You can look up people in the military, but what turns up depends on whether the person is still serving or has been discharged, what you’re trying to accomplish, and whether you have their consent. Federal law makes a short list of basics public: name, rank, dates of service, branch, assignments, awards eligibility, and a few related items. Home address, phone number, email, medical records, and the reason for discharge stay protected unless the service member or veteran authorizes their release.1National Archives. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and The Privacy Act
What you actually do next depends on which of three situations you’re in: trying to reach someone on active duty, needing to verify active duty status for a legal matter, or looking up a veteran’s service history.
What’s Public and What Isn’t
The National Personnel Records Center can release the following about a service member or veteran without their consent, under FOIA:
- Name and service number
- Dates of service
- Branch of service
- Final duty status and final rank
- Assignments and geographic locations
- Military education level
- Awards and decorations (eligibility only, not the medals themselves)
- Photograph
- Courts-martial transcripts
- Place of entrance and separation
If the veteran has died, place of birth, date and location of death, and place of burial are also releasable.1National Archives. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and The Privacy Act
Everything else, including any way to contact the person directly, requires written consent from the service member or veteran.2U.S. Department of Justice. Privacy Act of 1974
Reaching Someone on Active Duty
The Department of Defense doesn’t publish a directory of active duty personnel. If you want to reach someone currently serving, you go through an intermediary who can pass a message.
Branch Locator Services
Each branch runs a locator service that will forward a letter to an active duty member. The Air Force Worldwide Locator, for example, charges $3.50 per request and requires the request in writing.3United States Air Force. Worldwide Locator You don’t receive the person’s address. Your letter goes to them, and they decide whether to write back. The other branches operate similar programs through their personnel commands.
Emergency Messages Through the Red Cross
For genuine emergencies, such as the death or serious illness of a family member or the birth of a child, the American Red Cross can deliver a verified message to a service member anywhere in the world, including on ships and at isolated posts. The message goes to the commanding officer, who uses it in decisions about emergency leave. Active duty members and their household family can call the Armed Forces Emergency Service Center at 1-877-272-7337, which is staffed around the clock. Other family members can reach the service through a local Red Cross chapter.4U.S. Embassy. Family Communications With Active Duty U.S. Military Personnel
Why Location Details Stay Hidden
Unit public affairs offices generally will not confirm a service member’s exact overseas location, deployment schedule, or upcoming movement dates. The military treats those details as operational security. Even casual disclosures by family members on social media have, in documented cases, contributed to mission failures and put personnel at risk.5Little Rock Air Force Base. Family OPSEC SmartCard
Verifying Active Duty Status for a Legal Matter
A different system exists for confirming whether someone is currently on active duty, most often to comply with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The SCRA shields active duty members from certain legal actions like default judgments, foreclosures, and evictions, and courts often require proof of a defendant’s status before proceeding.
The Defense Manpower Data Center runs a free verification website at scra.dmdc.osd.mil. You can submit one record at a time or check multiple people at once. The system cross-references the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System and will certify whether a person is on Title 10 active duty, has left active duty within the past 367 days, or has orders to report. You’ll need to create an account. As of a February 2026 system update, the last name field is required for all submissions.6SCRA. SCRA
The tool answers one question. It won’t tell you where someone is stationed or give you a way to contact them.
Looking Up a Veteran’s Service Record
The National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis holds military service records for veterans. How much you can obtain depends on when the person left the service and your relationship to them.
The 62-Year Rule
Records for veterans discharged 62 or more years ago are fully open to the public. In 2026, that covers anyone discharged before 1964; anyone can order the file for a copying fee.7National Archives. Request Military Service Records For veterans who left service less than 62 years ago, only the FOIA-releasable basics listed above are available to the general public without consent.8National Archives. Access to Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) for the General Public
Full Records: Veteran or Next of Kin
To get a complete file, including the DD Form 214 that most veterans need for benefits, you generally need to be the veteran or next of kin. Next of kin means the unremarried widow or widower, son, daughter, father, mother, brother, or sister of a deceased veteran, and you’ll need proof of death such as a death certificate or a published obituary.9National Archives. Request Military Personnel Records Using Standard Form 180
How to File the Request
Three ways to submit:
- Online through eVetRecs at vetrecs.archives.gov. Emergency requests can be flagged in the system.
- By mail using Standard Form 180, sent to National Personnel Records Center, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138.
- By fax to 314-801-9195, or 314-801-0764 for emergencies.
Written requests must be signed in cursive and dated within the past year. If you write a letter instead of using SF-180, include the veteran’s full name as used during service, service or Social Security number, branch, dates of service, and date and place of birth. File a separate request for each person.9National Archives. Request Military Personnel Records Using Standard Form 180
How Long It Takes and What It Costs
After clearing a pandemic-era backlog, the NPRC now answers most routine separation document requests in less than a week, and other request types within 20 days. The center still takes in more than 4,000 requests daily, so hold any follow-up for at least 90 days.10National Archives. NARA Eliminates Pandemic Backlog of Veteran Records Requests For archival records open to the public, NARA charges $70 per package of six or more pages, or $25 for five or fewer. Certified copies add $15 per 150 pages certified.11National Archives. NARA Reproduction Fees
Records That May Not Exist: The 1973 Fire
If the veteran you’re looking up served before the mid-1960s, the file may have been destroyed. On July 12, 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center destroyed an estimated 16 to 18 million Official Military Personnel Files. The losses fell in two groups:
- Army: roughly 80 percent of records for personnel discharged between November 1, 1912 and January 1, 1960.
- Air Force: roughly 75 percent of records for personnel discharged between September 25, 1947 and January 1, 1964, with surnames alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.
No duplicate copies existed for most of these files.12National Archives. The 1973 Fire, National Personnel Records Center The NPRC can sometimes reconstruct partial information from alternate sources. When you file a request that might be affected, include the place of discharge, last unit of assignment, and place of entry if you know them, since those details help staff locate surviving fragments.9National Archives. Request Military Personnel Records Using Standard Form 180
Reconnecting Through Veteran Organizations
Groups like the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars sometimes help former service members reconnect. They won’t release a member’s contact information, but if the person you’re trying to reach belongs to the organization and has authorized contact, the group may pass a message along. There’s no guarantee the veteran will respond.