SCRA Commanding Officer Letter: Accepted in 4 Sections, Required in 1

The SCRA accepts a letter from your commanding officer in place of orders in four sections, and requires one in a fifth. For the 6% cap, § 3937(b)(1)(A)(ii) names “a certified letter from a commanding officer.” For leases, consumer contracts, and professional licenses, “military orders” in § 3955(i)(1) includes a commander’s “notification, certification, or verification.” For a court stay under § 3932, it substitutes for nothing: the application “shall include” it. The general claim process is in how to apply for SCRA benefits.

What each section accepts as proof

Statute text read on GovInfo October 16, 2026, and matched word for word against the Law Revision Counsel’s current Title 50 release (through Public Law 119-121, October 9, 2026).

Orders only, before August 13, 2018. Pub. L. 115-232 rewrote § 3937(b)(1) to add the commander’s letter. The old text asked for written notice and “a copy of the military orders calling the servicemember to military service and any orders further extending military service,” with no alternative. A guide saying the cap needs orders, full stop, is describing the pre-2018 text.

The backdating sentence still says orders. § 3937(b)(2) runs the cap from your call-up date “upon receipt of written notice and a copy of orders calling a servicemember to military service.” The Act does not say how a creditor backdates from a commander’s letter alone. Put your call-to-duty date in the letter, and send orders the day you have them.

Wider than DOJ’s summary. The Justice Department’s SCRA legislative proposals to the 118th Congress say a commanding officer letter works “for lease terminations and interest rate reductions, as the statute currently provides,” and propose allowing it “throughout the SCRA.” But § 3956 has borrowed the § 3955 definition since January 5, 2023 (Pub. L. 117-333), and § 4025a’s current text (Pub. L. 118-159, December 23, 2024) does too. The Act-wide change is not in the October 2026 Code.

What the letter has to say for each use

• Rate cap (§ 3937). State that you are in military service (the “indicator”). Give your call-to-service date, which fixes the cap’s start under (b)(2), and the date service is expected to end. The Act does not define “certified”; a signed sentence in which the commander certifies the facts uses the statute’s word.
• Leases, contracts, licenses. The definition turns on “current or future military duty status,” so the letter states the duty that triggers the right. Apartment: entry into service, a PCS, or a deployment “for a period of not less than 90 days” (§ 3955(b)(1)). Car lease: service or deployment orders of “not less than 180 days,” or a PCS from the continental United States to outside it, or out of a state outside it (§ 3955(b)(2)). Phone or gym: orders “to relocate for a period of not less than 90 days to a location that does not support the contract” (§ 3956(a)(1)(A)). Separation and retirement count (§ 3955(i)(1) and (i)(3)). The notices themselves are in the lease termination letter template and cancel phone, cable, and internet on orders.
• Court stay (§ 3932). Two statements: your current military duty prevents appearance, and military leave is not authorized at the time of the letter. An additional stay under § 3932(d)(1) needs “the same information” again, so plan on a fresh letter. § 3932(b)(1) says the stay runs “for a period of not less than 90 days.” Fort Hood’s Client Legal Services info paper (current 1 October 2025) says a stay may be requested “for up to 90 days.” Procedure: the stay of proceedings guide.

Who signs it

The Act says “commanding officer” in § 3932, § 3937, and § 3955 and never defines it; § 3911, the definitions section, has no such entry.

The two .mil sources cited here (read October 16, 2026) do not fill the gap. Fort Hood’s info paper asks for “a commander’s memo” for leases and “a letter from their commander” for the cap; the Vicenza legal assistance office’s 2018 army.mil article says “a letter from your commander.” None names a rank or says whether a deputy, or an officer signing for the commander, counts. So: your commander, with legal assistance deciding anything finer.

Lenders fill the gap on their own forms and help pages, differently (all read October 16, 2026):

• MOHELA: “An authorized official who may complete Section 4 is your commanding officer, personnel officer, or unit-readiness non-commissioned officer.”
• Sallie Mae: its certification section is “to be completed by the Commanding or Personnel Officer.”
• Avant: “A letter on official letterhead from your commanding officer that includes contact information for confirmation,” plus your full name and Social Security number or date of birth.
• SoFi: “A letter from the member(s) commanding officer on military letterhead.”

Those are lender rules for lender files. If a creditor’s form names a signer, use the form.

The DMDC report is the creditor’s tool

§ 3937(b)(1)(B) lets a creditor use Defense Manpower Data Center records “in lieu of notice and documentation.” A status report you pull yourself is named in no proof list in the Act; for the cap it would have to count as “any other appropriate indicator.” DOJ’s proposals would add “a military status report produced by the Defense Manpower Data Center” to clause (ii); the October 2026 Code does not contain it. For leases and contracts, the definition is orders or a commander’s notification.

Attach the DMDC certificate as a second exhibit, and lean on the commander’s letter when the database is behind. MOHELA’s form, which an authorized official signs, says you can use it if you “have evidence of your military service that is more accurate than the information in the DMDC.”

Two templates

Templates, not legal advice. Your installation legal assistance office can put them in your service’s format; the Justice Department’s 6% flyer points to legalassistance.law.af.mil to find one. Replace every bracketed item.

Status letter (creditor, landlord, or provider):

[Unit name and mailing address]

[Date]

To: [Creditor, landlord, or provider]
Subject: Certification of military service, [Rank Full Name]

1. I am the commanding officer of [Rank Full Name], [Branch].

2. I certify that [Rank Last Name] is in military service ([active
duty / 32 U.S.C. 502(f) national emergency duty of more than 30
consecutive days]), was called to military service on [date], and
is expected to remain in military service through [date].

3. [Lease, contract, or license use only] [Rank Last Name]'s future
military duty status: [a permanent change of station to LOCATION /
a deployment of NUMBER days / separation or retirement], effective
[date].

[Signature]
[Full name, rank]
Commanding Officer, [Unit]

Each line maps to quoted text: “commanding officer” and “certified letter” (§ 3937(b)(1)(A)(ii)); “military service” (§ 3911(2)); the call-up date (§ 3937(b)(2)); the through date (“period of military service,” § 3911(3)); paragraph 3 (“current or future military duty status,” § 3955(i)(1), and the § 3955(b) and § 3956(a)(1) triggers).

Stay letter (court):

[Unit name and mailing address]

[Date]

To: [Court name], Case No. [number]
Subject: Commanding officer statement, 50 U.S.C. § 3932(b)(2)(B),
[Rank Full Name]

1. I am the commanding officer of [Rank Full Name], [Branch], a party
to this case.

2. [Rank Last Name]'s current military duty prevents appearance.

3. Military leave is not authorized for [Rank Last Name] at the time
of this letter.

[Signature]
[Full name, rank]
Commanding Officer, [Unit]

Paragraphs 2 and 3 track § 3932(b)(2)(B). The date matters: the leave statement speaks as of “the time of the letter.”

Get a commander's letter that does its job

1. If you have orders, send them. The commander’s letter is the fallback, except in a court stay, where it is required.
2. Book legal assistance, bring the template that fits, and ask who signs for your commander.
3. For the rate cap, send the letter with your notice from the request letter template or the letter generator.
4. For a lawsuit, file both letters with your stay application before the hearing date.
5. When orders arrive or extend, send them to everyone holding the commander’s letter. If a creditor still refuses, use the escalation playbook.

The law behind this: 50 U.S.C. § 3937

Maximum rate of interest on debts incurred before military service: read the statute , or read § 3937 in plain English, with its enforcement record .