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Defense Department form, series DD, number 2894. Full title: DD Form 2894, Designation of Beneficiary Information, 20110106 draft. Function: Designation of Beneficiary Information. Edition in force: not stated. Publisher status: not stated.
Issued under not stated, with not stated as proponent. A DD number marks a Department-wide instrument: the same blank form serves every military department and the defense agencies, rather than one service alone.
Users include uniformed members of any branch, DoD civilian employees, contractor personnel where authorized, and the administrative staff who process the completed record.
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.
Available formats: PDF. The form runs 2 pages and contains approximately 51 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
- 1.a. Retired member's name (last, first, middle initial).
- 1.b. Social security number (dashes entered automatically).
- 2. Designated beneficiary information. a. First beneficiary. (1) Share percentage.
- 2.a.(2) Full name (last, first, middle initial).
- (3) Social Security number (dashes entered automatically).
- (4) Relationship to member.
- (5) Address (Street, apartment number, city, state and zip code).
- 2.b. Second beneficiary. (1) Share percentage.
- 2.b.(2) Full name (last, first, middle initial).
- (3) Social Security number (dashes entered automatically).
- (4) Relationship to member.
- (5) Address (Street, apartment number, city, state and zip code).
- 2.c. Third beneficiary. (1) Share percentage.
- 2.c.(2) Full name (last, first, middle initial).
- (3) Social Security number (dashes entered automatically).
- (4) Relationship to member.
- (5) Address (Street, apartment number, city, state and zip code).
- 2.d. Fourth beneficiary. (1) Share percentage.
- 2.e.(2) Full name (last, first, middle initial).
- (3) Social Security number (dashes entered automatically).
- (4) Relationship to member.
- (5) Address (Street, apartment number, city, state and zip code).
- 2.e. Fifth beneficiary. (1) Share percentage.
- 2.e.(2) Full name (last, first, middle initial).
The document is filled from the top down. Identification precedes substance, substance precedes certification. Fields lower on the page are commonly keyed to entries made above them.
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.
Frequent defects: obsolete edition, unfilled required boxes, handwriting that fails on reproduction, non-conforming date format, and certification without a corresponding date.
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 2894 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.
The material here is descriptive. Nothing on the page constitutes legal or procedural advice, and no statement here determines whether a submitted form will be accepted. Such questions go to not stated, a servicing administrative office, or the authority identified in not stated.
Questions and answers
- What is DD Form 2894?
- DD Form 2894, Designation of Beneficiary Information, 20110106 draft
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?