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Defense Department form, series DD, number 2897. Full title: Former Spouse Distribution Statement. Function: Former Spouse Distribution Statement. Edition in force: not stated. Publisher 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.
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.
The download set covers PDF. Document length is 1 pages with about 16 entry 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.
The xfdl release corresponds to IBM Lotus Forms. This format carried Department-wide form distribution for years and opens only in IBM Lotus Forms Viewer or a compatible client, not in a pdf reader.
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
- Line3
- Line4
- Line5
- Line6
- Page1
- ResetButton1
- StaticText2
- address
- alimony
- child_supp
- creator
- form1
- issued
- retd_pay
- title
- year
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 Superseded editions of DD forms are frequently rejected at the receiving office, since Department-wide forms change centrally and older layouts lose their field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.
Field-level instructions appear on the form itself and in not stated. The directive is the controlling text.
Once executed, routing follows not stated and the submitting organization's own instruction. Keeping a copy is standard.
Related documents are located by series and number. DD forms sit in a single Department-wide sequence, so a form referenced inside DD Form 2897 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.
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 2897?
- Former Spouse Distribution Statement
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?