DD Form 493 at a glance
What it is: DD Form 493 is the Extract of Military Records of Previous Convictions.
Who signs: The official custodian of the military personnel records signs in 13. SIGNATURE. Enter 10. TYPED NAME (Last, First, Middle Initial), 11. RANK and 12. OFFICIAL CAPACITY.
To be considered by a court-martial, previous convictions must be admitted in evidence. Ordinarily, they are proved by introducing in evidence a duly authenticated extract copy of the accused's military personnel record (DD Form 493).
Only admissible previous convictions will be listed. To determine admissibility, see rules on reverse.
What to bring and attach to DD Form 493
For Army personnel, the extract will be prepared from the Service Record or DA Form 2-2. For Air Force personnel, the extract will be prepared from AF Form 1226. For Navy personnel, the extract will be prepared from NAVPERS Form 1070/607 or Administrative Remarks, Page 13. For Marine Corps personnel, the extract will be prepared from NAVMC Form 118(13)-PD.
A filled-in DD Form 493 example: an extract listing two special courts-martial
How to fill out DD Form 493, box by box
Identification
Under IDENTIFICATION, enter 1. NAME (Last, First, Middle Initial), 2. SSN, 3. RANK and 4. UNIT/COMMAND NAME.
Part I - Record of previous convictions by courts-martial
In PART I - RECORD OF PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS BY COURTS-MARTIAL, enter 5a. TYPE OF COURT-MARTIAL, b. CM ORDER OR SCM NO., c. HEADQUARTERS and d. ARTICLE(S), 6a. TYPE OF COURT-MARTIAL, b. CM ORDER OR SCM NO., c. HEADQUARTERS and d. ARTICLE(S).
In e, enter the SYNOPSIS OF SPECIFICATION(S) INCLUDING DATE OF OFFENSE (If more space is needed, continue on reverse.)
In f, enter the SENTENCE ADJUDGED (2). For convictions by summary courts-martial or special courts-martial without a military judge, entry is "Sentence as Approved." In g, enter the DATE SENTENCE ADJUDGED (YYMMDD).
In h, enter the DATE SENTENCE FINALLY APPROVED (YYMMDD). It applies only to convictions by summary courts-martial and special courts-martial without a military judge. The date of sentence approval is the date that review has been completed pursuant to Article 64 or Article 66, if applicable.
In i, enter in (1) and (2) the (a) TYPED OR PRINTED NAME OF PERSON SIGNING ORIGINAL ENTRY IN MILITARY RECORD (Last, First, Middle Initial) and (b) RANK. If the service record certification block being extracted fails to contain the required: (a) Signature of the personnel records custodian, request that officer to take immediate action; (b) rank and unit/command of the custodian of the conviction record, enter remark such as "None," "Rank not shown," "Unit/command not shown," as appropriate, in applicable block of the extract. Entries in this section are extracted from the source document. No actual signatures will be made in this section.
Part II - Attesting certificate by custodian
In PART II - ATTESTING CERTIFICATE BY CUSTODIAN, enter 7. NAME OF UNIT/COMMAND OF CUSTODIAN, 8. ADDRESS OF UNIT/COMMAND OF CUSTODIAN (Street, City, State, Zip Code) and 9. DATE COMPLETED (YYMMDD).
By signing you certify that you are the official custodian of the military personnel records pertaining to previous convictions by court-martial of the person in 1. NAME, and that the foregoing in PART I is a true copy of the entries contained therein.
Introducing evidence of previous convictions
After the Record of Previous Convictions has been marked for identification and shown to the defense counsel, the introduction proceeds as follows: Trial Counsel: Prosecution Exhibit __________ for identification, a duly authenticated extract copy of the accused's military personnel record of previous conviction(s) by court-martial, is offered in evidence as Prosecution Exhibit ________ .
Defense Counsel: (No objection.) (The accused objects to ________ on the grounds that _______.) Military Judge (President): Prosecution Exhibit _______ for identification is (not) admitted in evidence as Prosecution Exhibit _______.
More rules for DD Form 493
There is a conviction in a court-martial when a sentence has been adjudged, except that a conviction by a summary court-martial or a special court-martial without a military judge is not admissible in a subsequent court-martial until review has been completed pursuant to Article 64(a) or Article 66, UCMJ, if applicable.
An adjudication of guilt by a civilian forum is a conviction in accordance with the law of that jurisdiction.
Previous convictions may also be proved by the record of previous convictions or by the order promulgating the results of trial.
Common questions about DD Form 493
When is this form not the right one?
A vacation of suspended sentence is not a conviction and is not admissible as such.
Sources
[1] DD Form 493 (OCT 84), Extract of Military Records of Previous Convictions, Washington Headquarters Services (the Official source link on this page).