Before you take legal action against anyone, get a military service certificate to make sure they aren’t on active military duty.
A military service certificates goes by many names, including:
- affidavit
- nonmilitary affidavit
- affidavit of military status
- active duty verification
- military status verification
- military service affidavit
- SCRA search affidavit
If you move forward without this certification, you will hit a roadblock in court proceedings and you may be in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Thus, it’s in your best interest to have this military certification in hand before proceeding with your case.
Where Can You Get a Military Service Certificates?
You can get information from the Defense Department Manpower Center (DMDC) site, but that site is most reliable if you have the person’s Social Security number. Without the social security number, the DMDC will not absolutely confirm military personnel status. Let’s say you have the date of birth, but no SSN. In that case, the will give you a certificate, but it comes with a disclaimer that says the information is not reliable. As you can imagine, that might not impress a judge in a courtroom. With a certificate that includes a disclaimer, you may find yourself back at square one. If you have no SSN or d.o.b., the DMDC will reject your request.
What’s easier and faster?
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Centralized Verification Service (SCRACVS).
How does it work?
The SCRACVS accepts all types of identifying information. For example, you can provide addresses, phone numbers, addresses, names of relatives, phone numbers, email addresses, business names, alternate spellings of names and other data. Using this data, SCRACVS tracks down the personnel social security number. Then we use it secure an unquestionable status verification from the Department of Defense.
This is what you need to convince the courts that the defendant is not on active military duty. Once you clear this hurdle, you can move on to the next step in the process. In fact, the SCRACVS can even supply you with an affidavit, sent by Fedex, for you to present to the court. The DMDC does not provide this service.
Because trying to get this military services certificates on your own can be fruitless and frustrating, using SCRACVS is the best way to go. SCRACVS helps you get the documentation you need. But best of all, it is convenient with operators standing by to answer any questions, reliable, fast, and it saves you time and money.