What is DD Form 294? It is a Department of Defense form titled DD Form 294, Application for a Review by the PDBR of the Rating Awarded Accompanying a Medical Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States, January 2009, and its job is straightforward: Application for a Review by the Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR) of the Rating Awarded Accompanying a Medical Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States. That single line covers most of what people want to know before they download it.
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.
Who is behind it? not stated maintains the form, and not stated is the publication that requires it. Those two names answer most questions about why you are being asked to submit anything at all.
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. Applicant data. a. Branch of Service. Press space bar to mark X in first box if Army, second box if Marine Corps, third box if Navy, fourth box if Air Force, or fifth box if Coast Guard.
- b. Name while serving (last, first, middle initial). If name has changed, enter "AKA", then current name.
- c. Pay grade at time of separation.
- d. Date of separation (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- e. Social security number.
- 2. Final disability rating awarded by service for unfitting condition. X first box if 0 percent, second box if 10 percent, or third box if 20 percent.
- 3. Issues why the rating for the condition which rendered the member unfit should be changed (continue in item 12 if necessary).
- 4. In support of this application, the following documents are submitted as evidence (continue in item 13 if necessary).
- 5. VA rating information. a. I have received a VA disability rating that includes the condition for which I was found unfit. X first box if yes, second box if no, third box if not applicable, or fourth box if pending.
- b. I have attached my VA determination letter (N/A if 5.a. is no or pending). X first box if yes, second box if no, third box if not applicable.
- 6. VA consent. X first box if do, or second box if do not, freely authorize the VA to release information to PDBR.
- 7.a. Counsel/Representative (if any). Name (last, first, middle initial) and Address (see Item 7 of the Instructions).
- b. Telephone number (include area code).
- c. E-mail address.
- d. Fax number (include area code).
- 8. Applicant must sign in item 11.a. below. If the record in question is that of a deceased or incompetent person, legal proof of death or incompetency must accompany the application. If the application is signed by other than the applicant, print the name:
- If signed by other than applicant, indicate relationship: X first box if spouse, second box if widow, third box if widower, fourth box if next of kin, fifth box if legal representative, or sixth box if other.
- Specify other relationship.
- 9.a. Current address of applicant or person in item 8 above (forward notification of any change in address.
- b. Telephone number (include area code).
- c. Cell phone number (include area code).
- d. E-mail address.
- 11. Certification. a. Signature - Required. Applicant or person in Item 8 above.
- b. Date signed (current date).
Download the form
What can you download? The available set is PDF. How big is the job? The form runs 3 pages with roughly 30 fields to complete.
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.
Does typing matter? It does. Your completed form will probably be scanned, forwarded and filed, and typed text comes through each of those steps unchanged while handwriting degrades. If pen is your only option, block capitals give the receiving clerk a fighting chance.
Is xfdl worth downloading? Only if you have the viewer. The format comes from IBM Lotus Forms, which carried Defense form distribution for a long stretch, and no ordinary pdf application will read it.
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.
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 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.
Which fields are required? Treat all of them as required, marking N/A where an item genuinely does not apply. What trips people on dates? Writing them in a familiar format instead of the one the form specifies.
Why read the Privacy Act Statement? Because it sits ahead of the personal data fields deliberately. It names the collection authority, the principal purpose, the routine uses of your data and the consequence of declining. Reading it afterward tells you nothing you can still act on.
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.
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.
What if DD Form 294 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.
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.
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 294?
- DD Form 294, Application for a Review by the PDBR of the Rating Awarded Accompanying a Medical Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States, January 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?