So what is DD Form 1848? The short answer: a Defense Department document, officially DD Form 1848, Sensitive Compartmented Information Debriefing Memorandum, January 1983, used to Sensitive Compartmented Information Debriefing Memorandum. 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.
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.
How current is this? Edition not stated, publisher status not stated. That is the version described throughout this page.
What the form asks for
- I was reminded of the need for special protection of S C I material, of the fact that access to this material is governed by the terms of the S C I Nondisclosure Agreement that I previously signed, and of my continuing obligation to comply with the terms of that agreement. Enter signature here.
- Press this Reset button to clear the data from all fields.
- This memorandum records the fact that I was debriefed on this date on the following Sensitive Compartmented Information, S C I, Special Access Programs, use unclassified indicators only: Line 1 of 3
- Line 2 of 3
- Line 3 of 3
- Rank/grade.
- Social security number.
- Date of debriefing (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- Billet number.
- Organization.
- I certify that the debriefing presented by me was in accordance with relevant S C I procedures. Enter signature of authorized briefer.
- Printed/typed name (last, first, middle initial).
- Date of debriefing (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- Organization.
- Printed/typed name (last, first, middle initial).
Download the form
What can you download? The available set is PDF. How big is the job? The form runs 1 pages with roughly 15 fields to complete.
Fillable or printable — which do you have? Click inside a box. If it accepts a cursor and typed text, the file is fillable and your entries save with it. If nothing happens, the pdf is flat, and the only way forward is printing it and writing on paper.
Should you type or write? Type, whenever the choice is yours. The reason is what happens after submission: the record gets copied and scanned, and every pass costs handwriting legibility that typed entries never lose.
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.
Is the form its own instruction manual? Partly. The rest sits in not stated, which is also the authority where the two texts conflict.
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.
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.
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 1848?
- DD Form 1848, Sensitive Compartmented Information Debriefing Memorandum, January 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?