Obtaining Records and Verifying Service

Obtaining Your DD 214

The DD 214 – the Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty – is used to provide verification of your military dates of services, achieved Military Occupational Specialty codes and the type and character of your discharge.

There are two place to obtain your DD 214:

  1. Utah Department of Veteran Affairs: Call 1-800-894-9497 and provide your full name, date of birth, and Social Security Number. They have copies of most DD 214 records for veterans who had Utah as their “home of record” upon discharge from the military, and whose discharge occurred in 1980 or later.
  2. National Archives: Follow the instructions on the website to request a copy via web, mail, or fax. Most requests are filled within 10 days.

Verifying Your Military Experience and Training

The Verification of Military Experience and Training (VMET) report provides a record of your military experience and training while on active duty if you served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines on or after October 1, 1990. Access your report here.

You’ll need one of the following access types:

  1. Common Access Card (CAC) is a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) smart card issued as standard identification for active duty military personnel, eligible contractor personnel, state employees of the National Guard and Reserve personnel.
  2. DS Logon, Level 2 allows beneficiaries affiliated with the DoD or the VA to access several websites using a single username and password. The DS logon provides a high level of authentication assurance in situations where the CAC authentication is not available.
  3. Password Defense Financing and Accounting Services (DFAS) myPay accounts are established for those individuals paid through the system and have a personal LoginID and password.

Translating Your Military Skills and Experience

Your military experience and training can be valuable in finding a job if you correctly translate those skills on your resume, on your job application and in your job interview. Here are two places to obtain a translation of your skills:

Military Crosswalk
My Next Move for Veterans (Under “Find careers like your military job”)