So what is DD Form 2538? The short answer: a Defense Department document, officially DD Form 2538, Voluntary Leave Transfer Program Leave Donor Application, May 1989, used to Voluntary Leave Transfer Program Leave Donor Application. Anything else you need follows from that.
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
- 5. Employee certification. a. Press space bar to mark X if credit in the current leave year.
- 5. b. Mark X if credit effective the beginning of the next leave year.
- 5. c. Mark X if credit to another leave recipient (complete (1) - (4)).
- 5. c. (3) Mark X if credit all restored leave to recipient designated in 5.c.(1).
- 5. c. (4) Mark X if credit percent to the leave recipient and percent to my leave account designated in 4. a. or b.
- 1. Pay block number.
- 2. Employee identification. a. Name (last, first, middle initial).
- 2. b. Social security number. Include dashes.
- 2. c. Position title.
- 2. d. Grade/step.
- 2. e. Organization.
- 2. f. Salary.
- 3. Leave data. a. Annual leave balance.
- 3. b. As of (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- 3. c. Accrual rate for annual leave.
- 3. d. Hours to be earned during remainder of leave year.
- 3. e. Hours to be donated.
- 3.f. Use or lose hours included in 3. e.
- 4. Designated leave recipient. a. Name (last, first, middle initial).
- 4. b. Organization.
- 5. c. (1) Name (last, first, middle initial).
- 5.c.(2) Organization.
- 5.c.(4) Percentage to leave recipient.
- Percentage to leave account.
Download the form
What formats exist for this form? PDF. What is the scale of it? 1 pages and approximately 28 fields.
What is the difference between fillable and printable? A fillable pdf has real field boxes that accept typed text and hold it inside the file. A printable pdf is a flat blank with no fields at all, intended for a printer and a pen. Which one you have determines how you complete the form, so it is worth checking first.
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.
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.
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.
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.
What if DD Form 2538 points to another form? Search the series and number. Because the DD sequence is common to every military department, no branch qualifier is needed to land on the right file.
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.
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 2538?
- DD Form 2538, Voluntary Leave Transfer Program Leave Donor Application, May 1989
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?