Which document is this? DD Form 2656-10, official title DD Form 2656-10, SBP/RC SBP Request for Deemed Election, April 2009. What does it do? It exists to Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) / Reserve Component (RC) SBP Request for Deemed Election. Everything on this page builds on those two facts.
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.
Who decides this form exists? not stated owns it; not stated directs its use. If someone told you to file this, the authority traces back to those.
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
- 3.a. Branch of service.
- b. Press space bar to mark X in first box if active duty, second box if reserve, or third box if National Guard.
- 4. Is member retired? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- 5. If yes, date of retirement (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day, no dividers).
- Section 2 - Former spouse information. 6. Former spouse name (last, first, middle initial).
- 7. Social Security number.
- 8. Address (include zip code).
- 9. Date of birth (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- 10. Marriage history. a. Date married to member (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- b. Date of divorce (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- c. Are you currently married? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- d. If yes, date of current marriage (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- Section 1 - Member information. 1. Member name (last, first, middle initial).
- 2. Social Security number. Do not include dashes.
- 11. Is election made pursuant to requirements of court order? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- 12. Is election being made pursuant to written agreement previously entered into voluntarily as part of or incident to a proceeding of divorce, dissolution or annulment? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- 13. If "yes" to question 12, was such voluntary written agreement incorporated in, ratified, or approved by a court order? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- Section 4 - Dependent Children information. 14.a. Name (last, first, middle initial), line 1 of 7.
- b. Date of birth (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- c. Social security number.
- d. Relationship (son, daughter, stepson, etc.).
- e. Disabled? (Yes or no.)
- a. Name, line 2.
- b. Date of birth.
Download the form
What formats exist for this form? PDF. What is the scale of it? 2 pages and approximately 56 fields.
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.
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.
Do you pay for these? No. Free download, every format. What should you avoid? Filling the form inside a browser tab; the fields frequently do not save.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 2656-10?
- DD Form 2656-10, SBP/RC SBP Request for Deemed Election, April 2009
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?