Military Records (DD-214)

​Wayne County Register of Deeds Office

Your DD-214 is your passport or gateway to gaining access to VA healthcare, compensation, pension, GI Bill and other VA benefits for which you might be potentially eligible.

This document contains information normally needed to verify character and military service for benefits, retirement, employment, and membership in veterans' organizations, etc.

It is also a document that is important following the death of a Veteran, to help the family, secure eligible VA burial benefits.

Once you receive a certified copy of your DD Form 214 upon discharge from active duty or a certified replacement in the mail from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, please stop by your county Register of Deeds' Office to register your DD-214.

If your DD-214 is lost, misplaced or destroyed as in a fire, for example, and you previously registered your document with your county  Register of Deeds, you can avoid the average 10 day or longer wait-time to secure another replacement copy from the National Personnel Record Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. Instead, you can quickly get a replacement copy from your county Register of Deeds' office during normal business hours or contact the County Veteran Service Office for assistance.

Your privacy is protected by North Carolina law which requires proof that you are the veteran or eligible next-of-kin or legally appointed representative of the Veteran before access to the DD-214 is granted by the county Register of Deeds' Office.

Please contact us at 919-731-1449 if you have questions.

​​​How to Obtain a Copy of Military Records

The Register of Deeds Office records the DD-214 forms. The DD-214 is not public record. Only the Veteran can get a copy. If the Veteran is deceased, the spouse will need to bring a certified copy of the death certificate. Identification is required. GS 47-113.2(b)(1)(a) No fee required to record a DD-214 or to get a certified copy.