How to Apply

How to Apply

To apply for payments under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act, a completed application form (DD Form 2293) signed by a former spouse together with a copy of the applicable court order certified by the clerk of court should be served either by facsimile or by mail, upon the:

Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Cleveland DFAS-HGA/CL
P.O. Box 998002
Cleveland, Ohio 44199-8002

Phone: 888-DFAS411 (1-888-332-7411)
Fax: 877-622-5930 (toll free)

To ensure your document is processed in a timely and efficient manner you must include the following information on the fax document:

• Member/Employee Social Security Number (SSN) - Court Orders/Documents will not be processed if the SSN is not on the document
• Return Phone Number
• Return Fax Number

Please ensure original documents are clear and legible. In each fax transmission, include only correspondence for one member or employee (if you have multiple documents for one member, they can be sent on one fax transmission).

Application Form
The application form should state which awards the former spouse is seeking to enforce under USFSPA (i.e., alimony, child support, and/or division of retired pay as property). If the application does not contain this information, then only awards of retired pay as property will be enforced under the USFSPA. A former spouse should also indicate the priority of the awards to be enforced in case there is not sufficient disposable retired pay to cover multiple awards.

Court Order
The court order should contain sufficient information for us to determine whether the (Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act (SCRA or SSCRA) and the USFSPA's jurisdictional and 10/10 requirements (if applicable), have been met.

If we cannot determine the parties' marriage date from the court order, then the former spouse must submit a photocopy of their marriage certificate. If the former spouse is requesting child support, and the court order does not contain the birth dates of the children, the former spouse must provide photocopies of their birth certificates.

A retired pay as property award must be expressed as a fixed dollar amount or percentage of disposable retired pay.  If the parties were divorced prior to the member's retirement, the court order can express the award as an acceptable formula or hypothetical retired pay award. 

Application Checklist
Be sure you include the following items:

___ DD2293 application form completed and signed
___ Certified copy of Decree of Divorce, Dissolution, Annulment or Legal Separation
___ Marriage Certificate, if marriage date is not included in order
___ Birth dates of children included, or copy(s) of birth certificates (if applying for child support)
___ If order does not include entitlement award, include document that has it (i.e. Qualified Domestic Relations Order or Separation Agreement)
___ Completed Direct Deposit form
___ Completed IRS W4-P

Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Coverage:
A member may elect "former spouse" SBP coverage for a former spouse who was originally a "spouse" beneficiary under SBP, provided that the parties were divorced after the member became eligible to receive retired pay. In addition, a former spouse may initiate SBP coverage on her own behalf ("deemed election"), provided that this election is made within one year of the issuance of the court order requiring SBP coverage. All correspondence regarding SBP coverage should be sent directly to the Retired Pay office:

Defense Finance and Accounting Service
U.S. Military Retirement Pay
PO Box 7130
London KY 40742-7130
Toll free 1-800-321-1080