March 29, 2024

Military Discharges

Forms for Download

TO FILE YOUR ORIGINAL DD-214 WITH THE COUNTY

Military Discharges or DD-214 may be filed in our office for veterans for safekeeping.

The register of deeds will copy and index the document and give the original back to the veteran. If the original is ever lost, destroyed or damaged, the veteran can always get a certified copy from the register of deeds free of charge, which certified copy is deemed, by law, to be as good as the original.

Make sure the DD-214 you have is the original one and should be the Member 4 form which shows whether this was an Honorable Discharge.   Take this document to the Register of Deeds during office hours. Processing will take about 10 to 15 minutes and we will do this while you wait.

TO OBTAIN A CERTIFIED COPY

The only place you can get a certified copy from is the office you filed your original with. In other words, if you filed a certified copy in Davison County Register of Deeds’ Office, you could not go to Minnehaha County Register of Deeds’ office  and get a certified copy. If you filed your DD-214 in this county, then come to our office in the Courthouse at 200 E 4th Ave., Mitchell, SD.   If you did not file your Discharge papers on the local level and you cannot find them, then please go to the Veteran’s Service Office located at our North Office Building at  1420 North Main Street, (the old Central Electric Building), Mitchell, SD, and they can help you to order a new DD-214 from the Military.

In the State of South Dakota a law was passed in 2003 allowing only certain individuals to receive a copy of the DD-214.[1] Those people are as follows: The Veteran, A County/Tribal Veteran Service Officer, The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, The Veteran’s Parent, The Veteran’s Next of Kin, The Veteran’s Legal Representative (please bring with you a certified copy of court appointment) or the Veteran’s Designee. SINCE THIS LAW WAS PASSED, YOU WILL NEED TO FILL A FORM OUT REQUESTING YOUR CERTIFIED COPY AND THE FORM WILL REQUIRE YOU TO KNOW:

a. The name of the veteran
b. The veteran’s date of birth
c. The Veteran’s Social Security Number or Service Number
d. The dates of Service
e. The Branch of Service

Once the form has been filled out and signed by the appropriate party, a certified copy of this record will be provided free of charge to the Requestor.  This form can be filled out prior to coming in the office or used by mail, along with a copy of your driver’s license, the form link is located at the top of this page.

[1] SDCL 33-17-14


Contact Us

email
Davison County, Register of Deeds
Debra Young
200 East 4th Ave., Mitchell, SD 57301

Telephone: 605-995-8616
Fax: 605-995-8648
Email: [email protected]