You need an affidavit of non-military service when you are suing or taking other action against another individual.
Collections actions, foreclosures, car repossessions, real estate evictions, storage rental terminations, domestic relations cases, child support cases, and contract disputes are all common examples of situations in which you are required by the court to produce an affidavit.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is a federal law that protects people in the military who are on active duty, and this law can impact your ability to file suit against them.
While it does not exempt them from their duty to pay their debts or answer to legal matters in a court of law, it puts an extra burden on the plaintiff in legal matters.
Congress intended the law to cut down on distractions for members of the military who are on active duty serving their country. Beyond this, however, the law prevents what might be viewed as an unfair default judgment from being issued against a servicemember who is required to appear in court but cannot through no fault of their own.
Violating the SCRA — even accidentally — can result in a court ordering you to pay restitution and fines, some of which may be substantial.
The law even provides for jail time, should the court decide it is warranted.
Before the court will proceed with your claim, you must prove that the defendant doesn’t have SCRA protections by showing the court an affidavit of non-military service.
This form also may have other names:
You want to get an affidavit that shows inactive military service that says you have done an SCRA search of the person’s military status and that they are (or are not) in active duty military service.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Centralized Verification Service (SCRACVS) provides these required military affidavits.
Although you can perform a DMDC SCRA search on your own, it can take time — weeks, months, or even years — to get results. And when you do get results, they may be inconclusive. That’s because the DMDC requires a Social Security number to produce a verified result. If you do not have the subject’s Social Security number, your verification will come with a disclaimer saying the results are inconclusive.
At SCRACVS, we can use other information to determine the subject’s active status. This includes name, birthdate, address, telephone number, driver’s license number, names and addresses of family members, and other identifying information.
Some courts require you to use their forms. We also have most of these at the SCRACVS. If your local court needs special forms we don’t have, you can forward copies to us and we will complete, sign, notarize and return them to you.
The information we provide you regarding active duty status will be for the current date.
For example, if you ask for an affidavit (of non-military service), we will supply a form verifying the person’s military status for the date you request it.
If you want to know the person’s status for an earlier date, you enter that earlier date into the field requesting this information.
If you need a span of time of more than one year, you will need verifications for each year. There are no records prior to Oct. 1, 1985.
SCRACVS performs searches upon request and provides results usually within 24 hours. All you need to do is provide us with the identifying information we need to complete the search.
The fastest way to get results is to provide us with the subject’s Social Security number. If you don’t have the Social Security number, we may still be able to complete your military verification check by using other information such as name, address, date of birth, names and addresses of relatives, driver’s license number, phone number, etc.
The cost per search is $40 and if we cannot provide verification, you don’t pay. Further, we offer batch discounts to businesses that process large volumes of verifications.
If you need an affidavit of non-military service to take to court with you, we will provide one for $30. If you have any questions or need extra support, feel free to contact us.
Don’t let litigation drag on and run up a bill. Trust SCRACVS to get you the affidavit of non-military service you need to move forward now. To obtain your affidavit of non-military service, register or login.
Attorney Roy Kaufmann serves as the Director of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Centralized Verification Service, located in Washington, D.C. As a recognized authority on the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Mr. Kaufmann has published hundreds of articles and hosted many webinars. His teachings help law firms and businesses to remain compliant with the SCRA rules and regulations so as to avoid costly fines.
