Person Authorized to Direct Disposition (PADD): Military Burial Authority Explained

The Person Authorized to Direct Disposition — PADD — is whoever has legal authority to make decisions about a deceased service member's remains. Burial or cremation, which funeral home receives the body, whether the service includes a viewing, which cemetery — these decisions belong to the PADD. In the chaos of the first 48 hours after a military death, identifying the PADD is one of the most time-sensitive tasks because the PADD gives disposition instructions and identifies the receiving funeral home.

How the PADD Is Determined

The service member designates their PADD on DD Form 93 (Record of Emergency Data). This is the same form that names the Primary Next of Kin and the beneficiaries for certain benefits. In most cases, the PADD is the surviving spouse. But not always — service members can designate anyone, including a parent, sibling, or close friend.

The Casualty Assistance Officer retrieves the DD Form 93 from the military personnel system within hours of the death notification. The military uses the designation on the form, but a conflicting or challenged record can require the casualty office or service legal office to determine who has priority under service rules.

When the DD Form 93 Is Outdated or Missing

This is where families run into real trouble. Service members are supposed to update their DD Form 93 after any major life event — marriage, divorce, birth of a child — but many don't. A form that still names an ex-spouse as PADD, or names parents when the service member has since married, creates a conflict that must be resolved under extreme time pressure.

When the DD Form 93 doesn't designate a PADD, federal priority rules apply. The order begins with an unremarried surviving spouse, then adult children by age, then parents by age unless a court decree or statute granted legal custody to another person. A blood or adoptive relative who received that legal custody has priority before adult siblings. A remarried surviving spouse generally moves behind the next person in the order unless the remarriage ended by death or divorce. If divorced parents both claim authority, seniority by age determines their order. Ask the casualty office or service legal office to resolve a disputed or incomplete designation.

What the PADD Decides

The PADD chooses between burial and cremation, selects the receiving funeral home, decides on a national cemetery versus a private cemetery, and authorizes any viewing or visitation. The family and casualty officer can coordinate a request for military honors. For deaths occurring in a theater of operations, casualty officers coordinate the Dignified Transfer and transport; the PADD provides disposition instructions and the receiving funeral home.

The PADD's authority is for disposition of remains; it does not determine who receives financial benefits. Other family members can express preferences, but a disputed or incomplete designation may require review under service priority rules. This is why the DD Form 93 designation matters so much — it helps prevent family conflict from delaying the funeral at the worst possible time.

What Families Should Know

If the PADD is someone other than the surviving spouse — a parent, for example — that designation alone does not give them financial benefits. PADD authority covers disposition of remains only. Death Gratuity and SGLI are paid according to separate beneficiary designations or statutory priority rules; DIC and SBP have their own eligibility rules.

The After a Military Service Death guide walks through the full PADD process and helps families navigate the overlap between burial authority, benefits eligibility, and the family role assignments that prevent decision-making bottlenecks during the first week.