Did you know that active duty members are entitled to legal protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)? Serving your country should not make you subject to undue financial and legal burdens. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is a law that provides legal protections by restricting or limiting civil actions against active duty members. This includes, but is not limited to: installment contracts, fines, penalties, security deposits, rental agreements, mortgages, evictions, income tax payments, liens, life insurance policy lapses, civil judicial proceedings, and maximum rates of interest on debts.

Your eligibility for these protections is based on verified active duty status. To obtain a free web-based certificate verifying active duty status, please follow this link: https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/scra. The certificate will be provided in PDF form, and will require you to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. You must enter your last name as currently registered with the Corps and either a social security number or a birthdate.

The SCRA website database will search for your name as registered with the Corps. If you legally changed your name due to marriage, divorce, etc. please update your information with us immediately, as this could impact your eligibility for SCRA protections. Official requests regarding name changes should be directed to PHSCCAssignments@hhs.gov.

It is essential to keep your information current. Court judgments in the United States require an active duty status check before legal action can be taken. If your information is not current, you will not be identified as a SCRA protected party. For example: a bank must ensure a mortgage holder is not an active duty servicemember before foreclosing on a mortgage. SCRA requires a court order and possible payment reductions before a foreclosure on active duty personnel can be authorized.

It is important to know the SCRA website database does not recognize active duty tours less than 30 days in length nor tours before September 30, 1985. This is important because, regardless of your current status, you are entitled to SCRA protections retroactively for incidents occurring during your active duty tour. For example: if you are no longer on active duty but you are in a legal dispute stemming from an event when you were on active duty, you may still be eligible for SCRA protections. For retroactive certificates you must provide a single date during your active duty tour.

For more information about the SCRA certificate, please visit https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/scra. This is the official SCRA website and is maintained by the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), operating under the Department of Defense (DoD). The site maintains active duty status for all branches of Uniformed Service.

To review your entitlements under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act please follow this link: http://www.justice.gov/crt/spec_topics/military/scra.php.

Please note: This certificate is not a verification of employment and is intended for SCRA eligibility purposes only.