Civilian Personnel Records
Services For Federal Agencies
The following information is for authorized representatives of Federal agencies to request records from the National Personnel Records Center, Civilian Personnel Records.
All requests for information should be mailed to the address below, unless stated otherwise:
National Personnel Records Center
Civilian Personnel Records
111 Winnebago Street
St. Louis, MO 63118-4126
- Requesting Official Personnel Folders (OPF)
- eOPF Services
- Requesting Employee Medical Folders.
- Requesting Dependent Medical Folders (DMF)
- Requesting X-Rays
- Requests From Federal Investigators
- Interfile Materials
- Centers Information Processing System
Official Personnel Folders (OPFs)
When requesting an OPF, submit in duplicate the Standard Form 127, Request for Official Personnel Folder. Use of the SF 127 is restricted to authorized representatives of Federal personnel offices. Please submit a separate SF 127 for each folder requested.
Specify on the SF 127:
- Current and former name of employee
- Name of the agency (or agencies)
- Dates of employment for which the records are desired
- Social Security number for a United States citizen
- For foreign nationals, enter FNO in place of Social Security number
- Date of birth
If the form is incomplete we will return it and request more information.
Please note:- If an employee has been separated for less than 120 days, submit your request to the
last place of Federal employment.
- Prior to December 1976, official personnel folders were not always maintained for temporary Christmas postal employees. For these temporary employees, the National Personnel Records Center will furnish a statement showing the number of days and hours actually worked.
eOPF Services
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) announced its partnership with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in which NPRC will provide reference service for separated or retired employees that will allow agency personnel offices, the employee, and authorized third parties to view and print inactive eOPFs. In addition, NPRC will offer services to agencies, including backfile conversion, day forward conversion, transfer document conversion, and dead file management. For more information, please talk to your OPM eOPF Project Representative or contact Pat Resler, NPRC at (314) 801-9233,or patricia.resler@nara.gov .
Employee Medical Folders (EMFs)
When requesting an EMF, submit in duplicate the Standard Form 184, Request for Employee Medical Folder. Use of the SF 184 is restricted to authorized agency medical offices and requires a signature of an agency medical officer. Please submit a separate SF 184 for each folder requested.
Specify on the SF 184:
- Current and former name of employee
- Name of agency (or agencies)
- Dates of employment for which records are desired
- Social Security number for a United States citizen
- For foreign nationals, enter FNO in place of Social Security number
- Date of birth
If the form is incomplete we will return it and request more information.
Please note:-
Employee medical records may only be requested 30 days after an individual's
appointment to a position, unless the position has specific physical requirements.
-
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) maintains strict control over its
own version of the EMF, known as the PSIN 067, Postal Service Employee
Medical Folder. The NPRC, CPR cannot release folders or information
from them to any requester, including Federal agencies. When the
NPRC, CPR receives a request for a Postal Service medical folder,
it forwards any located records, along with the request, to the USPS National
Medical Director's office. Information from these records is obtained
only through the:
National Medical Director
Office of Safety and Health
Employee Relations Department
U.S. Postal Service
475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington, DC 20260-4261
Dependent Medical Folders (DMFs)
General. Original medical treatment records are returned to military hospitals and clinics upon request. NPRC (CPR) offers three options (MRS, DD 877-1 and CIPS) for routine record requests. Select the option that pertains to the record that you want to order.
Please note:
- All DMFs prior to 1954 have been destroyed in accordance
with Department of Defense regulations in place at the time of destruction.
- NPRC (CPR) will accept faxed requests only in an emergency. The request must state that there is a medical emergency and provide deadline date, if applicable. Contact NPRC (CPR) by e-mail (mailto:cpr.center@nara.gov) or at 314-801-9255 before faxing your request to 314-801-9270.
MRS (Medical Registry System) Record Orders. With few exceptions, Inpatient and Outpatient records retired to NPRC since 2003 are electronically indexed on NPRC's Medical Registry System (MRS). To expedite the return of a needed record, authorized users are encouraged to use the MRS to look up and to order records. Users may query the MRS database by patient's name or sponsor's/patient's social security number. All records matching the query will be displayed (regardless of service branch or treatment facility) and users may electronically order those needed. NPRC can quickly retrieve records requested through the MRS because the system provides complete identifying and locator information. Click on the MRS link above to register for access and for user instructions.
CIPS (Centers Information Processing System) or DD 877-1 Record Orders
All other medical treatment records that are not indexed on the MRS are stored in and identified by the shipment in which they were retired. Facilities which recall records that they originally retired to NPRC (MPR) must provide information regarding the shipment containing the desired record to facilitate retrieval. This shipment information includes the accession number, box number, and NPRC (MPR) shelf location number, as well as patient identifiers. The more information that is provided, the faster the record is likely to be found. Follow the instructions below to request records that are not indexed on the MRS.
- CIPS. To speed the referencing of agency files, the Federal Records Centers have
created the Centers Information Processing System (CIPS), an electronic system for the distribution of
reference requests. You may wish to review CIPS if you are requesting the return of records which were originally retired by your
facility.
- DD 877. Complete DD 877-1, Request for Medical/Dental
Records from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) (St. Louis, MO),
in strict accordance with the instructions below. This form is authorized for use
by U.S. military medical facilities only. It should not be distributed for personal
use by former patients. The form can be ordered through supply channels.
DD 877-1 Instructions. The DD Form 877-1 is the only request form that NPRC will accept from military medical facilities for retired medical treatment records. This form is authorized for use by military facilities ONLY. Do not distribute to individuals for personal use. Follow the instructions below to complete the form:
- Please check to make sure that records have been retired to NPRC before preparing the form.
(For records retired during 2003 or after, check MRS first.) Most inactive records are held at the military treatment facility 1 to 5 years after the end of the treatment year before retirement. Contact the Records Management Officer of the related facility to find out if records have been retired, if they are in a records holding area, or are
still at the facility.
The Records Management Officer maintains receipt copies of the Standard Forms 135, Records Transmittal and Receipt, that show which records have been retired to NPRC. IMPORTANT: To expedite any request, ask the Records Management Officer for the accession number, agency box number, NPRC location number and registry number (if applicable) and enter this information into item 9 on the form. This information helps NPRC process requests much faster. - Prepare the request form in triplicate.
- TO EXPEDITE THE RECEIPT OF RECORDS, YOU MUST COMPLETE ITEMS 1 THROUGH 11 and ITEM 14.
Incomplete forms will be returned.
- All entries relate to a patient AT TIME OF TREATMENT.
- Submit one form per patient, per type and year of records requested.
INPATIENT RECORDS - Inpatient (clinical) records generally contain documentation of treatment during a single calendar year. These records are normally retired and identified by the hospital that created them. Requests for inpatient records must include the facility name and year of hospitalization.
OTHER MEDICAL RECORDS - Outpatient, dental, psychiatric, and consultation records are generally cumulative. A record may contain documents covering several years from several facilities. When these records reach inactive status, they are generally retired and identified by the facility at which the patient was last treated or stationed. Requests for outpatient, dental, psychiatric, or consultation records, therefore, must include the type of record being requested, the facility and last year of treatment.
Please be aware that reassignments after last treatment may result in records (outpatient, dental, psychiatric, and consultation) being transferred to and retired from other military treatment facilities. If no treatment was received at the medical facility at the place of final assignment, please enter the name and location of that facility and the year departed in Item 10, Remarks. - Send the original and first copy of the completed form to the NPRC location indicated below
which maintains the records you are requesting. Retain the second copy for your files.
For dependent and other non-military personnel treated at Army and Air Force medical treatment facilities:NATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER
ATTN: Reference Service Branch
111 Winnebago Street
St. Louis, MO 63118 - Please enter the return address completely and legibly on the original and all copies of the request form.
- Please check to make sure that records have been retired to NPRC before preparing the form.
(For records retired during 2003 or after, check MRS first.) Most inactive records are held at the military treatment facility 1 to 5 years after the end of the treatment year before retirement. Contact the Records Management Officer of the related facility to find out if records have been retired, if they are in a records holding area, or are
still at the facility.
X-Rays
When requesting an x-ray,- authorized representatives of the Department of Veterans Affairs submit VA Form 3101, Department of Veterans Affairs Request for Information
- authorized Department of Defense (DOD) medical offices submit Form DD 877, Request for Medical/Dental Records or Information
If the form is incomplete we will return it and request more information.
Please note:
X-rays stored at the NPRC, CPR are the property of the Department
of Veterans Affairs, even though they may have been taken at military
bases or installations.
Requests from Federal Investigators
The NPRC, CPR maintains a list of Federal investigators authorized by their agencies to review personnel records. Investigators not listed will not be given access to records. Investigators on the list should contact the facility by e-mail at cpr.center@nara.gov or call 314-538-5745 in advance to request records.
Investigators who plan visits without prior coordination may experience delays in receiving requested information. Please plan your visit in advance so that we may accommodate your needs.
Interfile Materials
To avoid loss of documents during transit and to enable accurate and expeditious handling and storage when received at the facility, we ask that you follow the procedures outlined in this section.
Interfile materials or late flowing documents are items which are received subsequent to the retirement of the original record. We require the following information in order to place these documents in the appropriate record.
Federal Employee Documents:
- Complete name of employee
- Social Security number
- Date of Birth
Dependent Medical Records:
- Patient's name
- Sponsor's name
- Sponsor's Social Security number
- Accession number
- Box number
- Shelf location
Veteran Claim Folders:
- Retirement date of folder
- Accession number, if known
- Claim number
Without this information, the original folder may not be located, and the documents will be returned.
Please note: If interfile materials are more than 10% of the original accession, there will not be enough space to store the interfile material with the original accession, therefore you should submit paperwork required for processing a new accession, instructions located in the Records Retirement section.
"NARA ensures, for the Citizen and the Public Servant, for the President and the Congress and the Courts, ready access to essential evidence."
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