What does this form do? DA Form 4078 is titled PROPERTY CONTROL AND DEPRECIATION RECORD, and its job is to property control and depreciation record. Anyone sent to find "the 4078" is being sent here. Everything below expands on that one function.
Which edition is on this page? The one dated June 1973, status not stated. On army forms the edition date is the version, printed on the page itself so any copy can be checked.
Do I fill this in myself? Usually yes, unless an administrative office keeps the record for you, in which case they enter what you supply. The form itself belongs to ASA(FM&C) and is prescribed by AR 215-5. It runs to 1 page(s) and about 200 fields.
What the form asks for
- COST_A
- COST_A_1
- COST_A_2
- COST_A_3
- COST_A_4
- COST_B
- COST_B_1
- COST_B_2
- COST_B_3
- COST_B_4
- COST_C
- COST_C_1
- COST_C_2
- COST_C_3
- COST_C_4
- COST_D
- COST_D_1
- COST_D_2
- COST_D_3
- COST_D_4
- COST_E
- COST_E_1
- COST_E_2
- COST_E_3
Download the form
What file types are offered? PDF. The page image is the same in every one of them; only the way you complete it changes from format to format.
Fillable or printable — which do I want? Fillable, if there is a keyboard involved: the boxes are interactive objects that store text. Printable, if there is a pen involved: the boxes are just lines on paper. Nothing else distinguishes them.
Do I need special software? Not for reading — a pdf opens in the browser you already have. For filling, install a full pdf reader rather than trusting the in-browser viewer, which sometimes displays fields it cannot save. Type into one field, save, reopen and confirm the text survived.
Is it free? Yes, entirely. No registration stands between you and the file, and what arrives is exactly what the publisher released.
What goes in first? The heading block — your name exactly as official records show it, then identification number, then organisation, then the date you prepared the form. Is the order important? It is, because those four entries become the index for the finished record, and an error there is the one mistake that hides the document from everyone looking for it.
What is the fastest way to fill the body? Tab from field to field. The order was set at build time and normally matches how the page reads, which is why tabbing catches boxes that clicking past would leave empty. And the boxes and buttons? Those take a click. Where only one option in a set can apply, choosing one deselects the other.
What happens if your answer is too long for the field? It prints cut off. A single-line field does not wrap, so text running past the edge stays readable on screen and then disappears at the margin on paper. What do you do instead? Move it to the remarks area or onto a continuation sheet. And a field that does not apply to you? Mark it as not applicable rather than leaving it blank — an empty box tells the reviewer nothing about whether you read the question.
Where does the signature belong in the sequence? At the very end, by hand or by an accepted electronic means. An unsigned form is a draft regardless of how full it is. Are countersignatures needed? Where the form provides for them — reviewing official, approving authority, witness — taken in printed order and dated on the day applied. What should you check before releasing it? Empty mandatory fields, digit transposition in identification numbers, day-month inversion in dates, and residue from an old copy used in place of a blank one.
Why does the form carry a Privacy Act statement? Because personal information is being collected, and the statement declares the authority, the purpose, who else routinely sees the data, and whether answering is required or optional. Is it worth reading? Read it before you fill the fields it governs, not after. Does it change how you keep the file? It should — a filled copy is a personal record and gets the handling such records receive.
Where do you send it? To the destination the prescribing directive names, which may be a specific office, the unit administrative channel, or the individual's file. Is a copy worth keeping? Always, and taken before submission. How long does the receiving office keep it? For the period the records schedule for the series prescribes, regardless of local custom.
Which other forms travel with this one? Those found by series and number: DA series documents sharing a proponent or a governing directive are frequently needed in combination, and a form referenced on the face of another generally accompanies it. Do you assemble them before or after sending? Before. Continuation sheets, cover sheets and transmittals are part of the same package.
When is an edition replaced? When the proponent revises the form and publishes a new edition date. What should you do with a copy kept on your own machine? Check its date against the edition in force before reusing it. Does the change reach backwards? It does not; work already completed on an earlier edition remains valid as filed.
Who publishes these files? This site does, as copies of published Department of the Army forms offered for download. Is there any official connection? None — the site is independent of the Department of the Army and issues nothing itself. Will a given office accept your document? That is not something anyone here can state, and none of this page is legal advice. Where do you take a specific question? To ASA(FM&C), or to the administrative office that services your unit.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 4078?
- PROPERTY CONTROL AND DEPRECIATION RECORD
- Which edition is current?
- June 1973
- Who is responsible for this form?
- ASA(FM&C)
- In which formats can it be downloaded?