So what is DD Form 1278? The short answer: a Defense Department document, officially DD Form 278, Department of Defense Certification of Overseas Assignment to Support Application to File Petition for Naturalization, May 2000, used to Certificate of Oversea Assignment to Support Application to File Petition for Naturalization. Anything else you need follows from that.
Is there a version specific to your service? No. A DD number is issued at Department level, which is the whole point of the prefix — every military department and defense agency works from one identical document. Looking for a branch variant wastes time you do not have.
Who is behind it? not stated maintains the form, and not stated is the publication that requires it. Those two names answer most questions about why you are being asked to submit anything at all.
How current is this? Edition not stated, publisher status not stated. That is the version described throughout this page.
What the form asks for
- Press this Reset button to clear the data from all fields.
- Press space bar to mark X if person is the dependent spouse of the above named sponsor.
- Mark X if person is the adopted child of the sponsor.
- 2. From: agency, command or installation.
- 3. Certification. This is to certify that (sponsor's name: last, first, middle initial).
- of (organization name).
- is, or is being, assigned to (country).
- On or about (date: four digit year, two digit month, two digit day).
- Name of dependent spouse (last, first, middle initial).
- On or about (date - 4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- Name of adopted child (last, first, middle initial).
- On or about (date - 4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- 4. Issuing official. a. Typed name (last, first, middle initial).
- 4.b. Grade.
- 4.c. Title.
- 4.d. Signature.
- 4.e. Date signed (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
Download the form
What can you download? The available set is PDF. How big is the job? The form runs 1 pages with roughly 18 fields to complete.
Is there a charge? No — free, all formats. Where should you open the file? In a full pdf application on your own machine. Browser-embedded viewers handle field properties unpredictably.
Where do you start? At the top. Identification first, the substance of the entry second, certification last. Why that order? Because fields lower on the page often depend on data you established in the header, and filling out of sequence produces contradictions.
Why does the edition matter so much here? Because DD forms are revised centrally. When the Department reissues one, it reissues it for all branches simultaneously, and the field layout can shift. Compare the printed date against not stated before you type anything.
What if a specific field still puzzles you? Read the instructions printed on the form, then not stated. Which wins if they differ? The directive.
Where does the completed form go? To the office named in not stated or in your organization's local procedure. Should you keep a copy? Always — a scan or a saved file costs nothing and spares you the whole exercise if the original disappears.
Do you need to know which branch issued a related form? No. DD numbering is Department-wide and unified, which means the number on its own is a complete address for the document.
Do DA and DD numbers ever correspond? Never. DA numbering is Army-specific, administered by an Army proponent, while DD numbering is Department-wide under not stated or an equivalent Department office. Identical digits in the two systems mean two unrelated documents, which is why the prefix matters more than the number.
Why do editions change at all? Three reasons, mostly: the prescribing directive gets reissued, the information collected changes, or the required notice language is amended. Are you notified when it happens? No. Which is why confirming not stated at the moment you download is worth the few seconds.
Will your completed form be accepted? That is not a question this page can answer. What you have here is a published Department of Defense document, a description of it and instructions for filling it out. Nothing on the page is legal advice, and nothing here determines what any office does with a submission. Where do the remaining questions go? To not stated, to your servicing personnel office, or to the office named in not stated.
Questions and answers
- What is DD Form 1278?
- DD Form 278, Department of Defense Certification of Overseas Assignment to Support Application to File Petition for Naturalization, May 2000
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?