What is DD Form 2273? It is a Department of Defense form titled DD Form 2273, Irregularities in Makeup and Dispatch of Mail, May 2000., and its job is straightforward: Irregularities in Makeup and Dispatch of Mail. 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.
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
- 8. Pouch/sack. Attach slide label. Press space bar to mark X if Wrong type.
- 8. Mark X if Unserviceable.
- 8. Mark X if Improperly sealed.
- 9. Facing slip. Attach with slide label. Mark X if Missing.
- 9. Mark X if Incorrect.
- 9. Mark X if Improperly prepared.
- 10. Letter ties. Attach slide label and facing slip. Mark X if Broken.
- 10. Mark X if Loose.
- 10. Mark X if Directs not made.
- 11. Pressure sensitive label. Attach slide label. Mark X if Missing.
- 11. Mark X if Incorrect.
- 12. Outside mail, PS Label 136. Mark X if Missing.
- 12. Mark X if Incorrect.
- 12. Mark X if Improperly prepared.
- 13. Coded tag. Attach slide label. Mark X if Missing.
- 13. Mark X if Incorrect.
- 13. Mark X if Improperly prepared.
- 13. Mark X if Altered.
- 14. Slide label. Attach. Mark X if Missing.
- 14. Mark X if Incorrect.
- 14. Mark X if Improperly prepared.
- 14. Mark X if Altered.
- 1. Date. 4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day, no dividers.
- 2. To: use complete address.
Download the form
What can you download? The available set is PDF. How big is the job? The form runs 1 pages with roughly 40 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.
What opens an xfdl file? IBM Lotus Forms Viewer, or a compatible client. Will your pdf reader do it? No, and it will likely report the file as damaged. Xfdl was the Defense standard for electronic forms for years, which is why it still appears in the set.
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.
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.
Where do you look up an unclear entry? The form face first, not stated second. And when the two disagree? not stated controls.
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.
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.
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.
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 2273?
- DD Form 2273, Irregularities in Makeup and Dispatch of Mail, May 2000.
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?