POW/MIA and Missing Persons Accounting — 10 U.S.C. §§ 1501-1513
10 U.S.C. Chapter 76 (§§ 1501-1513) establishes the federal statutory framework for accounting for U.S. military personnel missing as a result of hostile action or unaccounted-for from past conflicts. The law creates a system for initial reporting, formal inquiry, status review, and legal determination of death for missing service members — a process that affects families awaiting information about relatives who never returned and affects survivors' benefits for decades. The primary operational body is the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), established in 2015 by merging predecessor agencies. DPAA is responsible for the fullest possible accounting of the approximately 81,500 Americans still missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and more recent conflicts — conducting excavations, archive research, and forensic identification of remains. The statutory framework in Chapter 76 governs the legal procedures for determining missing persons' status, maintaining their personnel records, and ultimately recommending a finding of death when warranted. Families have formal rights in the process, including access to information and judicial review of status determinations.
Current Law (2026)
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Core statute | 10 U.S.C. §§ 1501-1513 (Chapter 76, Missing Persons) |
| Administering agency | Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) — reports to USD(P&R) |
| Missing from past conflicts | ~81,500 Americans unaccounted for (WWII: ~72,500; Korea: ~7,500; Vietnam: ~1,500; Cold War/other: ~500) |
| Annual IDs | DPAA typically identifies remains of 100-200 missing service members per year |
| Initial review | Formal board inquiry within 30 days of missing-person report (§ 1503) |
| Subsequent review | Full board of inquiry within 90 days (§ 1504) |
| Status | Missing, Missing in Action (MIA), or Captured — with periodic review; recommendation of death on sufficient evidence |
| Families' rights | Access to unclassified records; participation in status reviews; right to appeal status determinations |
| Judicial review | § 1508 — family members may seek judicial review in federal district court |
The Missing Persons System — §§ 1502-1507
Initial report — § 1502
When a service member is reported missing, the unit commander must immediately report the person as missing to the Secretary concerned (Army, Navy, or Air Force). The report triggers a formal legal process that is distinct from operational search-and-rescue efforts.
Initial board inquiry — § 1503
Within 30 days of a missing-person report, the Secretary must convene a board of inquiry to review the facts and circumstances. The board:
- Examines all available evidence about the service member's whereabouts and fate
- Determines whether the member is: (a) missing or missing in action; (b) captured; or (c) dead
- Makes a recommendation to the Secretary
The board must include at least one officer senior in grade to the missing person.
Subsequent board of inquiry — § 1504
Within 90 days of the initial report, a more thorough board of inquiry must be convened if the member remains unaccounted for. This board has access to additional evidence, intelligence, and witness statements and makes a formal recommendation on status.
Further review — § 1505
The statute requires periodic review of all missing persons cases at intervals set by the Secretary, to incorporate new evidence (newly discovered documents, remains, witness accounts) that may resolve the case. The DPAA's archive research and excavation program continuously develops new evidence that can trigger reopening of long-dormant cases.
Personnel files — § 1506
The Secretary must maintain personnel files on missing persons that are separate from regular service records. These files document all actions taken, all evidence gathered, and all status determinations. Family members of missing persons are entitled to access the unclassified portions of these files.
Recommendation of death — § 1507
When evidence is sufficient to conclude that a missing service member is dead, the Secretary may recommend a finding of death. The recommendation must be based on evidence supporting the conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt. A finding of death has significant legal consequences:
- Terminates the missing person's active-duty pay and allowances
- Triggers Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) for surviving dependents (see VA DIC Benefits)
- Allows the estate to be settled
- Changes the survivor benefit calculations for family members
Families may contest a recommendation of death; the statutory framework gives them participation rights in the process.
Judicial Review — § 1508
Section 1508 provides that family members may seek judicial review in U.S. district court of a status determination made for a missing service member. This right of judicial review is unusual — many administrative determinations affecting military personnel are not reviewable in federal court. Congress included judicial review specifically because the stakes for families are so high and because the determination of death has irreversible legal and financial consequences.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
DPAA was created by DoD in 2015, merging the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), and Life Sciences Equipment Laboratory. DPAA conducts:
Archival research: Mining declassified and newly declassified documents from U.S. archives, foreign archives, and records obtained through bilateral agreements with Vietnam, Russia, Germany, Japan, North Korea, and other countries where U.S. service members went missing.
Excavations: Field teams conduct excavations at crash sites, battle sites, prison camp locations, and cemetery sites in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Europe, and Korea to recover remains. DPAA has teams operating in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, France, Belgium, the Philippines, and other countries.
Forensic identification: DPAA's laboratory uses dental records, DNA analysis, circumstantial evidence, and anthropological analysis to identify recovered remains. DNA identification has dramatically accelerated the identification rate — DPAA now identifies approximately 100-200 sets of remains per year, compared to about 30-40 per year before DNA was widely available.
Concurrent returns: When a foreign government returns remains, DPAA processes them through the identification pipeline. Vietnam has made significant concurrent returns in recent years through bilateral cooperation agreements.
Public-Private Partnerships — § 1501a
Section 1501a authorizes DPAA to accept support from private organizations and individuals — including donations of money, equipment, and services — to assist in accounting for missing persons. This provision recognizes that private resources (from veterans' groups, POW/MIA families' organizations, and other donors) can supplement the federal government's capacity for excavations and research. Major private partners include the National League of POW/MIA Families and various military service organizations.
How It Affects You
<!-- pria:personalize type="impact" -->If you have a family member missing from a past conflict (WWII, Korea, Vietnam): DPAA maintains case files for all missing service members and actively investigates cases. Register your family with the National League of POW/MIA Families and contact DPAA's Family Communications office. You have a legal right to access unclassified portions of your relative's personnel file under § 1506. DNA submission from living family members (blood relatives) is essential — DPAA can only confirm an identification if there is a DNA match on file. DPAA provides DNA collection kits and instructions to families at no cost. Identifications are still being made from conflicts 75+ years ago, so submitting DNA is worth doing even if a case seems dormant.
If you are the survivor of a currently missing service member: The legal status determination process under 10 U.S.C. Chapter 76 governs when and whether a finding of death can be made. Survivors' benefits — particularly VA DIC payments to spouses and children — depend on the status determination. If your family member has been missing for an extended period and there is evidence supporting a finding of death, the Secretary's recommendation under § 1507 enables you to begin receiving DIC benefits. A DoD casualty affairs officer should be assigned to your family to guide you through this process.
If you are a veteran or active-duty service member: The commitment to accounting for missing service members is a legal and moral obligation of military service. The "no one left behind" principle is backed by the Chapter 76 statutory framework and funded DPAA operations. DPAA's work also affects your own family — ensuring that identification and notification procedures are in place if you were ever to become missing.
If you work in or with the Veterans Service Organization community: POW/MIA families' organizations — particularly the National League of POW/MIA Families — are active participants in the statutory missing persons process and in advocacy for DPAA resources. Many VSOs maintain POW/MIA committees. DPAA's annual budget and case resolution rates are reported to Congress; advocacy for DPAA funding directly affects the pace of identifications.
<!-- /pria:personalize -->State Variations
The federal missing persons accounting system is entirely federal — there is no state-level analog. However:
- Many states have POW/MIA license plate programs that fund awareness and some family assistance programs
- State departments of veterans affairs provide case management support to families navigating the federal DPAA process
- States with high concentrations of Vietnam-era families (particularly in the South, Midwest, and rural West) have more active POW/MIA family community organizations
Recent Developments
DPAA operations continue with approximately 100-200 identifications per year in recent years:
- North Korea: The 2018 Singapore Summit briefly opened the possibility of North Korean cooperation on the ~5,500 Americans still unaccounted for from the Korean War, with North Korea returning a container of remains. However, cooperation stalled after the Hanoi summit collapsed, and no further remains transfers occurred in 2019-2026. North Korea holds the largest single repository of unresolved cases.
- Vietnam cooperation: Vietnam has been the most cooperative partner for DPAA fieldwork, allowing excavations and joint investigations. The normalization of U.S.-Vietnam relations has directly enabled more DPAA field operations and archival access.
- World War II Pacific theater: New excavations in Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Pacific islands continue to recover remains from one of the most under-investigated theaters. The approximately 72,500 WWII missing represent the largest backlog.
- DNA technology advances: Next-generation sequencing technology has dramatically improved DPAA's ability to identify degraded remains. DPAA has retroactively reopened previously closed cases as new DNA techniques became available, resulting in identifications of remains previously listed as "Unknown."
- FY2024 NDAA provisions: Recent National Defense Authorization Acts have included provisions directing DPAA to improve communication with families, increase transparency in the identification prioritization process, and report annually on case resolution targets.