How to Request a Canadian Military Service File

If you have an ancestor who served in the Canadian military during either World War, their service file can be one of the richest single documents in your entire research chain, but the process for getting a copy depends heavily on which war they served in and whether they survived it.

First World War: open and largely digitized. Records for the roughly 600,000 Canadians who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War are open to the public without restriction, and Library and Archives Canada have digitized the full-service files, not just the attestation (enlistment) papers. A First World War service file can include attestation papers, medical records, casualty and pay records, and medal entitlement cards, a genuinely detailed record of where someone served and what happened to them. If a specific file hasn't been digitized yet, it can still be ordered using the person's name and, ideally, their regimental number.

Second World War: restricted, with a clear path through it. Second World War service files are a different matter. If the person died in service between 1939 and 1947, their file is open and searchable through LAC's Second World War Service Files – War Dead database, with no request process required. If the person survived the war, their file is protected under federal privacy legislation and can only be released through a formal Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) request, with the requirements depending on how long ago the person died:

•      If the person is still living, you'll generally need their written consent.

•      If they died less than 20 years ago, you'll typically need to provide proof of your

relationship to them, along with proof of death.

•      If they died more than 20 years ago, proof of death alone is usually sufficient.

Proof of death can be a death certificate, an obituary, a funeral notice, or even a photograph of a gravestone, it doesn't need to be a certified original.

What to expect once you request one. A Second World War service file can include enlistment records, medical and dental records, pay and conduct records, and details of where and when the person served. Processing times for ATIP requests have varied considerably over the years, sometimes a matter of months, sometimes considerably longer, so if you're working toward a deadline (a family reunion, an anniversary, a health concern with an aging relative), it's worth submitting the request as early as possible.

Beyond Library and Archives Canada. Depending on when someone served, some records may still sit with the Department of National Defence rather than having been transferred to LAC yet, this is more likely for anyone whose service extended into the postwar Regular Force. If your first request comes back empty, checking directly with DND is a reasonable next step before assuming the record doesn't exist.