So what is DD Form 2656-7? The short answer: a Defense Department document, officially DD Form 2656-7, Verification for Survivor Annuity, April 2009, used to Verification for Survivor Annuity. Anything else you need follows from that.
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.
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
- 1.c. Date of birth (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day, no separators).
- 1.d. Date of death (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- 1.e. Branch of service.
- 1.f. Rank/rate.
- 2. Claimant verification. a. Claimant's name (last, first, middle initial).
- 2.b. Claimant's social security number.
- 2.c. Date of birth (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- 2.d. Telephone (include area code).
- 2.e. Citizen of (country).
- 2.f. If you are a nonresident alien, press space bar to mark X in this box and see note.
- 2.g. Type of benefit claimed. Mark X in first box if SBP, second box if RCSBP or third box if RSFPP.
- 2.h. Relationship to decedent. X first box if spouse, second box if child, third box if former spouse, or fourth box if insurable interest.
- 2.i. Correspondence address (street, apartment number, city, state, and zip code).
- 3. This section applies to spouse applicants only. .a. I certify that I was legally married to the member on the date of death: X first box if yes, second box if no.
- 3.a.(1) If yes, please verify date of marriage to member. If blank or incorrect, please provide correct marriage date.
- 3.a.(2) If No, please provide the date of divorce (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- 3.b. Are there children under age 23 or incapacitated of the deceased member? X first box if yes, second box if no.
- 3.b.(1) If yes: name of first child (last, first, middle initial).
- 3.b.(2) Social security number.
- 3.b.(3) Date of birth (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- 3.b.(1) Name of second child.
- 3.b.(2) Social security number.
- 3.b.(3) Date of birth.
- 3.b.(1) Name of third child.
Download the form
What formats exist for this form? PDF. What is the scale of it? 2 pages and approximately 50 fields.
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.
Where do you start? At the top. Identification first, the substance of the entry second, certification last. Why that order? Because fields lower on the page often depend on data you established in the header, and filling out of sequence produces contradictions.
What is the first thing to check? The edition date on the face of the form. Does it read not stated? If not, the copy is superseded, and a superseded DD form is a real problem: Department-level revisions replace the blank for every service at once, so an old file on a shared drive is stale everywhere, not just in your office.
Can you leave fields blank? Not safely. A reviewer cannot tell a deliberate omission from a missed question, so mark inapplicable items N/A. And date fields? Match the format shown on the form — conventions differ, and misreading a date is easy.
What does the Privacy Act notice cover? Four things: the legal authority behind the collection, the purpose, the routine uses, and whether disclosure is required. When should you read it? Before entering personal information, while the choice is still open.
How do you sign electronically? With a digital signature, usually CAC-based, in a reader that handles it. Will typing your name work? Not as execution — it fills a field without certifying anything. Either way, the date goes in immediately after.
Which mistakes are worth a final check? Superseded edition, gaps in mandatory fields, unreadable writing on a scanned copy, non-conforming date format, unsigned or undated certification.
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.
What happens after you finish? It routes to the office specified in not stated or in local guidance. And your own record? Save a duplicate first; nobody regrets having one.
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.
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 2656-7?
- DD Form 2656-7, Verification for Survivor Annuity, 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?