How to Request Your VA & Military Records

Quick Comparison

If you only have a minute, this table tells you which form to use and where it goes. Each record is explained in detail below.

1. VA Claim File (C-File)

This is your most valuable record. It's everything VA used to decide your claims: applications, exam reports, rating decisions, internal notes, and evidence you submitted. You should request your C-File before filing any appeal. Most denials make a lot more sense once you can see what the rater actually saw.

How to request

1. Download VA Form 20-10206 from va.gov/forms/20-10206.
2. In Section I, enter your full name, SSN, VA file number (if you have one), mailing address, phone, and email.
3. In Section III, check "Claims File (C-File)" and write: "Complete VA claims file (C-file), to include all C&P exam reports, rating code sheets, and all evidence of record."
4. In Section IV, choose how you want it delivered (CD is best for large files. Some VA offices also offer secure download links).
5. Sign with a wet (pen) signature. Typed signatures sometimes get rejected.
6. Submit one of three ways, details below.

2. Military Medical Records (Service Treatment Records)

These are the records the military created while you were in, sick call visits, exams, immunizations, dental, mental health. They are not the same as the C-File, and they're held in different places depending on when you separated and whether you've filed a VA claim yet.

Where your records live

• Already filed a VA claim before: Your STRs are usually inside your C-File. Request the C-File (Section 1 above), they'll be in the package.
• Never filed: Your records are with the military or with VA's Records Management Center, the exact holder depends on your branch and discharge date. Don't worry about figuring out which, the eVetRecs system below routes your request to the right office automatically.

How to request through eVetRecs

1. Go to archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records and click "Request Service Records Online (eVetRecs)."
2. Sign in with ID.me (create an account during the same flow if you need one).
3. Fill out the wizard. Under "Type of records requested," check Medical Records. Bundle in Personnel Records too if you also want your service file, same request, no extra cost.
4. Submit. You'll get a service request number, save it, you'll need it to check status or download your response.
5. When records are ready, you'll get an email. Click the link, sign back in with ID.me, and download the response. Documents expire 30 days after the email is sent, so download promptly.
6. Wait time is typically 4-12 weeks. Free.

3. Service Records (Official Military Personnel File)

Your OMPF is your full personnel file: assignments, awards, training, evaluations, pay records, promotions, and disciplinary actions. It's separate from your medical records but uses the same request system, eVetRecs, which routes to whoever currently holds your file (typically NPRC).

How to request

1. Use the same eVetRecs flow as Section 2 above. You'll need ID.me to sign in.
2. Check the Personnel Records box in the wizard.
3. If you want everything, write in the comments field: "Complete OMPF (Official Military Personnel File)."
4. Submit. Free. Typically 4-12 weeks.

4. DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge)

The single most important document a veteran owns. You'll need it for VA disability claims, the GI Bill, VA home loans, state veteran benefits, military funeral honors, everything. There are three ways to get one. Try them in this order:

Path A, milConnect (Fastest, recently separated only)

Works for many veterans separated after roughly 2002 (Army) or 2004 (Air Force). Other branches have varying coverage.

1. Sign in to milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil with DS Logon, CAC, or login.gov.
2. Click Correspondence/Documentation → Defense Personnel Records Information (DPRIS) → Personnel File.
3. Download the PDF directly. Free, instant.

Path B, eVetRecs (Everyone else)

1. Go to archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records and click "Request Service Records Online (eVetRecs)."
2. Sign in with ID.me (create an account if needed).
3. Fill out the wizard. When asked why you need the records, pick "Emergency Request" only if you genuinely have a deadline (funeral, urgent benefit application). It gets routed faster, but lying gets your file flagged.
4. Submit. Save your service request number.
5. When the response is ready you'll get an email, sign back in with ID.me to download (30-day window).
6. 3-4 weeks. Free.

Path C, Standard Form 180 (Backup if eVetRecs has trouble)

1. Download SF-180.
2. Fill out, sign in ink, and mail or fax to NPRC: 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138 (fax 314-801-9195).
3. 4-8 weeks. Free.

5. After Action Reports & Unit Records

These are the hardest records to get but often the most valuable for stubborn claims. AARs document what your unit actually did, combat operations, casualty events, equipment exposures. They are often the single best piece of evidence for PTSD, TBI, and toxic-exposure claims when the VA says "no documented stressor" or "no proof of in-service event."

Three paths depending on the records' age and which branch

Path A, Records older than 25 years (National Archives, no FOIA)

1. Identify the unit, dates, and operation as specifically as possible.
2. For Army records older than 25 years, contact NARA's Modern Military Records Branch: archives2reference@nara.gov.
3. For Vietnam-era and earlier, see archives.gov/research/military.
4. Records 62+ years old (1964 and earlier in 2026) can be ordered online for a small fee.

Path B, Recent records (FOIA to the relevant branch)

Submit a FOIA request to the branch that owned your unit. Each branch has its own FOIA office. Use the table below or start at FOIA.gov.

What your FOIA letter must include

• Your full name, address, phone, email
• The exact unit (e.g., "Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division")
• Exact dates or a narrow window (a single mission beats "all of 2010")
• The operation or event ("Operation Iraqi Freedom rotation, Forward Operating Base Falcon, June-November 2007")
• A specific records ask: "After Action Reports, SIGACTs (significant activities reports), morning reports, and unit history for the period and unit named above."
• A fee statement: "I am willing to pay up to $25 in fees. Please notify me if costs will exceed this amount."
• Your signature

Path C, milConnect (very recently discharged)

Sometimes unit-level documents are accessible via milConnect's DPRIS for recent separations. Worth checking before you write a FOIA letter, sign in and look under Personnel File.

Common Pitfalls (Read Before You Mail Anything)