Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102
§1041 Replacement of Certificate of Discharge
Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 53 — MISCELLANEOUS RIGHTS AND BENEFITS › § 1041
Summary
The Secretary may issue a permanently marked replacement discharge to someone who left the service honorably, or to their surviving spouse, if they show the original was lost or destroyed not by them. The replacement cannot be used to claim pay, bounty, allowances, or as evidence in other cases.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §1041
Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
If satisfactory proof is presented that a person who was discharged honorably or under honorable conditions has lost his certificate of discharge from an armed force or that it was destroyed without his procurement or connivance, the Secretary concerned may give that person, or his surviving spouse, a certificate of that discharge, indelibly marked to show that it is a certificate in place of the lost or destroyed certificate. A certificate given under this section may not be accepted as a voucher for the payment of a claim against the United States for pay, bounty, or other allowance, or as evidence in any other case.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 1041
Title 10, Armed Forces
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102