Which document is this? DD Form 2790, official title DD Form 2790, Custodianship Certificate to Support Claim on Behalf of Minor Children of Deceased Members of the Armed Forces, 20150302 draft. What does it do? It exists to Custodianship Certificate to Support Claim on Behalf of Minor Children of Deceased Members of the Armed Forces. Everything on this page builds on those two facts.
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.
How current is this? Edition not stated, publisher status not stated. That is the version described throughout this page.
What the form asks for
- 1. Member's name: Last, First, Middle.
- 2. Member's social security number. Do not include dashes.
- 3. Child or children in custody. a. Full name: last, first, middle, line 1of 6.
- 3.b. Child's social security number, line 1.
- 3.c. Date of birth (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day, no separators), line 1.
- 3.d. Relationship to member, line 1.
- 3.a. Child's name, line 2.
- 3.b. Social security number, line 2.
- 3.c. Date of birth, line 2.
- 3.d. Relationship to member, line 2.
- 3.a. Child's name, line 3.
- 3.b. Social security number, line 3.
- 3.c. Date of birth, line 3.
- 3.a. Child's name, line 4.
- 3.b. Social security number, line 4.
- 3.c. Date of birth, line 4.
- 3.d. Relationship to member, line 3.
- 3.a. Child's name, line 5.
- 3.b. Social security number, line 5.
- 3.c. Date of birth, line 5.
- 3.d. Relationship to member, line 5.
- 3.a. Child's name, line 6.
- 3.b. Social Security number, line 6.
- 3.c. Date of birth, line 6.
Download the form
What formats exist for this form? PDF. What is the scale of it? 2 pages and approximately 37 fields.
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.
What does any of this cost? Nothing. Every format listed is a free download. One practical note: save the file and open it in a desktop pdf reader, because browser previews often ignore interactive fields and lose what you typed.
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.
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 2790 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.
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.
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 2790?
- DD Form 2790, Custodianship Certificate to Support Claim on Behalf of Minor Children of Deceased Members of the Armed Forces, 20150302 draft
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?