How long do I have to wait to be added to DEERS after getting married?

How long will it take to add me to DEERS after getting married?

Dear Military Spouse,

I wanted to know do my Fiance and I have to be married for any specific amount of time before he can submit me for DEERS?

He will be re-enlisting and we plan to marry between now and then but wanted to know if we had to wait any specific time frame before he can actually get me in a position to live with him etc… once he is enlisted.

Jade P.

Hi Jade,

Congrats on your upcoming marriage!!!

In regards to your question, you are eligible to be placed in DEERS as soon as you are pronounced husband and wife. However, you will need a certified copy of your marriage license. Some states will have one ready for you the same day you are married (assuming it is on a weekday and the courthouse is open), but in other states, you will need to send it off and wait for it to be filed and returned which can take up to 60 days (even longer in some states). So, it really depends on how quickly your state will file your marriage license and return it to you. The best thing to do would be to call the department in the state that you are getting married that handles marriage licenses to find how long before you will be able to get a certified copy once you are married.

Once you have the certified copy in hand, you and he can go to DEERS to place you in DEERS and get your Military ID. After that happens, you can then apply for on-post housing (if y’all plan to live on post). Don’t forget to also enroll in Tricare and United Concordia (dental). Most people think that Tricare covers dental, it does not! You will need to enroll separately into the dental program, which now is MetLife, however, on May 1^st it is switching to United Concordia.

Again, congrats on your upcoming marriage and welcome to the wonderful crazy life as a Military Spouse!