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Department of Defense form 2285. Official designation: DD Form 2285, Invitational Travel Order for International Military Student, July 1995. Purpose: Invitational Travel Order (ITO) for International Military Student (IMS). Current edition not stated, status not stated.
Prescribing authority: not stated. Proponent: not stated. Unlike service-specific publications, DD forms carry Department-level authority and apply across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force and Coast Guard when operating under Defense jurisdiction.
Common users: service members regardless of branch, Defense civilian staff, and the offices that file, verify or retain the finished document.
When the form is filed is a matter of not stated and local instruction. The description here covers the document itself and how to obtain a copy.
Available formats: PDF. The form runs 4 pages and contains approximately 124 fillable fields.
The pdf is the primary distribution format. A fillable pdf accepts typed entries in defined field boxes and stores them in the file; a printable pdf is a flat image of the blank, meant for pen entry after printing. The distinction matters for legibility and for records that pass between offices.
What the form asks for
- 2. Country.
- 4. Issuing security assistance organziation, S A O. a. Name of organization.
- b. Mailing address.
- 5. Funding. Press space bar to mark X in first box if IMET fiscal year, second box if FMS case identifier, or third box if other (INL, etc.).
- a. IMET fiscal year (if applicable).
- b. F M S case identifier, if applicable.
- c. Other (specify).
- 6. International military student information. a. Name (surname in all caps, first name, middle name).
- b. Sex. X first box if male, second box if female.
- c. Country service rank.
- d. U S equivalent rank/pay grade.
- e. Country service.
- f. Country service number.
- g. Date of birth (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- h. Place of birth (city, province or district, and country).
- 7. Invitation. The Secretary of (U.S. military department):
- Proceed on or about (date - 4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- From (debarkation point - home country):
- To (training installation):
- 8. Authorized training (list in sequence of attendance). No additional training to that specified in this order will be provided. a. (1) R C N, line 1.
- (2) WCN.
- (3) MASL IIN.
- (4) MASL description.
- (5) Military service course I D number.
Order of completion: identification block first, substantive entries second, certification and signature last. The blank is laid out in that sequence and the sequence is not arbitrary — later entries often depend on data established in the header.
Edition in use: not stated. Because DD forms are revised at Department level and distributed to all services at once, an obsolete printing may not match the fields an office expects. The date is printed on the form face.
Certification requires a signature in the designated block — ink on paper, or a digital signature where the receiving office supports one. Typing a name into the field does not constitute execution. CAC-based signing is the usual digital method for Defense forms.
Privacy Act notice: DD forms that collect personal data carry a Privacy Act Statement stating the authority for collection, the principal purpose, routine uses and whether disclosure is voluntary or mandatory. The statement is part of the form and should be read before entry, not after.
Errors seen most often involve edition mismatch, empty mandatory fields, illegibility after scanning, date formats inconsistent with the printed instruction, and unsigned or undated certification.
Instructions printed on the form or in not stated govern individual field entries. Where the two differ, the governing publication controls.
The completed document moves to the office named in not stated or in local guidance. A retained copy is conventional practice.
Related documents are located by series and number. DD forms sit in a single Department-wide sequence, so a form referenced inside DD Form 2285 is normally found by its number alone, without regard to service.
Where a DA form is cited alongside a DD form, the two belong to different systems: DA numbering is Army-specific and administered by an Army proponent, while DD numbering is Defense-wide under not stated or an equivalent Department office. Numbers do not translate between the systems.
Forms are reissued for several reasons: directive revision, changed data requirements, updated notice language. Confirming not stated at the moment of download covers the risk.
This page distributes a published Department of Defense document and describes it. It is not a source of legal advice and makes no representation about acceptance of any completed form. Questions of applicability, eligibility or procedure belong to not stated, the servicing personnel office, or the office named in not stated.
Questions and answers
- What is DD Form 2285?
- DD Form 2285, Invitational Travel Order for International Military Student, July 1995
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?