The Veterans Department Holds Discharge Records — If This Was Your Home of Record
Where the home of record on release from active duty was in this state, the veterans department may hold a copy of the discharge document in its archive. A search needs your full name, date of birth and the last four digits of your social security number.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
Where the home of record on release from active duty was in this state, the veterans department may hold a copy of the discharge document in its archive. A search needs your full name, date of birth and the last four digits of your social security number.
What it's worth: An archive search for your discharge document
- The department states that if the home of record on release from active duty was in this state, it may hold a copy in its archive.
- A search requires the full name, date of birth and the last four digits of the social security number.
- The department describes contacting it by telephone or e-mail to request a copy.
- Where the home of record was elsewhere, the department directs the request to the national archives instead.
Who is entitled to it
- The archive search is run on the veteran’s own record.
- You served in the armed forces.
- Your home is in Utah.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
- 1Check the home of record on your release papers first. That, not where you live now, is what decides whether the state archive is the right place to ask.
- 2Have three things ready before you ring: your full name, your date of birth and the last four digits of your social security number. The department names all three as needed to search.
- 3Try this before the national archives if the home of record was here — a state archive search is usually faster than a federal request.
- 4If the home of record was elsewhere, go straight to the national archives. The department says so itself.
- 5Once you have a copy, consider what else needs it: the state registry, county recording, the licence designation, and any claim in progress.
- 6Ask about the veterans information system while you are on the phone. Registering there is described as improving the department’s ability to reach you about benefits.
- Form
- A request by telephone or e-mail to the department
- File with
- Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
Sources
- authority · published policyUtah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs — 2026 resource guide, DD-214 and Military Records (archive holdings where the home of record on release was in this state; the three items needed to search; the national archives route otherwise)
Why only one source type: The department holds the archive and describes it in its own guide. There is no statute to cite for a records-holding practice, and the code host refused connection this session in any event.
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.