FALLS CHURCH, Va. – When was the last time you looked to see if your information in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System is up to date? If it’s been a while, it’s extremely important to take time and log in to DEERS to review or update your information.

DEERS is key to managing military health benefits, supporting the needs of service members, retirees, and their family members. You should make sure to update your information in DEERS so your family can get the benefits they deserve.

The Defense Manpower Data Center operates DEERS. DEERS contains confidential information about the eligibility of service members, retirees, and their family members for benefit and privilege programs administered by the Department of Defense and the uniformed services. It shows if you and your family members are eligible for and enrolled in TRICARE benefits.

But the Defense Health Agency doesn’t administer DEERS—DMDC does. This means you’re responsible for keeping your DEERS information up to date. You should check your DEERS record on the milConnect website at least once every three months to make sure your family’s information is accurate. If you see anything that’s incorrect, get it fixed right away.

In addition to updating your own DEERS record, your service personnel office will sometimes update your DEERS record following important life events, like retirement. So, you should check your DEERS record often—even if you haven’t recently made updates yourself—to ensure it’s correct.

If your DEERS record is incorrect or outdated, it could lead to:

Delays in accessing health care, filing claims, and getting prescriptions
An inability for TRICARE to contact you about your health coverage
Unexpected bills for health care
Disenrollment from your TRICARE plan

Want to ensure this doesn’t happen to your family? Follow these steps to find and maintain your information in DEERS.

1. Check your DEERS record

The first step is to check your DEERS record. You can do this on the milConnect website. What are some things to check? As described in the TRICARE Qualifying Life Events Fact Sheet, your DEERS record lists your:

Service status
Family status
TRICARE coverage status and plan
Contact information, including phone number, mailing address, and email address

You should also review the information for each family member and confirm your personnel, service, and eligibility status are accurate.

Keep in mind, each family member must be registered in DEERS before they can have TRICARE coverage. If you’re a sponsor, you’re automatically registered in DEERS, but you must register your eligible family members.

2. Update your DEERS record

If you need to update or correct your DEERS record, do so immediately. Sponsors and family members can update their contact information. Your contact information includes your phone number, mailing address, and email address. Here are your options for updating your contact information in DEERS:

Online: Log in to the milConnect website
Phone: 800-538-9552 (TTY/TDD: 866-363-2883)
Mail:

DMDC/DEERS Support Office
Attention: COA
400 Gigling Road
Seaside, CA 93955-6771

Fax: 800-336-4416

If you need to add or remove family members, sponsors must do this in person promptly by going to their nearest ID card office. Only sponsors can add or remove family members. Call or check online for your ID card office’s operating hours and to make an appointment. Don’t forget to bring supporting documents, such as a birth certificate, marriage certificate, or divorce decree.

3. Maintain your DEERS record

Throughout the year, you may experience changes that require you to update your DEERS record. So, the third step is to continue to update your information as soon as a change occurs. You can do this by making sure that every time you have a qualifying life event, you update your DEERS information.

A QLE “unlocks” a 90-day period for you to make changes to your plan. Common examples of QLEs include: