What is DD Form 2656-6? It is a Department of Defense form titled DD Form 2656-6, SBP Election Change Certificate, April 2009, and its job is straightforward: Survivor Benefit Plan Election Change Certificate. 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.
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.
How current is this? Edition not stated, publisher status not stated. That is the version described throughout this page.
What the form asks for
- 3. Date of retirement: 4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day.
- 4. Date of birth: 4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day.
- 5. mailing address: street, apartment number, city, state and zip code.
- 6. Telephone number, include area code.
- Section 2 - Current coverage. 7. My current coverage is: Press space bar to mark X in first box if no coverage, second box if spouse only, third box if child only, fourth box if spouse and child, fifth box if insurable interest, sixth box if former spouse, seventh box if former spouse and child, or eighth box if suspended coverage.
- Section 3 - Conditions that trigger eligibility to change coverage. 8. I am requesting a change in coverage based on: Mark X if marriage.
- Mark X if remarriage.
- If remarriage, X first box if resume existing coverage, second box if increase coverage, third box if not resume coverage, or fourth box if coverage for new spouse if current coverage is for former spouse.
- Mark X if acquiring a dependent child.
- Mark X if divorce.
- Mark X if death of spouse.
- Section 1 - Member Information. 1. Name: last, first, middle initial.
- 2. Social security number. Do not include dashes.
- Section 4 - Requested change to coverage. 9. Indicate new coverage election by marking X in first box if resume existing coverage, second box if spouse only, third box if spouse and child(ren), fourth box if child(ren) only, or fifth box if suspend coverage.
- Section 5 - Level of Coverage. 10. Indicate monthly amount coverage will be based on. X first box if full retired pay, second box if reduced amount of retired pay.
- Enter reduced monthly amount of retired pay (cannot be less than $300.00).
- Section 6 - Spouse and children information. 11.a. Spouse's name: last, first, middle initial.
- 11.b. Social security number.
- 11.c. Date of birth: 4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day.
- 12. Date of marriage: 4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day.
- 13. Dependent children. a. Name: last, first, middle initial, line 1 of 6.
- 13.b. Social security number.
- 13. c. Date of birth : 4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day.
- 13. d. Relationship. Son, daughter, stepson, etc. Indicate "FS" if from previous marriage.
Download the form
Which files are here? These: PDF. How much work is involved? 2 pages, about 58 entry fields.
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.
Can you skip around the form? Better not to. The layout runs identification, then content, then certification, and entries near the bottom frequently take their meaning from what sits above them.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Why do editions change at all? Three reasons, mostly: the prescribing directive gets reissued, the information collected changes, or the required notice language is amended. Are you notified when it happens? No. Which is why confirming not stated at the moment you download is worth the few seconds.
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 2656-6?
- DD Form 2656-6, SBP Election Change Certificate, 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?