You need DD Form 1842, and this page gives you the blank plus the steps for handling it. Start with what the form does: Claim for Loss of or Damage to Personal Property Incident to Service. Its official title is DD Form 1842, Claim for Loss of or Damage to Property Incident to Service, May 2000.
Next, check the edition. You want not stated, currently carried as not stated by the publisher. Then confirm the form applies to you — this is a Department of Defense form, so you use it whether you serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force or Coast Guard under Defense jurisdiction.
After that, turn to timing. The requirement comes from not stated; the form is maintained by not stated. Local implementing instructions fill in the dates, so check with the office that will receive your copy.
Before you download, pick your approach — editable file or printed page. What follows covers the formats first, then the entries, then what you do afterward.
Now fill it in. Work from the top of the page downward, and do not jump ahead — the identifying block comes first, the substance of your entry second, the certification last. Later boxes often depend on what you put at the top.
Check the edition before you type a word. The date appears on the face of the form; it should read not stated. When it does not, discard the file and take a fresh copy from this page. Department-level revisions replace the blank across all services simultaneously, which means an old printout can be out of step everywhere.
Work through the fields one at a time and leave nothing blank. When a box does not apply to you, write N/A rather than skipping it, so the reviewer can see you read the question. Follow the date format printed beside each date field instead of the one you normally use.
Do not skip past the Privacy Act Statement. It is placed ahead of the personal data fields on purpose: it explains under what authority you are being asked, what happens to the information, and what follows if you decline. Take the minute it costs.
Sign last, and sign properly. On paper that means ink in the signature block. Electronically it means a digital signature, usually applied with your Common Access Card in a reader that supports it. Typing your name into the field does not sign anything. Then add the date beside your signature — an unsigned or undated form is the most common reason one comes back.
Review before you submit. Look for a superseded edition, blank mandatory fields, illegible writing, dates in the wrong format, and an unsigned or undated certification.
For questions about a specific entry, check the form's own instructions, and if that does not settle it, open not stated. The directive controls where they differ.
Download the form
First, look at what you can download. The set covers PDF, the form runs 2 pages, and you will complete roughly 39 fields.
Check your software before choosing xfdl. That format belongs to IBM Lotus Forms, long used for Defense form distribution, and it needs the matching viewer. Get the viewer installed, then come back for the file.
Whichever you pick, you pay nothing — every format here is a free download. One last tip: open your pdf in a desktop reader rather than in a browser tab, because browser viewers sometimes drop the interactive fields you need.
What the form asks for
- 1. Name of claimant (last, first, middle initial).
- 2. Branch of service.
- 3. Rank or grade.
- 4. Social security number. Do not include dashes.
- 5. Home address (street, city, state and zip code).
- 6. Current military duty address, if applicable (street, city, state and zip code).
- 7. Home telephone nunber, include area code.
- 8. Duty telephone nunber, include area code/DSN.
- 9. Amount claimed.
- 10. Circumstances of loss or damage, explain in detail. Include date, place, and all relevant facts. Use additional sheets if necessary
- 11. Did you have private insurance covering your property? Press space bar to mark X in first box if yes, second box if no.
- 12. Have you made a claim against your private insurer? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- 13. Has a carrier or warehouse firm involved paid you or repaired any of your property? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- Did any of the claimed items belong to the government or to someone other than you or your family member? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- Were any of the claimed items acquired or held for sale, or acquired or used in a private profession or business? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- 17. Signature of claimant (or designated agent).
- 18. Date signed (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- 19. Procedure. X first box if small claims, second box if regular claims.
- Part 3 - Denial or supplemental payment (to be completed by Claims Office). 23. Mark X if Denial.
- 24. Mark X if Supplemental Payment.
- 24. Supplemental payment amount.
- 25. Signatures. a. Claims examiner.
- 25.b. Date signed (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- 25.c. Signature of reviewing authority.
With the form finished, route it to the office named in not stated or in your organization's own instruction. Keep a copy first. People rarely regret having one and frequently regret not having one.
Should you need a related form, look it up by its number. The DD sequence is Department-wide, which makes your search simple: no service qualifier, no branch-specific variant to track down.
Here is where people go wrong. They see a number in an instruction and download whichever form matches it. But DA and DD are separate systems — Army-specific in one case, Department-wide under not stated in the other — so check which series you were sent to before you take the file.
Do not archive this file and reuse it in a year. Forms are reissued as directives are revised, as data requirements shift, and as statutory notice text is amended. Your protection is simple: download fresh each time and confirm the edition date.
Before you go, note what is not covered here. You have the blank form and instructions for completing it; you do not have legal guidance, and no statement on this page determines what any office will do with your submission. Direct those questions to not stated, to the personnel office that serves you, or to the office designated in not stated.
Questions and answers
- What is DD Form 1842?
- DD Form 1842, Claim for Loss of or Damage to Property Incident to Service, May 2000
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?