DD Form 2789, Waiver/Remission of Indebtedness Application
DD Form 2789 asks the government to forgive a debt caused by an erroneous payment, such as overpaid pay or allowances. Fill in the official PDF below and download it for submission through your pay office.
This is the genuine DoD PDF, unmodified. Source: DoD official page.
What is DD Form 2789?
DD Form 2789, Waiver/Remission of Indebtedness Application, is the Department of Defense form for requesting that a debt to the government be waived or remitted rather than collected. It is most often used when a service member, retiree, annuitant, or DoD civilian was overpaid through no fault of their own, for example when pay or an allowance kept flowing after it should have stopped.
Waiver is not automatic. The deciding office looks at whether the applicant knew or should have known about the erroneous payment and whether collection would be against equity and good conscience. The form gathers the debt details, the applicant’s explanation, and supporting documents such as pay statements and correspondence.
Who files DD Form 2789?
- Service members billed for overpaid pay, allowances, or travel entitlements
- Military retirees and SBP annuitants notified of an erroneous payment debt
- DoD civilian employees seeking waiver of a salary overpayment
- Former members repaying separation-related debts they believe were caused by government error
How to fill out DD Form 2789
- Fill in your identifying information and the debt details from your debt notification letter.
- Explain in the narrative section how the erroneous payment happened and why you did not recognize it at the time.
- Attach supporting documents: the debt letter, leave and earnings statements, orders, and any correspondence about the error.
- Sign and date the application, including the financial statement portion if your request relies on hardship.
- Download the PDF and submit it through the office named in your debt letter, typically your payroll or personnel office, which forwards it to DFAS for a decision.
Quick fill DD Form 2789 on this page
Prefer to see the form itself while you type? Open DD Form 2789 in the editor to fill it on the actual pages, add a signature, and download.
Frequently asked questions
Does applying stop collection of the debt?
Submitting a waiver application can pause or affect collection in some cases, but do not assume it does. Contact the office collecting the debt, and ask about repayment options while the waiver is pending.
What makes a waiver request succeed?
Showing that the overpayment was the government’s error, that you had no reasonable way to know you were being overpaid, and that you acted promptly once you learned of it. If you knew about the error and spent the money anyway, waiver is unlikely.
Is there a deadline?
Waiver requests are subject to a statutory time limit that generally runs from when the erroneous payment was discovered. File as soon as you receive a debt notice, and check the current instructions with DFAS if significant time has passed.