Download the form
Use DA Form 54 when you need to record of personal effects. Full title: RECORD OF PERSONAL EFFECTS. Everything you need is on this page — the file, the entry rules, the routing. Edition 02/01/2009, status ACTIVE, 1 page(s), roughly 175 fields.
Authority sits in two places. G-1 owns the form, AR 638-2 says when it is raised and where it goes. Routine cases need neither read in full — the page itself carries the sequence. The entries are completed by their subject or by unit administrative staff working from what that person supplies.
The formats are PDF, and the choice comes down to keyboard or pen. Fillable pdf for typing — live fields, tab order, saved entries. Printable pdf for handwriting — same page, no interactive objects, print it blank. Content is identical; only entry method differs.
A standalone reader is the safe choice for fillable work. Browser viewers vary in whether entered data survives the session, and there is no warning when it does not; a one-field save test settles it in seconds.
Nothing is charged and no sign-up applies. Files are served as published, without changes to the page image.
What the form asks for
- AMOUNT
- AMOUNT_1
- AMOUNT_2
- AMOUNT_3
- AMOUNT_4
- AMOUNT_5
- AMOUNT_6
- AMOUNT_7
- COURT_ORG
- ContentArea1
- DATE_C
- DATE_STAT
- DISPOSIT
- DISPOSIT_1
- DISPOSIT_2
- DISPOSIT_3
- DISPOSIT_4
- DISPOSIT_5
- DISPOSIT_6
- DISPOSIT_7
- EFFECTS
- FUNDS
- First
- GRADE
Header first, always. Name as your official records spell it, identification number, unit, date of preparation — these four index the finished record, and an error in them hides the document from anyone searching for it later. The substantive blocks can wait thirty seconds.
Tabbing beats clicking for coverage. The order was set at build time and tracks the page layout, so following it leaves no gaps. Boxes and buttons are clicked; where options are exclusive, one selection cancels another by design. Watch field width on long entries: one-line fields have no wrap, and what runs past the edge disappears in print though the screen still shows it. Move that text to remarks or a continuation. Never leave an inapplicable field empty — enter the nil mark, because a reviewer cannot distinguish a skipped question from a considered answer.
The signature closes the form and nothing precedes it. Draft status holds until it is applied, by hand or by an accepted electronic method. Countersignatures go in printed order, each dated at signing. Then one final read from the top, looking for the four recurring defects: empty mandatory fields, swapped digits in identification numbers, day-month inversion in dates, and residue from a reused file that goes forward as though intended.
Privacy Act statement first, personal entries second. The notice covers who is authorised to collect, why, who else routinely sees it, and whether you must answer. After completion the file carries personal data and is stored and sent under the corresponding safeguards.
The prescribing directive names the destination; office custom does not. Depending on the case that means a specific office, the unit administrative channel, or the personal record. Keep a copy first, because the original does not come back. Retention runs on the applicable records schedule.
Companion documents come from the same series and number scheme. Within the DA series, a shared proponent or a shared directive usually means shared use, and a form cited on the face of another accompanies it. Gather the whole package first — continuation sheets, cover sheets, transmittals.
Edition date is the version number, printed on the page. Hold a locally saved copy against the current edition before reuse, since nothing on your machine signals a revision. Work already executed under a superseded edition remains as filed.
The files are copies of published Department of the Army forms. This site has no official connection, no authority to issue anything, and no basis for saying whether an office will accept a given submission. None of the text is legal advice. Real questions — entry, requirement, eligibility — belong with G-1 or the administrative office servicing your unit.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 54?
- RECORD OF PERSONAL EFFECTS
- Which edition is current?
- 02/01/2009
- Who is responsible for this form?
- G-1
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, PDF
Publisher notes
- 41-ITEM ALSO PRODUCED IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA