What is DD Form 1553? It is a Department of Defense form titled DD Form 1553, Entry for a Photography Contest, August 1983., and its job is straightforward: Entry for a Photography Contest. That single line covers most of what people want to know before they download it.
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.
Where does the requirement come from? From not stated, with not stated responsible for the document itself. Those are the names to cite if anyone asks under what authority you filed.
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
- Armed service. Press space bar to mark X in first box if Army, second box if Navy, third box if Air Force.
- Military address (organization, unit, installation, base, ship, state, country, P O, A P O, etc.) (include zip code).
- Area code of home telephone number.
- Remaining numbers of home telephone number.
- Duty phone: commercial area code.
- Remaining numbers of commercial duty phone number.
- Permanent home address (include zip code). (If release from service is anticipated before December 31 of the contest year, give approximate date and mailing address).
- Section 1, Contestant information and authorization. Title of entry.
- Name of contestant (last, first, middle initial).
- Rank (by name, for example, Staff Sergeant).
- Social security number.
- Duty phone: DSN.
- Categories of competition. a. Mark X if military life.
- b. Mark X if people.
- c. Mark X if scenic/nature.
- d. Mark X if creative effects.
- Type of entry (group). 1. Mark X if Monochrome print.
- Mark X if Group 2, color print.
- Mark X if group 3, color transparency.
- Signature of contestant.
- Date (year, month, day).
- Signature of model.
- Address (street, city, state and zip code). (or "NA" if not applicable).
- Date (year, month, day).
Download the form
Which files are here? These: PDF. How much work is involved? 2 pages, about 27 entry fields.
Why do two kinds of pdf exist? Because two kinds of user exist. One completes the form on screen and forwards a file; the other prints a blank and fills it by hand. The fillable release has interactive boxes, the printable release is a static image of the same page.
Is handwriting acceptable? Yes, but it is the weaker choice. Scanning flattens pen strokes and reproduction blurs them, while typed characters survive the whole chain intact. Print in capitals if you are working from a paper blank.
Can you skip around the form? Better not to. The layout runs identification, then content, then certification, and entries near the bottom frequently take their meaning from what sits above them.
What if your copy is old? Replace it. Check the date printed on the form against not stated. Old blanks circulate for years in shared folders, and because a DD revision lands across the whole Department at once, the receiving office will be working from the new layout.
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.
How do you find a form referenced inside this one? By its number alone. The DD sequence runs across the entire Department, so a number identifies exactly one document regardless of which service cited it.
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.
Should you archive this file and reuse it next year? Better not. Forms are revised as directives are reissued, as data requirements shift and as statutory notice text is updated, and none of that reaches you directly. Download fresh, check the edition date.
What does this page actually provide? The blank form and a description of it. What does it not provide? Legal guidance, procedural rulings, or any assurance about a particular filing. Who answers those? not stated, the administrative office that serves you, or the authority identified in not stated.
Questions and answers
- What is DD Form 1553?
- DD Form 1553, Entry for a Photography Contest, August 1983.
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?