Although the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is a fairly old federal statute, the way it applies to servicemembers continues to evolve. Not only that, but the statute is precipitously vague in some areas, posing danger to any business that deals with servicemembers, inasmuch as they may violate the act — intentionally or otherwise.
Violations can cost businesses and lenders millions of dollars. The best way to avoid such situations is to stay abreast of case law regarding the SCRA. But this isn’t always easy. It’s easy to miss decisions not widely covered in the news.
The next best course of action is to always get a military verification before proceeding with any court case.
Why Do You Need a Military Verification?
The SCRA protects active-duty servicemembers from default judgments. Courts do not easily or routinely hand down default judgments against defendants who might be in the military. This is because their service may prevent them from appearing in court. Thus, a military verification is necessary.
Other provisions under the SCRA are:
- Right to require that lenders reduce the interest rate to 6% on qualifying loans taken out before active duty
- Protections against most evictions
- Preference for stays of judicial matters and proscription against default judgments
- Termination of residential leases
- Termination of mobile phone contracts
Trust SCRACVS with Your Military Status Verification Needs
When you need accurate military status verifications quickly, rely on the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Centralized Verification Service. While you may be able to get the information on your own from the Defense Manpower Data Center, you must have the defendant’s Social Security number. The DMDC will not issue a definitive military status verification without it. Instead, you may receive a document with a disclaimer saying that the information may be inaccurate.
The SCRACVS, on the other hand, can use other information, such as birth date, name, names of relatives, etc., to get you a reliable military verification that will stand up in court. Further, we offer military affidavits as well, for a small extra fee.
The SCRACVS remains the most effective and least costly military verification solution when the Social Security number is not known.
To order a military verification affidavit, register or log in.