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DA Form 479-1 belongs to the DA series of Department of the Army publications. Its official title is PUBLICATION AND BLANK FORM STOCK RECORD CARD (VISIBLE FILE), and its stated purpose is publication and blank form stock record card (visible file). Edition in force: 06/01/2021. Publication status: ACTIVE. Length is 2 page(s), with roughly 200 fields available for entry.
Responsibility for content and revision lies with CIO. The prescribing directive is PAM 25-38, which sets both the trigger for use and the disposition of the completed document. Entry is made by the named party or by the records clerk holding the file, with review and signature applied in the prescribed order. This edition has been superseded by a newer one. It is kept accessible for reference and for records already completed under it.
Available formats: PDF, XFDL. Each is a rendering of the same official layout; the content is identical across them and only the means of completion differs. The pdf is the reference copy. Fillable pdf carries interactive form fields; a printable pdf is the same page image without them, intended for pen entry after printing.
Any modern browser or reader will display a pdf. Interactive fields behave more predictably in a standalone reader than in an in-browser viewer, which sometimes shows fields it cannot store. An xfdl copy is published as well. It is IBM Lotus Forms, the format carried by several Army systems, and it needs the Lotus Forms Viewer; pdf readers and word processors will not open it.
Download of every format is free and requires no account. Files are served as published, without alteration to the page image.
What the form asks for
- ContentArea1
- DATE_A
- DATE_A_1
- DATE_A_10
- DATE_A_2
- DATE_A_3
- DATE_A_4
- DATE_A_5
- DATE_A_6
- DATE_A_7
- DATE_A_8
- DATE_A_9
- DATE_B
- DATE_B_1
- DATE_B_10
- DATE_B_11
- DATE_B_12
- DATE_B_2
- DATE_B_3
- DATE_B_4
- DATE_B_5
- DATE_B_6
- DATE_B_7
- DATE_B_8
Entry proceeds block by block in the order printed on the page. Identifying particulars occupy the head of the form: name, identification number, unit or organisation, and date of preparation. These fields govern how the record is later retrieved from the file, so they are completed before any substantive block.
Typed entry is made straight into the interactive fields. The tab key moves through them in the order set at build time, generally matching the reading order of the page. Boxes and buttons respond to a click; in an exclusive group, one selection cancels the others. Single-line fields do not wrap, and anything longer than the field width prints cut off although it may still display in full on screen. Extended text goes to remarks or a continuation sheet rather than into a narrow box.
The signature block is completed last and by hand or by an accepted electronic means. An unsigned form is a draft. Where a second signature is called for — reviewing official, approving authority, witness — each is applied in the order the blocks appear and dated as of application, not as of preparation. Blank mandatory fields are the most frequent defect; a nil entry is marked as such rather than left empty. Other recurring faults: transposed digits in identification numbers, dates in the wrong order of day and month, and stale copies retaining prior data because a working file was reused instead of a fresh blank form.
Forms that collect personal information bear a Privacy Act statement covering authority, purpose, routine uses, and whether the disclosure is required or optional. Reading it precedes completion. Once filled, the document contains personal data and is subject to the handling and storage rules that attach to such records.
The completed form is routed as the governing authority prescribes: to the office named in the directive, through the unit administrative channel, or into the individual's file, depending on the case. A copy is retained by the preparer. Filing and retention follow the records schedule applicable to the series rather than local practice.
Associated documents are located through the series and number scheme. Forms in the DA series with the same proponent or the same prescribing directive tend to be used as a set, and any form named on the face of another normally accompanies it. Continuations, cover sheets, and transmittals fall into this category and are gathered before the package is sent.
An edition stands until the proponent issues a revision. The printed edition date identifies the version, and a copy held locally is checked against the edition now in force before reuse. Prior executions under a superseded edition are not reopened for that reason.
The files here are reproductions of published Department of the Army documents, provided for download. This site is not part of the Department of the Army and issues no forms of its own. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and no representation is made as to acceptance of a document by any office. Where an entry, a requirement, or a question of eligibility is in doubt, the proponent or the servicing administrative office answers it.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 479-1?
- PUBLICATION AND BLANK FORM STOCK RECORD CARD (VISIBLE FILE)
- Which edition is current?
- 06/01/2021
- Who is responsible for this form?
- CIO
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, XFDL, PDF