How to Get Your Service Treatment Records (STR)

What's in your STR

• Enlistment/separation physicals (DD Form 2807-1/-2, SF 88/93, or current DD Form 2808/2697).
• All clinical encounters during service — sick call notes, hospitalizations, surgeries, lab/imaging.
• Dental records (separate envelope, sometimes filed apart from medical).
• Mental-health encounters (often kept in a separate behavioral-health record).
• Immunization records.
• Profile chits (PULHES, T-3 profiles, MEB/PEB documentation).
• Line-of-duty (LOD) determinations for reserve and guard injuries.

If you separated within the last ~2 years

Recently separated veterans usually have their STRs in VA's possession. When you file a claim via VA.gov (Form 21-526EZ), VA pulls the STR through internal channels — you do not need to request it separately. You can confirm by checking the 'Files' tab on VA.gov after the claim is established or by asking your accredited representative to pull the eFolder.

If you separated more than ~2 years ago

1. Request through eVetRecs at https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records — the National Archives online portal.
2. Or mail/fax SF 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records) to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138.
3. Allow 6-12 weeks for routine requests. Requests tied to an open VA claim can be expedited if you note 'VA claim' on the form.
4. Dental records may have to be requested separately — explicitly check the dental box on SF 180.

If your records were destroyed in the 1973 NPRC fire

A July 1973 fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files — primarily Army (1912-1960) and Air Force (1947-1964, surnames Hubbard through Z). When records are 'fire-related,' VA has a heightened duty to assist under 38 CFR §3.159(c) and Cromer v. Nicholson (2006).

NPRC reconstructs what it can from alternative sources: morning reports, pay records, hospital admission cards (Surgeon General's Office cards), unit records, and Veterans Administration files. You should also collect: buddy statements, VA medical records from immediately after service, private medical records contemporaneous with service, photographs in uniform, letters home, and any unit awards or citations.

VA must notify you of the missing-records status and explain alternative-source development under M21-1 procedures.

Reserve and Guard records

Reserve and National Guard medical records often follow a different path. Records from active-duty periods (AD, AT, ADT, ADOS) generally go to NPRC. Records from drill weekends are often kept by the unit medical section or the state Adjutant General's office (for Guard). Request through your unit's S-1 or contact the state's Joint Force Headquarters records office.

Line-of-duty determinations are critical for reserve and guard claims — make sure any LOD is in the file. If an LOD was never completed for an injury that occurred in a duty status, that gap should be addressed during claim development.

What to do once you have the STR

• Read it cover to cover. Many veterans discover entries (in-service complaints, profiles, hospitalizations) they had forgotten.
• Index the entries by condition. A two-column list — date / entry — keeps your evidence organized for any IMO or rep.
• Compare against your separation physical and the post-service medical record to identify continuity-of-symptoms evidence.
• Submit relevant excerpts as evidence in your claim — don't assume VA will pull the right pages.

Frequently Asked Questions