DD-214 separation code, reentry code and narrative reason.

What the three entries are

The Department of Defense issues the DD Form 214, the Certificate of Uniformed Service, when a member separates. DoD Instruction 1336.01, effective February 17, 2022, prescribes how it is prepared. Its table of block instructions tells the preparer to enter an approved separation program designator code in block 28 on the “Service” copy only, a Service-level reentry code in block 29, and in block 30 a narrative description of the reason for transfer or separation “as linked to the SPD code.” The three entries are meant to agree: the code is the machine-readable reason, and the narrative is the words that go with it.

The instruction describes an SPD code as a code that lists the conditions under which a Service member is discharged from uniformed service. The same instruction says SPD codes are for internal DoD use in collecting data to analyze statistical reporting trends and for the automation of benefits adjudication, and that they are not intended to stigmatize anyone.

Why this page has no SPD code table

People search for a table that turns a three-letter code into a meaning. The instruction explains why a complete official table is not public. It requires positive control over the distribution of any list of SPD codes with narrative explanations, says those lists will be marked “Controlled Unclassified Information” and will not be furnished to any agency or individual outside DoD, and directs issuing activities to use DoD Directive 5400.07 to deny release of the lists to the public. The same paragraph adds that only the individual being separated or discharged is entitled to access their own SPD code.

We read that text in the DoD issuance itself. We did not copy any code list from forums or third-party sites, because we could not confirm those against a primary source, and a wrong meaning on a records page can mislead someone about their own discharge paperwork. If you need to know what your code means, the narrative reason printed in block 30 is the plain-language statement linked to it.

Reentry codes are set by each Service

The DoD instruction does not define RE-1, RE-3 or RE-4. It says block 29 holds “service level codes used for re-enlistment processing.” The meaning of a given RE number therefore comes from the regulation of the Service that issued the form. We could not open the Army regulation that carries its reentry eligibility table (the Army publications site returned an empty page to an automated request), so this page does not list RE meanings. Look the code up in your own Service’s current regulation, or ask the personnel office of your Service.

The narrative reason

Because block 30 is linked to the SPD code, the phrase on your form is drawn from the SPD list rather than written freehand. One narrative reason is fixed by DoD policy: for an enlisted separation based on a mental health condition that does not constitute a physical disability, DoDI 1332.14 (Enlisted Administrative Separations, effective August 1, 2024) requires the narrative reason to be “condition, not a disability,” with the SPD code used in accordance with DoDI 1336.01.

Getting a copy and correcting an entry

VA says you can request a copy of your DD-214 and other service records from the National Archives online through eVetRecs, or by mail or fax using Standard Form 180, and that if you apply for VA benefits VA will request your DD-214 for you. Records from members discharged more than 62 years ago are open to the public; for later discharges, access beyond the veteran or next of kin is limited.

For a wrong entry, DoDI 1336.01 provides for corrections or updates to the DD-214. Approval is made through methods established by the Secretary of the military department concerned. A correction can be issued as a DD Form 215 in lieu of a reissued DD Form 214, with the instruction listing cases where a DD Form 215 cannot be used, for example when the Secretary concerned determines the original cannot be properly corrected that way, or when more than one DD Form 215 would be needed. The process, forms and timelines belong to your Service, so start with its personnel records office.

How to use this page

Pick a block in the tool to see the instruction text for it. Then read your own form: find the block titled “Separation Code,” the block titled “Reentry Code” and the block titled “Narrative Reason for Separation.” Compare the narrative to what you were told at separation. If something looks wrong, that is the case for a correction request through your Service, not a reason to trust an unofficial code list.

Limits of this page

We read DoDI 1336.01 and DoDI 1332.14 through Internet Archive copies of the esd.whs.mil PDFs because the live site refused an automated request, so check the current issuance on the DoD Directives Division site. We state no SPD or RE meanings, and nothing here describes how a discharge is characterized or what benefits follow from it.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• DoD Instruction 1336.01, Certificate of Uniformed Service (DD Form 214/5 Series), February 17, 2022 (Internet Archive copy read November 2, 2026)
• DoD Instruction 1332.14, Enlisted Administrative Separations, effective August 1, 2024 (Internet Archive copy read November 2, 2026)
• VA: Request your military service records, including DD214 (read November 2, 2026)