Are dd214's public record

Answer 1

Yes, and no. It depends on where your DD214 is located. In an era before identity theft, a long, long time ago, the military recommended that veterans file their DD214 at their local courthouse. The idea? Whenever the veteran need a copy of their DD214, they could acquire a certified copy of their record from the local court clerk's office. A veteran wouldn't have to worry about access to their record. It was available, once filed, locally, conveniently. However, almost all records filed at the local courthouse, unless specifically sealed by the court, were statutorily defined as public records. This conflict is now changing and many states are enacting allows to protect these records - all as a result of identity theft. Your county clerk will know. Ask before you file. Of course, a veteran can release his or her DD214 into the public domain. You can find some with a Google search. Now, records maintained by Federal records repositories are protected by the Privacy Act. Only the veteran him/herself can access them, unless they provide a written authority to an employer or representative to allow access to those private records. Upon death, the veteran's next-of-kin can have access to the veteran's records. Next-of-kin is statutorily defined as mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter and un-remarried non-divorced surviving spouse. After the veteran passes away, more than a few families uncover long buried secrets ... If you file a FOIA request you can acquire certain information about a veteran - but now we're getting beyond the scope of this question. A good site on DD214s, their creation, use in employment, DD214 codes and acquisition, from free to paid researchers, is http://dd214.us