So what is DD Form 1385? The short answer: a Defense Department document, officially DD Form 1385, Cargo Manifest, November 1978, used to Cargo Manifest. Anything else you need follows from that.
Does it apply to your branch? Yes. The DD prefix means Department of Defense, not one service, so the same blank serves the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force and the Coast Guard under Defense jurisdiction. There is no Army version and no Navy version to search for.
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.
Which edition should you have? not stated, listed as not stated. A copy dated otherwise is a copy worth replacing.
What the form asks for
- Aircraft number.
- Aircraft model.
- Destination code.
- Ref.
- Mission data: S U.
- A L W weight.
- A L W cube.
- Manifest i.d.: Sta.
- Manifest i.d.: F Y.
- Manifest i.d.: T Y.
- Surface: P O E
- Date sailed
- Voyage document number
- P O D
- REF
- Vessel name
- Status
- Sust
- Truck number
- Remarks
- Page number
- Consignee
- Year
- Make
Download the form
What formats exist for this form? PDF. What is the scale of it? 1 pages and approximately 200 fields.
What does any of this cost? Nothing. Every format listed is a free download. One practical note: save the file and open it in a desktop pdf reader, because browser previews often ignore interactive fields and lose what you typed.
In what order do you complete it? The printed order, top to bottom. Header data comes before the body, and the body before the signature block. The sequence is not decorative — later entries are keyed to earlier ones.
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.
Who receives it? The office not stated designates, subject to whatever local instruction your organization adds. What do you keep? A copy, made before the form leaves your hands.
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.
Why do some instructions cite both a DA and a DD form? Because the procedure touches both systems, not because the forms are related. Service forms answer to a service proponent; DD forms answer to not stated or another Department office. The sequences were never aligned.
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.
Is any of this advice? No. This page distributes a published Defense form and explains its contents, which is a different thing from telling you whether your circumstances qualify or whether a reviewer will accept your copy. Direct questions of eligibility, applicability and procedure to not stated, to your servicing personnel office, or to the office designated in not stated.
Questions and answers
- What is DD Form 1385?
- DD Form 1385, Cargo Manifest, November 1978
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?