What is DD Form 218? It is a Department of Defense form titled DD Form 218, DOD Telephone Directory Alphabetical Section Change Order, July 1962., and its job is straightforward: Telephone Directory Alphabetical Section Change Order. That single line covers most of what people want to know before they download it.
Will you need a different form because of where you serve? No. DD forms are Department-wide instruments, and that scope is what separates them from service publications. One edition, all branches, defense agencies included.
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
- Line 1. Last name, first name, middle initial and military grade.
- Office, abbreviated.
- Room number.
- Location, building.
- Telephone number
- Action. A for addition, C for change in present listing (underscore all words changed), D for deletion of a listing.
- Line 2. Last name, first name, middle initial and military grade.
- Office, abbreviated.
- Room number.
- Location, building.
- Telephone number
- Action.
- Line 3. Last name, first name, middle initial and military grade.
- Office, abbreviated.
- Room number.
- Location, building.
- Telephone number
- Action.
- Line 4. Last name, first name, middle initial and military grade.
- Office, abbreviated.
- Room number.
- Location, building.
- Telephone number
- Action.
Download the form
What can you download? The available set is PDF. How big is the job? The form runs 1 pages with roughly 144 fields to complete.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Can you assume a matching number is the same form? No, and this is where downloads go wrong. Read the prefix. Army numbering and Department numbering are independent systems, so the digits alone tell you nothing about which document you need.
How often does a form like this change? Unpredictably — revision follows directive changes, altered collection requirements and updated notice language. What is the practical defence? Verifying not stated every time you download rather than trusting a saved copy.
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 218?
- DD Form 218, DOD Telephone Directory Alphabetical Section Change Order, July 1962.
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?