What is DD Form 1797? It is a Department of Defense form titled DD Form 1797, Personal Property Counseling Checklist, September 1998, and its job is straightforward: Personal Property Counseling Checklist. That single line covers most of what people want to know before they download it.
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.
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.
Is this the right edition? The current one is dated not stated, and the publisher carries it as not stated. Check that against whatever copy you already have before going further.
What the form asks for
- 7 Checklist, Part I Household Goods. 1. Mark X for entitlements under the order described above (number of shipments, authorized destination, et cetera)
- 2. Mark X for weight allowances.
- Weight allowance for P. C. S.
- Weight allowance for T. D. Y.
- 3. Mark X for weight restriction at new duty station, if any
- 4. Mark X for member's responsibility to reimburse the Government for any excess costs occasioned by this shipment or shipments
- 5. Mark X for pickup date and required delivery date as determined by requirements of the member.
- Pickup date.
- Required delivery date.
- 6. Mark X for mode or method of shipment, including name of carrier if known
- 7. Mark X for unauthorized items and disposal of useless items
- 8. Mark X for professional books, papers, and equipment
- 9. Mark X for member's responsibility to prepare and submit a complete DD form 1701, Inventory of Household Goods
- 10. Mark X for servicing or deservicing appliances
- 11. Mark X. for temporary storage, contractual or in transit
- 12. Mark X for checking inventory at origin and destination, noting discrepancies on reverse of P. P. G. B. L.., D D Form 619, and carrier's inventory prior to signing
- 13. Mark X for checking DD form 619 prepared by carrier at origin for complete accuracy of information recorded thereon
- 14. Mark X for member's responsibility to sign delivery documents and release them to carrier immediately upon delivery of property and completion of delivery services and annotation of discrepancies
- 15. Mark X for member's responsibility to contact the destination I. T. O. immediately upon arrival to give a point of contact for the I. T. O. when property arrives
- 16. Mark X for member's responsibility to contact origin and destination I. T. O. if there is any change in orders or there are other factors that could affect delivery of the shipment
- 17. Mark X. for extra pickup or delivery charges, when applicable
- 18. Mark X for procedure to designate agent to release property or accept property in absence of member and use of Power of Attorney or informal letter of authority
- 19. Mark X for what documentation given to member and its importance to him
- 20. Mark X for member's responsibility to complete and turn in quality control form
Download the form
What can you download? The available set is PDF. How big is the job? The form runs 2 pages with roughly 106 fields to complete.
Why will not the xfdl file open? Because it is not a pdf. Xfdl belongs to IBM Lotus Forms, long the Department's electronic form format, and it needs IBM Lotus Forms Viewer or an equivalent reader installed first.
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.
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.
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.
Where do you look up an unclear entry? The form face first, not stated second. And when the two disagree? not stated controls.
What happens after you finish? It routes to the office specified in not stated or in local guidance. And your own record? Save a duplicate first; nobody regrets having one.
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 1797?
- DD Form 1797, Personal Property Counseling Checklist, September 1998
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?