December 22, 2024

Filing of Military Discharges

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.
To get your DD-214 Filed:
Make sure the DD-214 you have is the one with the original signature.  Take this document to the Register of  Deeds during office hours.  Processing will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
TO RECEIVE A CERTIFIED COPY ONCE YOU HAVE FILED THE DD-214:
  1. 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 Pennington County, you could not go to Custer County and get a certified copy.  If you filed your DD-214 in this county, then come to our office in the Courthouse at 906 N. River St. Hot Springs, SD.
  2. 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 (must submit a 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
  3. 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.SDCL 33-17-14

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