What does this form do? DA Form 4949 is titled ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUSTMENT REPORT (AAR), and its job is to administrative adjustment report. Anyone sent to find "the 4949" is being sent here. Everything below expands on that one function.
Which edition is on this page? The one dated 12/01/2023, status ACTIVE. On army forms the edition date is the version, printed on the page itself so any copy can be checked. Be aware that a more recent edition has since been issued. This version is superseded and stays here for reference and for records already filled out on it.
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 G-4 and is prescribed by AR 710-4. It runs to 1 page(s) and about 200 fields.
What the form asks for
- ADJ_ITEM
- ARC_A
- ARC_A_1
- ARC_A_10
- ARC_A_11
- ARC_A_2
- ARC_A_3
- ARC_A_4
- ARC_A_5
- ARC_A_6
- ARC_A_7
- ARC_A_8
- ARC_A_9
- ARC_B
- ARC_B_1
- ARC_B_10
- ARC_B_11
- ARC_B_2
- ARC_B_3
- ARC_B_4
- ARC_B_5
- ARC_B_6
- ARC_B_7
- ARC_B_8
Download the form
What can I download here? The formats available are PDF, XFDL, DOC. Each one reproduces the identical official layout. What separates them is the method of entry, nothing on the page itself.
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 the doc version editable? Yes, in any common word processor. It suits drafting and passing a template between desks, with the caveat that spacing shifts as you type. Why will my xfdl file not open? Because it is IBM Lotus Forms, not pdf. The Lotus Forms Viewer is the only application that reads it.
Is it free? Yes, entirely. No registration stands between you and the file, and what arrives is exactly what the publisher released.
Which entries come before the rest? The identifying ones at the head of the page: name, identification number, unit, date of preparation. Does it matter that they come first? Yes — everything downstream retrieves the record by those values, so they are worth getting right before you touch the substantive blocks.
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.
When do you sign? Last, after every other entry is settled. Until the signature is applied the document is a draft, however complete it looks. What if more than one signature is required? Reviewing official, approving authority and witness sign in the order the blocks print, and each dates the form on the day of signing rather than the day it was prepared. What goes wrong most often? Mandatory fields left empty, transposed digits in identification numbers, dates with day and month reversed, and old entries surviving in a working copy that was reused instead of a fresh blank form.
What is the Privacy Act statement on the page? A notice appearing wherever personal information is collected, setting out the authority for the collection, the purpose, the routine uses, and whether your disclosure is mandatory or voluntary. When should you read it? At the point you reach it, before entering the details it covers. And afterwards? Your completed copy holds personal data and is stored and transmitted under the rules that apply to such records.
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.
What causes a form to be superseded? A revision issued by the proponent, after which the previous edition date no longer matches the one in force. How do you check a copy you saved? Read the edition date on the page and hold it against the current edition. Must earlier submissions be redone? They must not — a completed record executed on a prior edition is unaffected.
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 G-4, or to the administrative office that services your unit.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 4949?
- ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUSTMENT REPORT (AAR)
- Which edition is current?
- 12/01/2023
- Who is responsible for this form?
- G-4
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, XFDL, DOC, PDF
Publisher notes
- 42-ITEM ONLY PRODUCED IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA