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DD Form 2856 — a Department of Defense document. Title of record: DD Form 2856, DoD Semiannual Program Review/Facility Inspection Checklist, May 2012. Stated purpose: DoD Semi-Annual Program Review/Facility Inspection Checklist. Edition date not stated; status not stated.
Governing directive: not stated. Responsible office: not stated. The DD designation signals joint scope — all military departments, combatant commands and defense agencies draw on a single edition of the document.
The form reaches military personnel across the services, civilian employees of the Department, and the personnel and records specialists who receive it.
Timing of submission is fixed by not stated and by the implementing guidance of the submitting organization. What follows describes the blank document, not agency procedure.
Formats offered: PDF. Length: 4 pages. Fillable field count: roughly 140.
Distribution centres on pdf. Two states exist: fillable, where field boxes accept keyboard input and retain it, and printable, a static blank produced for manual completion. Typed data reproduces cleanly across copies; handwritten data depends on the writer.
Xfdl is present in the set. The format belongs to IBM Lotus Forms — long the Defense standard for electronic forms — and needs the matching viewer; pdf applications will report the file as unreadable.
Every listed format is free to download. Modern pdf software handles the pdf files, with the caveat that browser-embedded viewers sometimes ignore field properties that a desktop reader honours.
What the form asks for
- Organization.
- Date of review (4 digit year, 3 letter month, 2 digit day).
- 1.a. Program management responsbility. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (1) The institutional official. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (2) The attending veterinarian. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (3) The institutional animal care and use committee. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (4) Collaborations. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- b. Personnel management. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (1) Training and education. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (a) Veterinary and other professional staff. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (b) Animal care personnel. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (c) The research team. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (d) The IACUC. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (2) Occupational health and safety of personnel. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (a) Control and prevention strategies. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (b) Hazard identification and risk assessment. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (c) Facilities, equipment and monitoring. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (d) Personnel training. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (e) Personal hygiene. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (f) Animal experimentation involving hazards. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (g) Personal protection. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (h) Medical evaluation and preventive medicine for personnel. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (3) Personnel security. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
- (4) Investigating and reporting animal welfare concerns. X first box if acceptable, 2nd if minor deficiency, 3rd if significant deficiency, 4th if not applicable.
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.
The current edition is not stated. Superseded editions of DD forms are frequently rejected at the receiving office, since Department-wide forms change centrally and older layouts lose their field correspondence. Edition date appears in the lower corner of the printed blank.
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.
Recurring errors: entry on a superseded edition, blanks left in mandatory fields, illegible handwriting on scanned copies, dates in a format other than the one the form specifies, missing signature or missing date beside the signature.
Guidance for specific entries sits on the form face and in not stated; the directive is authoritative where the two do not agree.
After completion, the copy goes to the office designated by not stated or by local procedure. Retention of a personal copy is ordinary practice and costs nothing.
Related documents are located by series and number. DD forms sit in a single Department-wide sequence, so a form referenced inside DD Form 2856 is normally found by its number alone, without regard to service.
Some procedures pair a DD form with a service form. The two numbering systems are separate — service forms answer to a service proponent, DD forms to not stated or another Department office — and a matching number in each system means nothing.
Revision occurs when the prescribing directive is reissued, when the data collected changes, or when statutory notice language is amended. Verification of the edition date at download addresses all three.
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 2856?
- DD Form 2856, DoD Semiannual Program Review/Facility Inspection Checklist, May 2012
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?