested through NPRC.

For others, particularly Veterans with more recent service, the underlying electronic record may still be maintained by a military personnel command or Department of Defense system.

This is why two Veterans from different branches or eras may use different systems to obtain the same type of document.

For the actual request process, read How to Get a DD214 Online .

Stored by One Agency, Serviced by Another

One of the most confusing parts of the military-record system is that the agency technically maintaining the electronic record may not be the same organization that processes your request.

For example, current National Archives location guidance shows that certain newer Army personnel records are stored electronically by U.S. Army Human Resources Command while requests for former service members can still be serviced through NPRC.

Similarly, some newer Air Force personnel records are stored electronically in Air Force systems while NPRC services requests for former members.

Certain newer Marine Corps OMPFs are maintained electronically by Marine Corps personnel organizations while NPRC can service requests for those records.

So when someone says, "my record is at NPRC," that may mean NPRC is the organization capable of servicing the request, even if the authoritative electronic file technically resides in another military system.

Where Are Army Records Stored?

Army record custody varies substantially by era and status.

Current National Archives guidance shows that many personnel records of former Army members from the twentieth century are maintained through NPRC.

For more recent former Army personnel, the records can be stored electronically by U.S. Army Human Resources Command while NPRC services record requests.

Current active-duty Army personnel records, including active Army Reserve records, remain with Army Human Resources Command.

Army National Guard records follow another path and can be maintained through the appropriate state, District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico Adjutant General.

Where Are Air Force and Space Force Records Stored?

Many older Air Force personnel files are maintained at NPRC.

More recent former-service Air Force records can be maintained electronically through Air Force personnel systems while requests are serviced by NPRC.

Current active-duty Air Force and Space Force personnel records remain under the appropriate Air Force personnel authority.

Current Reserve records may be maintained through the Air Reserve Personnel Center.

Air National Guard records can follow different paths depending on whether the member is an officer, enlisted, active, or separated.

Where Are Navy Records Stored?

NPRC maintains or services extensive Navy personnel-record collections for former service members.

Current National Archives location guidance identifies NPRC as the personnel-record location for many discharged, deceased, or retired Navy members across both historical and recent service periods.

Records of current active-duty and Reserve Navy personnel remain with Navy Personnel Command.

Medical records may be stored separately from the personnel OMPF depending on the date of service.

Where Are Marine Corps Records Stored?

Older Marine Corps personnel files are generally maintained through NPRC.

For more recent former Marines, personnel records can be stored electronically by the Marine Corps Manpower Management Records & Performance Branch while NPRC services many requests.

Current active-duty Marines and certain Selected Reserve personnel records remain with Marine Corps personnel organizations.

Individual Ready Reserve and Fleet Marine Corps Reserve records may follow another Marine Corps records path.

Where Are Coast Guard Records Stored?

Current National Archives guidance identifies NPRC as the personnel record location for discharged, deceased, and retired Coast Guard members across a broad range of service dates.

Records of current active-duty, Reserve, and Temporary Disability Retired List Coast Guard personnel remain with the Coast Guard Personnel Command.

As with the other military services, health-record custody can differ from personnel-record custody.

What About the Department of Defense milConnect System?

Some Veterans with more recent service may be able to obtain military personnel records through the Department of Defense's milConnect system.

VA currently directs Veterans to check milConnect if they were discharged after these dates:

Air Force: after October 1, 2004
Army: after October 1, 2002
Marine Corps: after January 1, 1999
Navy: after January 1, 1995

These dates reflect the transition toward modern electronic personnel systems.

A record being available through milConnect does not necessarily mean that no other federal records custodian has access to it.

It means that the Veteran may have a more direct electronic route to qualifying personnel documents.

What About Recent Marine Corps and Coast Guard Records?

VA provides additional guidance for certain recent Marine Corps and Coast Guard records.

VA currently states that Veterans seeking:

Marine Corps records from 1998 to the present, or
Coast Guard records from 2008 to the present

may need to contact the applicable personnel command.

VA also states that a Veteran can submit the request through the National Archives and NARA can forward it to the appropriate personnel command when necessary.

This is another example of why record location and request routing are related but are not always identical.

Where Are National Guard Records Stored?

National Guard records require special attention because Guard service involves both state and federal military systems.

Army National Guard records can remain with the Adjutant General of the appropriate state, District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico.

The National Guard Bureau currently directs former Army National Guard members seeking NGB Forms 22 and 23 to submit an SF-180 to the appropriate state headquarters and branch in which they served.

NGB states that the states are required to maintain these records for 99 years.

Air National Guard personnel records can follow a different path, including the Air Reserve Personnel Center for certain former Air Guard members.

A Guard member who also completed federal active service can separately have a DD214 maintained within federal military personnel-record systems.

That is why former Guard members may need to look in more than one place to reconstruct their complete military history.

Are National Guard Records the Same as DD214 Records?

Not necessarily.

A National Guard member can have:

State National Guard personnel records;
NGB Form 22 separation records;
retirement-points records;
Air Reserve or Army Guard personnel records;
and one or more DD214s from qualifying federal active-service periods.

Those documents can be held by different organizations.

Read DD214 vs NGB Form 22 if you're unsure which separation record applies.

Where Are Reserve Records Stored?

Reserve personnel records depend on whether the member is currently affiliated with the military or fully separated.

NPRC generally does not maintain personnel files for individuals who are still in an active or inactive Reserve status in the same manner as records of fully discharged former service members.

Current Reserve records can remain with service-specific organizations such as:

Army Human Resources Command;
Air Reserve Personnel Center;
Navy Personnel Command;
Marine Forces Reserve;
or the appropriate Coast Guard personnel organization.

Once the service member is fully discharged, retired, or otherwise separated from the applicable service obligation, the record may move into or become accessible through former-service records systems.

When Are Records Transferred to NPRC?

The National Archives states that NPRC stores records of former service members who no longer have a service obligation.

This generally includes Veterans who are:

Completely discharged with no remaining Reserve commitment,
retired,
or deceased.

NARA says personnel records are usually transferred or made available to NPRC within approximately six months after the qualifying discharge, retirement, or death.

Modern electronic military systems complicate the word "transferred" because NPRC may service a request through electronic access even when the authoritative file remains stored within the military department's electronic system.

What Is an Official Military Personnel File?

The Official Military Personnel File, or OMPF, is the primary administrative personnel record associated with a service member's military career.

Depending on the Veteran and the era of service, an OMPF can contain information about:

Enlistment or appointment
Assignments and duty stations
Training and qualifications
Performance
Awards and medals
Administrative actions
Disciplinary actions
Separation and discharge
Retirement
DD214 or equivalent separation documents

It is primarily an administrative personnel record.

NARA specifically notes that detailed information about a Veteran's participation in battles and engagements is not normally contained in the OMPF.

Are Medical Records Stored With Military Personnel Records?

It depends on when the Veteran served.

Historically, military personnel files frequently contained both personnel records and active-duty health records.

Beginning in the 1990s, the military services gradually stopped filing health records with the personnel portion of the OMPF.

According to NARA, the transitions began approximately:

Army — 1992
Air Force — 1994
Navy — 1994
Marine Corps — 1994
Coast Guard — 1998

For many Veterans separating during later periods, health records may therefore be maintained by VA or a military medical-record organization rather than with the personnel file at NPRC.

In 2014, the military services also changed how newer medical records were retired and maintained.

If medical records are what you actually need, do not assume an OMPF or DD214 request automatically retrieves them.

Where Are Unit and Operational Military Records Stored?

Unit histories and operational records are generally not the same thing as an individual's OMPF.

Records relating to military organizations and operations can be maintained by specialized repositories such as:

National Archives military-record collections;
Air Force Historical Research Agency;
Naval History and Heritage Command;
Marine Corps History Division;
Coast Guard Historian's Office;
and other service-specific historical organizations.

Examples of these records can include:

Unit histories
Operational reports
Deck logs
Organizational records
Morning reports
Command histories
After-action records

Someone researching what a unit did during a deployment may therefore need a completely different records collection from someone requesting that Veteran's DD214.

Where Are Very Old Military Records Stored?

Very old military personnel records can be maintained by the National Archives in Washington, D.C., rather than through the same NPRC processes used for more modern military personnel files.

The exact cutoff varies by branch and whether the service member was an officer or enlisted.

NARA's records-location table, for example, identifies early Army and Navy personnel collections maintained in Washington rather than at NPRC.

Researchers working with military service from the eighteenth, nineteenth, or early twentieth centuries should therefore consult the current NARA record-location table rather than automatically sending a modern DD214 request to St. Louis.

What Happens When a Military Record Becomes Archival?

Military personnel records become archival 62 years after the service member separates from military service.

This is a rolling date.

Once an Official Military Personnel File becomes archival, ownership transfers to the National Archives and the record generally becomes open to public request.

That means researchers, descendants, historians, and other members of the public can order archival personnel files without needing the same Veteran or next-of-kin authorization required for recent non-archival records.

Archival requests are subject to copying fees.

Where Are Records From the 1973 NPRC Fire Period?

Records from affected Army and Air Force service periods may still be associated with NPRC even when the original personnel file was damaged or destroyed.

The 1973 NPRC fire destroyed approximately 16 to 18 million military personnel files.

The most heavily affected records were:

Army personnel discharged November 1, 1912 through January 1, 1960;

and certain Air Force personnel discharged September 25, 1947 through January 1, 1964.

NPRC maintains extensive auxiliary collections that can be used to reconstruct basic military service when the original personnel file does not survive.

Those alternate records can include pay records, hospital-admission records, organizational records, unit information, and other federal sources.

Read How to Get a DD214 if Military Records Were Lost for the reconstruction process.

Are Military Records Stored Digitally?

Many newer military personnel records are maintained electronically.

But the United States military-record system spans more than two centuries.

The total collection therefore includes a mixture of:

Modern electronic personnel files;
scanned records;
microfilm and microfiche;
physical paper OMPFs;
archival documents;
and specialized historical record collections.

This is why an online request system should not be confused with an online database containing every DD214 ready for immediate download.

Read Can I Download My DD214 Online? for more about electronic access.

Why Does Record Location Affect DD214 Processing Time?

Location can directly affect how much work is required to answer a request.

A straightforward electronic record may be relatively easy for the servicing agency to retrieve.

Another request may require:

Transfer to another personnel command;
retrieval of a physical file;
research in an archival collection;
coordination with a National Guard state office;
access to another military electronic system;
or reconstruction using alternate records.

Those additional steps can make one Veteran's request take longer than another's.

If you already submitted a request and are waiting, read Why Is My DD214 Taking So Long? .

How Long Does NPRC Take to Find a Military Record?

There is no guaranteed universal turnaround time.

NARA currently says NPRC response times depend on:

Request complexity, record availability, and current workload.

NPRC receives approximately 4,000 to 5,000 requests every day.

NARA currently asks requesters not to submit duplicate follow-up requests before 90 days have elapsed because doing so may create additional delays.

Read How Long Does It Take to Get a DD214? for normal processing guidance.

How Do I Know Where My Military Record Is Stored?

Start with four pieces of information:

1. Branch of service
2. Current or former military status
3. Separation or retirement date
4. Type of record needed

Then compare that information with NARA's current Locations of Service Records table.

The table distinguishes personnel and health records and identifies the applicable organization by branch and service period.

Standard Form 180 also includes a Records Location Table designed to help determine where a written records request should be sent.

Should I Just Send Every Request to NPRC?

No.

NPRC handles an enormous number of military personnel requests, but NARA specifically says that most, not all, records are stored there.

Standard Form 180 tells requesters to use its location table to identify the correct destination based on:

Branch of service, separation date, service status, and the type of record requested.

Sending a request to the appropriate destination from the beginning can avoid unnecessary routing.

What Information Do I Need Before Finding the Record Location?

Before trying to determine where a military record is stored, gather as much of the following as possible:

Veteran's full name used during service
Branch of service
Active, Reserve, or National Guard component
Approximate or exact service dates
Separation date
Retirement status
Service number, if known
Social Security number, when applicable
Date and place of birth
Type of record being requested

Once you know those details, the correct records path becomes much easier to identify.

For a complete checklist, read What Information Do I Need to Request a DD214? .

What If I Don't Know Where My Records Are?

You do not need to know the exact shelf, database, command, or federal records center before beginning.

The purpose of the government record-location guidance and SF-180 is to help route the request based on the Veteran's military history.

If the National Archives receives a request for certain records that belong with another personnel command, the request may be forwarded to the appropriate military organization.

However, providing accurate service information from the beginning can reduce unnecessary routing and research.

Where Are Military Records Stored? The Short Answer

There is no single location for every military record.

In general:

NPRC handles large collections of personnel records for former service members.

Some newer personnel files remain stored electronically with the applicable military branch even when NPRC services the request.

Active-duty and many current Reserve records remain with the military service.

National Guard records can remain with state Guard organizations, the Air Reserve Personnel Center, or other Guard personnel authorities.

Medical records may be stored separately from personnel records, especially for service after the early 1990s.

Unit and operational records are maintained in separate historical and archival collections.

Very old personnel records may be maintained by National Archives facilities outside NPRC.

OMPFs become archival 62 years after separation and are then generally open to public request.

The safest approach is to identify the Veteran's branch, service status, separation date, and type of record and then use the National Archives' current location guidance to determine the correct request path.