NARA -- Access to Military Service and Pension Records
Source: NARA
The National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the
official repository for records of military personnel
who have been discharged from the U.S. Air Force,
Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard.
For more information about researching military
service records, see:
NARA's Genealogy page
An Overview of Records at the
National Archives Relating to Military Service
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The two main repositories for records relating to
military service are:
The National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St.
Louis, Missouri.
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Washington, D.C.
The National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., holds records
relating to:
Branch of Service / Dates
Volunteers
Military service performed by persons serving during
an emergency and whose service was considered to be in
the Federal interest, 1775 - 1902
Regular Army
Enlisted personnel, 1789 - October 31, 1912
Officers, 1789 - June 30, 1917
Navy
Enlisted personnel, 1798 - 1885
Officers, 1798 - 1902
Marine Corps
Enlisted personnel, 1789 - 1904
Some officers, 1789 - 1895
Coast Guard
Persons who served in predecessor agencies to the U.S.
Coast Guard: the Revenue Cutter Service (Revenue
Marine), the Life-Saving Service, and the Lighthouse
Service, 1791 - 1919
Confederate States
Persons who rendered military service for the
Confederate States government in its armed forces,
1861 - 1865
Veterans Records
Claims files for pensions based on Federal military
service, 1775 - 1916 and
Bounty land warrant application files relating to
claims based on wartime service, 1775 - 1855
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To order military service records from Washington,
D.C.:
use NATF Form 86. Copies of military pension
claim files can now be ordered online for military service from the American
Revolution up to before World War I, as well as
through NATF Form 85.
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St. Louis,
Missouri
The National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, holds military
personnel files of later military service records.
Branch of Service / Dates
U.S. Army
Officers separated after June 29, 1917
Enlisted personnel separated after October 31, 1912
Note: Many records were destroyed by fire in the St. Louis Center in 1973.
US Air Force
Officers and enlisted personnel separated after
September 24, 1947
Note: Many records were destroyed by fire in the St. Louis Center in 1973.
US Navy
Officers separated after 1901
Enlisted personnel separated after 1884
US Marine Corps
Officers separated after 1904
Enlisted personnel separated after 1905
US Coast Guard
Officers separated after 1897
Enlisted personnel separated after 1905
U.S. Coast Guard predecessor agencies
Civilian employees of agencies such as Revenue Cutter
Service, Lifesaving Service, and Lighthouse Service,
retired after 1919.
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To order records from St. Louis:
If you are a veteran or next-of-kin of a deceased
veteran, use eVetRecs, at vetrecs.archives.gov (or use the paper form, SF-180). All others, use Standard Form 180. Access to Military Service Records is
limited. See Services for Veterans, Next-of-Kin,
or the Veteran's Representative for more information.
This page was last updated January 9, 2014.