You have arrived looking for DD Form 2656-10. Before you download, confirm this is the right document: Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) / Reserve Component (RC) SBP Request for Deemed Election. Full title: DD Form 2656-10, SBP/RC SBP Request for Deemed Election, April 2009.
Then look at the edition date: not stated, publisher status not stated. After that, ask whether the form covers your situation. It almost certainly does regardless of your branch — DD forms run Department-wide rather than through a single service.
Once you know the form fits, find out when you file it. not stated sets the requirement, and not stated maintains the form itself. Your own command or agency adds local timing on top of that, so ask your administrative office if the deadline matters to you.
Last in this stage, choose your method: complete it on screen, or print the blank form and fill it out in pen. The sections below take each route step by step.
Begin at the top and move down. Enter your identifying data first, then the body of the form, then the signature block. The sequence is printed in that order because entries below frequently follow from entries above.
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.
Look up an unclear item on the form face before anywhere else, then in not stated. Should the two texts conflict, the directive is the one you follow.
Download the form
Begin by choosing a file. Available here: PDF. Plan for 2 pages and about 56 entries.
Choose pdf as your default. Next, click inside a box. A fillable pdf responds by outlining the field and letting you type; the text stays in the document when you save it. A printable pdf does not respond, which tells you to print the page and complete it by hand.
Prefer typing over writing. Your form will likely be scanned and emailed onward, and typed text reproduces at every stage while pen strokes fade or blur. When you do write, print in capitals so the receiving clerk can read it.
Before you take the xfdl file, make sure you can open it. Install IBM Lotus Forms Viewer or an equivalent client first, because your pdf reader will refuse the file. Then download and complete it as normal.
All of it downloads free. When you are ready to work, do this: save the file locally, then open it in a full pdf application. Browsers often ignore field properties, and you can lose everything you typed.
What the form asks for
- 3.a. Branch of service.
- b. Press space bar to mark X in first box if active duty, second box if reserve, or third box if National Guard.
- 4. Is member retired? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- 5. If yes, date of retirement (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day, no dividers).
- Section 2 - Former spouse information. 6. Former spouse name (last, first, middle initial).
- 7. Social Security number.
- 8. Address (include zip code).
- 9. Date of birth (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- 10. Marriage history. a. Date married to member (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- b. Date of divorce (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- c. Are you currently married? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- d. If yes, date of current marriage (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- Section 1 - Member information. 1. Member name (last, first, middle initial).
- 2. Social Security number. Do not include dashes.
- 11. Is election made pursuant to requirements of court order? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- 12. Is election being made pursuant to written agreement previously entered into voluntarily as part of or incident to a proceeding of divorce, dissolution or annulment? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- 13. If "yes" to question 12, was such voluntary written agreement incorporated in, ratified, or approved by a court order? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- Section 4 - Dependent Children information. 14.a. Name (last, first, middle initial), line 1 of 7.
- b. Date of birth (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- c. Social security number.
- d. Relationship (son, daughter, stepson, etc.).
- e. Disabled? (Yes or no.)
- a. Name, line 2.
- b. Date of birth.
Submit the completed form through the channel not stated or your local guidance specifies. Save a copy for yourself before it leaves your hands, whether that means a scan, a photograph or a duplicate file.
When DD Form 2656-10 references another form, search on the series and number. Because DD numbers are common to every military department, the number by itself identifies exactly one document.
Be careful when a procedure pairs this form with a service form. Read the prefix, not just the digits. Service forms answer to a service proponent, while DD forms answer to not stated or an equivalent Department office, and the two sequences were never aligned. Grabbing the wrong prefix gets you a form that has nothing to do with your task.
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.
Finally, understand the limits of what you have read. This page distributes a published Department of Defense form and describes how to fill it out. It does not give legal or procedural advice, and it cannot promise any outcome for your particular case. For that, contact not stated, your administrative office, or the authority identified in not stated.
Questions and answers
- What is DD Form 2656-10?
- DD Form 2656-10, SBP/RC SBP Request for Deemed Election, April 2009
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?