To receive a veteran’s exemption on the assessed value of your real or personal property, you must file your original DD-214 certificate (separation papers from active duty) in the Town Clerk’s office. You must file by September 30th to receive credit on the following year’s tax bill no exceptions. The sooner you file the better! There is no fee for filing the DD-214. A certified copy of your DD-214 previously filed with another town is acceptable, if an original is not available.

To qualify for tax bill exemptions, you must have served during a time of war and discharged honorably.

Recent military service and medical records are not available online.

Duplicate copies of DD214 may be obtained by contacting the National Personnel Records Center, at 1-(800) 827-1000 and request a Form 180 or you can visit their website at www.archives.gov.

Copies of the following military service records are available for request through this website:

• DD 214/ Separation Documents
• Official Military Personnel File (OMPF)
• Replacement Medals
• Medical and Health Records
• Burials and Emergency Requests
• Natural Disaster Requests

Most veterans and their next of kin can obtain free copies of their DD Form 214 (Report of Separation) and other military service records on the www.archives.gov website.

(Please Note: Next-of-kin (refers to the un-remarried widow or widower, son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister of the deceased veteran) must provide proof of death of the veteran, such as a certified copy of the death certificate, a letter from the funeral home or a published obituary in order to request a copy of military records.)

**While Section II, Item 1 of the Standard Form 180 outlines multiple types of records that may be available to the requester, the DD Form 214 is the most common document necessary to obtain most veteran's benefits.**

To order a copy of the request form SF-180 through the mail

National Personnel Records Center
1 Archives Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63138.

Other Ways to Obtain the SF-180

• From the Department of Defense
• From Federal Information Centers
• From local Veterans Administration offices
• From veterans service organizations

Note: You will need to submit a separate SF-180 for each individual whose records are being requested.

If you are not able to obtain a SF-180, you may still submit a letter requesting for military records. Letter requests must contain enough information to allow for personnel to identify the record from among the more than 70 million on file at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). For example, if you are requesting an Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), please include as much of the following information in the letter as possible:

• The veteran's complete name used while in service
• Service number or social security number
• Branch of service
• Dates of service
• Date and place of birth may also be helpful, especially if the service number is not
  known
• If the request pertains to a record that may have been involved in the *1973 fire, also
  include:
  • Place of discharge
  • Last unit of assignment
  • Place of entry into the service, if known.

Please submit a separate request (either SF-180 or letter) for each individual whose records are
being requested.

* The 1973 Fire at the National Personnel Records Center damaged or destroyed 16-18 million Army and Air Force records that documented the service history of former military personnel discharged from 1912-1964. Although the information in many of these primary source records was either badly damaged or completely destroyed, often alternate record sources can be used to reconstruct the service of the veterans impacted by the fire. These requests may take more time to fulfill.

Please Note: While Section II, Item 1 of the Standard Form 180 outlines multiple types of records that may be available to the requester, the DD Form 214 is the most common document necessary to obtain most veteran's benefits.

Where to Submit the Request Form SF-180

Review the tables on page 3 of the SF-180 form to identify and confirm the correct location of the record you need (based on branch of service, dates of separation, and type of record) send the completed form to the address identified on the table included on the form.

Mail a letter or Standard Form (SF) 180, Request Pertaining to Military Records to:

National Personnel Records Center
1 Archives Drive
St. Louis, MO 63138

Or Fax a letter or Standard Form 180 to: 314-801-9195

Emergency Requests of Veteran Records

If your request is urgent (e.g. upcoming surgery, funeral, etc.), select Emergency Request in the Veteran Service Details section of Vetrecs.archives.gov. Alternatively, you may specify the emergency in the "Purpose" section of the SF-180 and fax it to our Customer Service Team at (314) 801-0764. You may contact customer service staff at (314) 801-0800 if you have
questions. Due to the large number of calls,, hold times are often long. However, once you reach a technician they will be happy to assist you with emergency service.

If your burial request involves internment at a Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery, contact the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at (800) 535-1117 or visit their website http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/burial_benefits/.

*DISCLAIMER* This information has been obtained from https://www.archives.gov/