The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act ("SCRA", successor to the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act) accords certain protections and rights to individuals who are either on active military duty or recently retired. The purpose of the Act is to allow the servicemembers to perform their valuable duties without the worry of civil prosecution, foreclosure or eviction under most circumstances. Before a court will permit such actions, the court will require certification that a military search has been conducted to confirm that the individual is not entitled to the protections of the Act. Proof of that search is often in the form of a military affidavit, "non-military affidavit", or "nonmilitary affidavit".
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Centralized Verification Service (SCRACVS) is available on-line and permits SCRA searches even if no social security number or date of birth of the individual is available. In addition, SCRACVS provides full tracking, covers recently retired personnel, and provides unequivocal responses. The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC or DMDC.osd) is more limited as a resource because it is unable to conduct an unequivocal active duty military search unless a Social Security Number (SSN) is provided. If a d.o.b. alon e is provided, the DMDC will issue a strong disclaimer indicating that the military certification is not guaranteed if no SSN was provided. Some courts will not accept a response with such a disclaimer. The SCRACVS response generally does not include this disclaimer.
