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DD Form 565 — a Department of Defense document. Title of record: DD Form 565, Statement of Recognition of Deceased, August 2015. Stated purpose: Statement of Recognition of Deceased. Edition date not stated; 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.
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.
Formats offered: PDF. Length: 1 pages. Fillable field count: roughly 28.
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.
What the form asks for
- 1. Believed to be (BTB) identified decedent. a. Name (last, first, middle initial, or unidentified).
- e. Organization.
- f. Service.
- 3. Details of viewing. a. Date (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- b. Time.
- c. Place.
- 4. Person making visual identification. a. Name (last, first, middle initial).
- c. Social security or DoD ID number.
- d. Organization.
- f. Date signed (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- g. Relationship to deceased (CDR, ISG, Friend, Relative, Mortuary Affairs Personnel, etc.).
- h. Length of time you knew deceased (months or years) (N/A if Mortuary Affairs Personnel).
- 5. Witness. a. Name (last, first, middle initial).
- d. Organization.
- f. Date (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- c. Social security or DoD ID number.
- d. Date of birth (4 digit year, 2 digit month, 2 digit day).
- g. Received from.
- b. Grade.
- h. Evacuation number.
- i. RFID number.
- j. CBRNE statement: X first box if yes, second if no.
- 2. Recognition of remains is based on the following:
- b. Grade.
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.
Verify the edition date against not stated before entry. Department-level revisions replace the blank across every service simultaneously, so an old copy in a desk drawer may no longer correspond to current field numbering.
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.
Where personal information is collected, a Privacy Act Statement appears on or with the form. It names the collection authority, the purpose, the routine uses of the data and the consequence of withholding it. Reading it precedes filling the form.
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.
Cross-referenced forms are found through the numbering system. The DD sequence is Department-level and unified, which means a number cited on the page identifies one document across the whole Department.
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.
Editions change because the underlying directive changes, because collection requirements are revised, or because Privacy Act language is updated. Checking the edition date at the point of download is the practical response.
Scope of this page: distribution of a published form and description of its contents. It offers no legal guidance and no assurance regarding any particular submission. Direct procedural questions to not stated, to the servicing personnel office, or to the office designated in not stated.
Questions and answers
- What is DD Form 565?
- DD Form 565, Statement of Recognition of Deceased, August 2015
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?