DD214 Military Discharge

Military discharge records include:

* Copy 4, DD Form 214 issued by the United States government
* Any copy of DD Form 214 with a raised seal issued by the United States National Personnel Records Center
* United States National Archives Form 13038

A veteran desiring to have his or her military discharge records permanently recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court of Rockdale County should bring the records to the Clerk’s Real Estate Office.

The DD-214s are required proof of service for VA benefits and are also useful in obtaining non-VA services such as jobs, Social Security benefits, burial benefits and military funeral honors.

If you recorded your DD-214 at the Clerk of Courts Office, it can be easily retrieved. The Clerk will give you a certified copy and there is no charge for vets to record or retrieve DD-214s. However, to protect military discharge records against fraudulent misuse, strict enforcement of Georgia laws are followed concerning who may view and receive copies of discharge records.

If your discharge papers have been destroyed or lost, your local County Veterans Service Officer can help you replace it.

The following is a summary of the law governing the confidentiality of records:

• Any DD214 filed is exempt from the Open Records Act for a period of 50 years from its filing.
• Upon the presentation of proper identification, the following persons may examine and obtain a copy or certified copy of the record free of charge.
  • The person who is subject of the record
  • Spouse or next of kin of the person subject of the record
  • A person named in an appropriate power of attorney executed by the person who is the subject of the record
  • The administrator, executor, guardian, or legal representative of the person who is the subject of the record
  • An attorney for any person who is the subject of the record
• Records filed in the Clerk’s Office will not be reproduced or used in whole or in part for any commercial or speculative purposes.
• Violation of this subsection shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $5,000; however, the clerk of the superior court shall not be liable and shall be held harmless for any act of any person who copies, reproduces, or uses records in violation of this subsection.

More information on filing DD214’s in Georgia may be found in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, section §15-6-72

You are welcome to file your DD214 at the Rockdale County Courthouse 1st floor, Room 101

Monday – Friday 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Call 770-278-7860 for more information