So what is DD Form 2851? The short answer: a Defense Department document, officially DD Form 2851, Request to Correct Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Agency Error, November 2001., used to Request to Correct Thrift Savings Plan Agency Error. 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.
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.
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. Name. Enter as last name, first name, middle initial.
- 2. Grade.
- 3. Date of birth. Four digit year, two digit month, two digit day.
- 5.a. Duty DSN telephone number. Include area code and punctuation marks.
- 5.b. Duty commercial telephone number. Include area code and punctuation marks.
- 6. Member's unit name and address.
- 7. Branch of service. X first box if Air Force, second box if Army, third box if Navy, fourth box if Marine Corps, fifth box if Coast Guard, sixth box if Public Health, or seventh box if NOAA.
- 8. Input source. Unit name, address, and telephone number.
- 9. Status. X first box if active duty, second box if guard, or third box if reserves.
- 10. Payroll date. Four digit year, two digit month, two digit day.
- 11. Date payment made to NFC. Four digit year, two digit month, two digit day.
- 12. Claimant's brief explanation of error.
- 13. Input source's explanation of extenuating circumstances.
- 14. Documentation attached to support claim. Mark X if Leave and Earnings Statements.
- 14. Mark X if TSP participants statements.
- 14. Mark X if TSP form 1, TSP election form.
- 15. For official use only.
- 16.a. Claimant's signature.
- 16.b. Date signed. Four digit year, two digit month, two digit day.
- 16.c. E-mail address.
- 17. Input Source. a. Signature.
- 17.b. Date signed. Four digit year, two digit month, two digit day.
- 17.c. E-mail address.
- 18. Additional remarks. Use this space to continue any item if necessary.
Download the form
What formats exist for this form? PDF. What is the scale of it? 2 pages and approximately 27 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.
Is handwriting acceptable? Yes, but it is the weaker choice. Scanning flattens pen strokes and reproduction blurs them, while typed characters survive the whole chain intact. Print in capitals if you are working from a paper blank.
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.
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.
Where do you look up an unclear entry? The form face first, not stated second. And when the two disagree? not stated controls.
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.
Can you assume a matching number is the same form? No, and this is where downloads go wrong. Read the prefix. Army numbering and Department numbering are independent systems, so the digits alone tell you nothing about which document you need.
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.
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 2851?
- DD Form 2851, Request to Correct Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Agency Error, November 2001.
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?