SCRA Affidavit in NC: DMDC Search, Form AOC-G-250, and Filing

To get a default judgment in a North Carolina civil case, you have to file an SCRA affidavit in NC on Form AOC-G-250, telling the court whether the absent defendant is on active military duty. The form is a sworn declaration required by federal law under 50 U.S.C. § 3931, and North Carolina courts will not enter a default without it.¹

When You Need to File the Declaration

The requirement is triggered any time a defendant fails to appear or respond and you want a default judgment. It applies across the board: debt collection, landlord-tenant matters, contract claims, domestic cases, and small claims in magistrate court. If the defendant answered, appeared, or otherwise participated, you do not need the declaration, because the federal concern about an unrepresented service member does not come up.

Step 1: Run a DMDC Military Status Search

Before you fill out anything, verify the defendant’s status through the Department of Defense Manpower Data Center at scra.dmdc.osd.mil. This is the official source courts rely on, and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service directs all military-status inquiries there.²

You will need the defendant’s last name and Social Security number. The system checks every branch covered by the SCRA and returns one of two answers: the person is in the military, or the Department has no record of military service. Print the certificate. You will attach it to the form.

If you do not have a Social Security number, the search may come back inconclusive or fail to match. You can still file the declaration, but you will need to check the “unable to determine” box and describe the steps you actually took to find the information. Courts want evidence of a real effort, not a shortcut.

Step 2: Complete Form AOC-G-250

Download the current version of Form AOC-G-250, titled Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Declaration, from the North Carolina Judicial Branch website.³ Fill in the case caption and the defendant’s name, then check one of three boxes based on your DMDC result:

Defendant is in military service. Check this if the DMDC certificate confirms active-duty status. The court will appoint an attorney for the defendant and likely stay the case.
Defendant is not in military service. Check this if the search returned no military record. Attach the printed certificate.
Unable to determine status. Check this only if your search was genuinely inconclusive. Describe the efforts you made, and expect the court to consider requiring a bond.

Step 3: Sign the Declaration Under Oath

The declaration must be signed under penalty of perjury before an authorized official. The form itself lists the people who can administer the oath: a notary public, the Clerk of Superior Court, a deputy or assistant clerk, or a magistrate. If you sign at the courthouse, the clerk’s office can administer the oath at no charge. If you use a notary, North Carolina caps the fee at $10 per signature for in-person notarizations and $15 for electronic notarizations.

Step 4: File With the Clerk of Superior Court

File the completed declaration with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where your case is pending. There is no separate filing fee for the form itself; it is typically submitted with your motion for default judgment, which carries the standard civil court costs that vary by case type and court level. The clerk records the declaration in the case file, and the judge reviews it before ruling on any default.

What the Judge Does Next

The path forward depends on which box you checked.

Defendant Is Not in the Military

If the DMDC certificate confirms no active-duty status, the court can proceed with the default judgment on the merits. This is the outcome most cases end in.

Defendant Is on Active Duty

The court cannot enter a default. The judge must appoint an attorney to represent the absent service member’s interests, and the court will grant a stay of at least 90 days if the appointed attorney cannot reach the service member or cannot present a defense without them.¹ Your case is paused, not dismissed.

Status Unknown

The court has discretion to require you to post a bond before entering any judgment. If the defendant later turns out to have been on active duty, the bond covers any loss or damage caused by the judgment. It stays in place until the appeal period expires.¹

Who Counts as a Service Member

The SCRA covers active-duty members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard. It also covers commissioned officers of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration while on active service. Time absent from duty for illness, wounds, or authorized leave still counts as military service.⁴

National Guard members are covered only in narrow circumstances. The member must be called to active service by the President or the Secretary of Defense under 32 U.S.C. § 502(f), the activation must last more than 30 consecutive days, and it must be in response to a presidentially declared national emergency supported by federal funds. Weekend drill and routine state duty do not trigger SCRA coverage.⁴

Why Cutting Corners Backfires

A service member who had a default entered against them can move to reopen the judgment if it was entered during their military service or within 60 days after their service ended. They must show two things: that military service materially affected their ability to defend, and that they have a legitimate defense. The application to reopen must be filed within 90 days after service ends. Miss that window and the judgment stands.¹ For a plaintiff, that means a sloppy declaration can cost you a judgment months after you thought the case was over.

Filing a declaration you know to be false is a separate federal crime, punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine, or both.¹ The Department of Justice also pursues civil enforcement; in one case a property management company paid $60,000 to a service member after filing a false declaration, plus a $6,000 civil penalty.⁵ North Carolina’s own servicemembers protection statute authorizes the state Attorney General to seek civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation for conduct that harms military personnel.

Run the DMDC search, print the certificate, complete the form honestly, and file it. The whole process takes about ten minutes and protects the judgment you are trying to get.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
2
Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Verification of Military Service
3
North Carolina Judicial Branch. Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Declaration
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3911 – Definitions
5
United States Department of Justice. Property Management Company to Pay $60,000 to Servicemember for False Affidavit