How to Replace Your Military ID Card After You Retire

Are you retired and can't find your lost military ID card? No problem! Chances are it is easier to replace your card than you think.

Department of Defense (DoD) Identification Cards are necessary if you wish to access a military installation. They're also great for getting discounts at various businesses, or simply to use as a valid form of government identification. No matter what you use your military ID card for, if you lose it you should report the loss and get a new one. Here's how!

DD Form 1172-2

To get a replacement military ID card, you'll need to fill out a DD Form 1172-2, Application for Identification Card/DEERS Enrollment. Although you can find this form on several websites, I suggest only downloading from an official source such as www.dmdc.osd.mil. Notice the link ends with ".mil" which means it is an official military site.

Unfortunately sometimes these DD Forms don't always open with the software you have on your computer, and you may have to download an updated software called Adobe Acrobat DC.

RAPIDS Self-Service ID Care Office Online

Another, possibly faster way to do this is to simply visit the Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System (RAPIDS) Self-Service ID Card Office Online. This will require a secure sign-in through "milConnect." If you do not already have a log in for this site, it will instruct you how to set on up.

Note, the RAPIDS Self-Service site has been known to have technical issues in the past, due to certain incompatibilities with older software.

Once you get access to the form you need, you'll notice a block for "sponsor." If you're a Reserve or retired service member, you are your own sponsor.

If you are a dependent, an active duty or retired service member may need to sign as your sponsor, and you must already be enrolled in DEERS. If they use the RAPIDS Self-Service option, it will generate and sign a DD Form 1172-2, which reduces the need to accompany the family member to receive his or her replacement ID card.

When Ready, Visit a RAPIDS Office

Contact a RAPIDS office near you (use the RAPIDS site locator to help find one near you) and schedule your appointment to go in to get the ID card after you've got everything you need prepared.

If the sponsor isn't going and you are using a DD Form 1172-2 not printed from RAPIDS Self-Service's website, then the sponsor's ink signature on the form may need to be done in front of a notary (unless a Power of Attorney has already been completed).

The RAPIDS office has a step-by-step "Pre-Arrival Checklist" you want to use to make sure you've got everything you'll need. Review this very thoroughly and it could save you from having to make another trip, because they will not issue a card if anything is missing. You'll need two forms of ID if you are a sponsors or adult family members, including children over age 18.

If you still have your DoD ID card, but just need to update it, bring that. If it is lost, stolen, or expired, bring a valid State or Federal government-issued photo ID.

Here's a complete list of acceptable documents.

Primary Identity Source Document

− U.S. Passport or a U.S. Passport Card;

− Permanent Resident Card/Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551);

− Foreign passport;

− Employment Authorization Document with photo (Form I-766);

− Driver's license or an identification (ID) card issued by a state or possession of the United States provided it contains a photograph;

− U.S. Military ID card;

− U.S. Military dependent's ID card; or

− Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Card.

Secondary Identity Source Document

The secondary identity source document may be from the list above, but cannot be of the same type as the primary identity source document. For example, if the primary source document is a foreign passport (e.g., Italy), the secondary source document should not be another foreign passport (e.g., France).

An expired Common Access Card (CAC) or Uniformed Services Identification (USID) card may be used as a secondary identity source document for reissuance of the same type of identification card, but is not acceptable for initial issuance.

− U.S. Social Security Card issued by the Social Security Administration;

− Original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority, possession, or outlying possession of the United States bearing an official seal;

− ID card issued by a federal, state, or local government agency or entity, provided it contains a photograph;

− Voter's registration card;

− U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card;

− Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561);

− Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570);

− U.S. Citizen ID Card (Form I-197);

− Identification Card for Use of Resident Citizen in the United States (Form I-179);

− Certification of Birth Abroad or Certification of Report of Birth issued by the

Department of State (Form FS-545 or Form DS-1350);

− Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688);

− Employment Authorization Card (Form I-688A);

− Reentry Permit (Form I-327);

− Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571);

− Employment authorization document issued by Department of Homeland

Security (DHS);

− Employment Authorization Document issued by DHS with photograph (Form I688B);

− Foreign ID with photograph;

− Driver's license issued by a Canadian government entity;

− Native American tribal document; or

− Foreign Birth Certificate with certified English translation (USID ONLY).