Which form is this? DA Form 5840, official title CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTANCE AS GUARDIAN OR ESCORT, used to certificate of acceptance as guardian or escort. That is the whole answer in one sentence. What follows explains the version, the file and the entries.
Is this the current version? The edition offered here is dated 07/01/2020, published with the status ACTIVE. That date is the version number of a military form; there is no other. And no, this is not the newest one. A later edition has been published, and this copy is kept only for reference and for records already completed 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-1 and is prescribed by AR 600-20. It runs to 1 page(s) and about 86 fields.
What the form asks for
- ACKNOWLD
- ADDRESS
- Authority1
- Authority2
- COUNTY
- ContentArea1
- DATE
- DAY_OF
- DEPEND_F
- DEPEND_F_1
- Disclosure1
- Disclosure2
- EXPIRES
- FAMILY_A
- FAMILY_A_1
- FAMILY_A_2
- FAMILY_B
- FAMILY_B_1
- FAMILY_B_2
- Footer_Left
- Footer_Mid
- Footer_Right
- GUARD
Download the form
What can I download here? The formats available are PDF, XFDL. Each one reproduces the identical official layout. What separates them is the method of entry, nothing on the page itself.
What is the difference between fillable and printable? A fillable pdf has live fields that accept typing and can be saved with your entries in place. A printable pdf is the same blank page with no live fields, meant to come out of a printer and be completed with a pen. Both print identically once filled.
Which application should I use? Reading takes nothing beyond a browser. Filling takes a proper pdf reader, since browser viewers vary in whether they retain what you type — verify with a single field and a save before you fill the whole form. What is xfdl? The IBM Lotus Forms format used inside Army systems. It requires the Lotus Forms Viewer; nothing else opens it.
Does the download cost anything? No. There is no charge, no account and no email address to surrender, and the file you receive is the published document with nothing added to it.
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.
What does the Privacy Act notice tell you? The legal authority behind the collection, what the information is for, the routine uses it may be put to, and whether disclosure is compulsory. When is the right moment to read it? Before completing the personal entries, at the point the statement appears. What follows from it? Your finished copy contains personal data, so store and send it the way your office handles that category.
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.
Why do editions change? Because the proponent revises the content, and the edition date printed on the page marks the result. How do you tell whether a stored copy is still current? Compare its printed date against the edition in force before you use it again. Does a new edition invalidate what you already filed? No. Records executed under a superseded edition stand as they are.
Is this an official Department of the Army site? No. It is an independent site distributing reproductions of published Department of the Army documents for download, with no authority to issue forms. Does it guarantee acceptance of anything you submit? It does not, and nothing on the page is legal advice. Who should you ask instead? G-1 or your servicing administrative office, whenever an entry, a requirement or your eligibility is in doubt.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 5840?
- CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTANCE AS GUARDIAN OR ESCORT
- Which edition is current?
- 07/01/2020
- Who is responsible for this form?
- G-1
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, XFDL, PDF
Publisher notes
- 14-REQUIRES PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT (AR 340-21),