Order Forms for Military Service and Family History Records

• Forms to use
  
  
• How to obtain forms
  
  
• Where to return forms
  
  
• Order processing time

Forms to use

Click below on the links in the column "Type of Record" to find out more about that type of record. Click on the link in the column "Form/Instructions" to find out about obtaining forms for records.

How to obtain forms

1. Provide your name and postal mailing address
2. Specify the form number
3. State the number of forms you need (limit 5 per order)

• Send through the NARA web site* or
• Send in a letter addressed to the National Archives and Records Administration, Attn: NWCTB, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20408-0001

• Download electronically from the NARA web site (in .PDF format).
• Order the form through the NARA web site.
• By writing to The National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63132
• NARA's Fax-on-Demand System
  • Call the Fax-on-Demand System at (301) 837-0990 from a fax machine (using the handset).
  • Follow the voice instructions, and request document number 2255.
• From the Department of Defense
• From Federal Information Centers
• From local Veterans Administration offices   
• From veterans service organizations

Where to return forms

Return completed Forms 81 through 86 to: National Archives and Records Administration, Attn: NWCTB, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20408-0001

Mail the completed Standard Form 180 to The National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100

Order processing time

Orders placed on NATF Forms 81 through 86 are generally completed in approximately eight weeks from the time we receive them. Please note, however, that orders placed on NATF Form 85, for full pension files, generally take twelve to sixteen weeks, due to the large size of the files.

If you have not received a response to your order for copies within the stated times, please send an email to orderstatus@nara.gov* or call our Customer Service Center at 1-800-234-8861. Be sure to provide the following information:

• your name and postal mailing address
• the order number (preprinted on the NATF Forms 81 through 86), if applicable
• a daytime phone number, if you wish to be called.

If you are not satisfied with the response of our Customer Service Center, write NARA* to communicate your concerns.

Response times for records requested from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) vary greatly depending on the nature of the request. For example, the NPRC Military Records Facility currently has a backlog of 180,000 requests and receives approximately 5,000 requests per day. Routine requests for separation documents currently require only 2-4 weeks for servicing. However, requests that involve reconstruction efforts due to the 1973 fire or older records which require extensive search efforts may take much longer. The average turnaround time on all requests is currently running at approximately 12 weeks.