My stepdaughter, who is my dependent, is going to college full time in the Philippines and needs to renew her military ID Card. How can I go about getting this done?
Renewing a dependent military ID card while overseas isn't necessarily simple, but according to Defense Department officials, it can be done.
If your stepdaughter were overseas in a place within traveling distance of a U.S. military base, she could visit a pass and ID office there for renewal. Thanks to the Defense Department's RAPIDS system, the sponsor does not have to be present -- they simply need to have entered a signed DD-1172-2 form into the system. You can visit the RAPIDS site for information about where to find military ID card offices and make appointments.
Since she is located in a place without a handy military ID card office, she is going to have to do this by mail. Unfortunately, the U.S. Embassies in foreign countries are not able to renew ID cards, which can cause a lot of headaches for families who are stationed at them.
Each branch of service, sadly, has its own renew-by-mail rules that are, of course, subject to change. The best thing to do is to call DEERS at 1-800-538-9552 and get connected with your service's project office.
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