# The SCRA Affidavit in Maryland Evictions: Military Status Checks, the DoD Database, and the DCA-109 Fee Why every Maryland eviction needs a servicemember (SCRA) affidavit: the federal § 3931 rule, the DoD database check, where it lives on DC-CV-082, and the fees. - Published: 2026-09-15 - Author: Jordan Walsh - Canonical: https://www.evictpro.us/blog/scra-affidavit-maryland-eviction-dca-109 --- Every Maryland eviction has a federal law hiding inside it. Before a District Court judge will enter a judgment against a tenant who doesn't show up, the landlord must swear to the court whether that tenant is in the military. Get it right and it's a checkbox and a printout. Get it wrong and you're looking at a vacated judgment, a reopened case, and, for a knowingly false statement, a federal criminal penalty. This is the servicemember affidavit requirement: where it comes from, where it actually lives in Maryland's forms (not where most guides say it does), how the Department of Defense database check works, and what it costs. - **§ 3931**: federal source (SCRA default-judgment protection) - **90 days**: minimum stay (if the tenant is active duty) - **$5**: per tenant of record (DCA-109 service fee, billed at cost) > The affidavit isn't about whether your tenant is a servicemember. It's about whether you checked. The court punishes the not-checking, not the answer. **The short version:** Federal law (50 U.S.C. § 3931) blocks default judgments until the plaintiff files an affidavit stating whether the defendant is in military service, with facts to back it up. In Maryland FTPR cases that affidavit is a sworn section on the DC-CV-082 complaint itself: three checkboxes plus a DoD-verification line. Run every tenant through the Defense Manpower Data Center site at scra.dmdc.osd.mil, keep the certificate, and answer truthfully. If a tenant is active duty, expect appointed counsel and a stay of at least 90 days. Maryland's DCA-109 cost schedule adds a $5 service fee per tenant of record. ## Where the Requirement Comes From: 50 U.S.C. § 3931 The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is a federal statute that suspends or conditions civil proceedings against active-duty military members so that deployment doesn't cost them their legal rights by default. The provision that matters to landlords is [50 U.S.C. § 3931](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title50-section3931&num=0&edition=prelim), which applies in any civil case where the defendant does not make an appearance, and an eviction where the tenant skips the hearing is precisely that case. Before entering judgment for the plaintiff, the court must require an affidavit: - **Stating whether or not the defendant is in military service**, supported by facts, or - **Stating that the plaintiff is unable to determine** the defendant's status after reasonable effort. If the defendant is a servicemember, the court cannot enter default judgment until it appoints an attorney to represent them, and it must grant a stay of proceedings of at least 90 days where the statute's conditions are met. If status can't be determined, the court may require the plaintiff to post a bond that protects the tenant if active-duty status surfaces later. And the teeth: knowingly filing a false military affidavit is a federal crime punishable by fine, imprisonment up to one year, or both. Maryland's own [Plaintiff's Guide to SCRA Compliance](https://www.mdcourts.gov/district/selfhelp/scra) repeats the warning in plain terms. This applies to every landlord in every eviction posture: Failure to Pay Rent, holding over, breach of lease. If there's any chance the tenant won't appear, and there always is, the affidavit requirement is live from the day you file. ## Where the Affidavit Lives in Maryland: On DC-CV-082 Itself Here's the detail most out-of-state guides get wrong. Many jurisdictions use a standalone numbered "non-military affidavit" form. Maryland's District Court, for Failure to Pay Rent cases, does not: **the military service affidavit is built into the DC-CV-082 complaint**, inside the sworn section signed under the penalties of perjury. On the current form ([DC-CV-082, Rev. 10/01/2024](https://www.courts.state.md.us/sites/default/files/court-forms/district/forms/civil/dccv082np.pdf/dccv082np.pdf)), the affidavit block gives you three paths: - **"At least one tenant is in the military service."** Check this if any tenant of record is active duty. Expect the § 3931 machinery: appointed counsel, potential 90-day stay. - **"No tenant is in the military service and the facts supporting this statement are: ___"** The facts line is not decorative. The form itself warns that specific facts must be given for the court to conclude that each tenant who is a natural person is not in the military. There is also a checkbox for **"Verified through DOD at: scra.dmdc.osd.mil"**, which is the answer the court most wants to see. - **"I am unable to determine whether or not any tenant is in the military service."** The honest fallback when you can't verify. This keeps you truthful but may cost you a bond requirement and time. Because the affidavit is part of the complaint, you swear to military status **at filing**, before you know whether the tenant will appear. That's why the status check belongs in your pre-filing routine, right next to confirming the rent ledger, not something you scramble on after a no-show hearing. For everything else on the complaint, see the full [DC-CV-082 field-by-field guide](/blog/dc-cv-082-how-to-fill-out). Outside FTPR, in other Maryland civil case types where judgment by affidavit or default is sought, plaintiffs file a military affidavit as its own document (Maryland's e-filing system has a dedicated document type for SCRA filings). The content requirement is the same: a factual basis for the status assertion, not a bare conclusion. **What doesn't count as 'facts':** Maryland's plaintiff guidance is blunt: statements like "I have never seen the tenant in a uniform" or "he never mentioned being in the service" are not likely to be found sufficient. Courts look for real inquiry: a DoD database certificate, a direct question to the tenant, inquiries to household members or a spouse. Weak facts on the affidavit line are an invitation for the judge to withhold judgment. ## The DoD Database Check, Step by Step The gold-standard factual basis is a certificate from the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), the Department of Defense's system of record, via the SCRA website at [scra.dmdc.osd.mil](https://scra.dmdc.osd.mil/). 1. **Gather identifiers.** Last name plus Social Security number is the reliable combination; date of birth helps and can substitute in many searches. This is one more reason a complete rental application matters years before any eviction. 2. **Run each tenant of record.** Not just the lease signer you think of as "the tenant." Every named defendant on DC-CV-082 needs a status answer, and your affidavit covers all of them. 3. **Save the certificate.** The site returns a PDF certificate stating either that DoD records show active-duty status (with branch and start date) or that DoD possesses no information indicating current active duty. Date it, keep it with the case file, and bring it to the hearing. 4. **No SSN and no DOB?** DMDC accepts manual verification requests by mail, and Maryland's guidance describes the alternative: an affidavit built on genuine factual inquiry. Slower and weaker, but honest. Timing note: run the check close to filing. A certificate from last year proves last year. Status changes, National Guard activations happen, and the affidavit speaks as of the date you sign it. ## What It Costs: The DCA-109 Context The affidavit itself is free to make. The tenants it covers are not free to sue. Maryland's District Court cost schedule, [DCA-109](https://www.mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/court-forms/dca109.pdf), sets the landlord-tenant filing costs, and it prices FTPR cases partly **per tenant**: alongside the summary ejectment filing fee, the schedule lists a service fee of **$5 for each tenant of record** in every county except Baltimore City, and in Baltimore City **$5 per location plus $5 for each tenant for whom personal service is requested**. The connection to the SCRA affidavit is direct: the tenants of record you pay $5 each to serve are the same tenants your military affidavit must individually cover. Naming every leaseholder on the complaint is legally necessary (a judgment can't reach a tenant you didn't name), and each name added is one more service fee and one more status check. At EvictPro, the Filing with Court stage is **$99 with the base court filing fee included**; Maryland's $5-per-tenant service fee is itemized at cost at checkout, per the DCA-109 schedule. See [pricing](/pricing) for the full stage-by-stage breakdown. **SCRA Compliance Check: $29 per case**: https://www.evictpro.us/pricing ## If the Tenant Is Active Duty An active-duty result is not a dead end; it's a different procedure: - **No default judgment without appointed counsel.** The court appoints an attorney to represent the absent servicemember. - **A stay of at least 90 days** where the statutory conditions are met, and servicemembers can request further stays tied to their duty obligations. - **The case continues afterward.** The SCRA delays and conditions; it does not erase unpaid rent. Landlords who plan for the stay (and keep the ledger current through it) come out of it with the claim intact. Related wrinkle: military housing situations often overlap with subsidized tenancies and voucher rules, which carry their own procedural overlays. If that's your situation, read the [Section 8 eviction guide for Maryland](/blog/section-8-eviction-maryland) alongside this one. What you must never do is treat the affidavit as a formality to paper over. A judgment obtained on a false or careless military affidavit can be reopened on the tenant's motion, unwinding months of process, and the false-affidavit penalty is criminal, not administrative. ## The Five SCRA Mistakes Maryland Landlords Make 1. **Guessing.** Checking "no tenant is in the military service" because it seems unlikely, with nothing on the facts line. This is the single most common failure and the most dangerous one. 2. **Checking one tenant, not all.** Two leaseholders means two database certificates. The affidavit covers every named defendant. 3. **Stale certificates.** A DMDC printout from move-in doesn't prove status at filing. Re-run it when you file. 4. **Losing the certificate.** The checkbox says verified through DoD; the judge may want to see the verification. It belongs in the case file with the lease and the ledger. 5. **Ignoring an active-duty hit.** Filing anyway and hoping the tenant defaults quietly is how landlords end up on the wrong side of a federal statute. Budget the 90 days into the case plan; the [post-filing timeline guide](/blog/what-happens-after-filing-ftpr-maryland) shows where the stay slots in. ## How EvictPro Handles It EvictPro's **SCRA Compliance Check** is a $29 add-on that turns the affidavit from a risk into a receipt: - **Every tenant of record checked** against the DoD's DMDC database, using the identifiers already in the case file. - **Dated certificates stored** with the case documents, so the factual basis behind the affidavit is one click away at the hearing, or years later if a judgment is challenged. - **Affidavit alignment.** The DC-CV-082 military service section is completed consistently with the certificate results, with the DoD-verification checkbox backed by an actual verification. - **Active-duty results surfaced early**, before filing, when the 90-day stay is a scheduling input instead of a mid-case surprise. It's the same compliance philosophy as the rest of the platform, whether you file once a decade or fifty times a quarter: catch the defect before the courthouse does. The affidavit requirement runs on the honor system right up until the moment it doesn't. **The bottom line:** Federal law requires a sworn military-status affidavit before any default judgment, and in Maryland FTPR cases it lives on DC-CV-082 itself. Run every tenant through scra.dmdc.osd.mil, keep the dated certificates, state real facts, and never guess: a false affidavit is a federal offense, and an active-duty tenant changes the timeline (appointed counsel, 90-day stay) but not the validity of your claim. Maryland's DCA-109 schedule adds $5 per tenant of record in service fees, billed at cost through EvictPro. **Not legal advice**: This article is general educational information about Maryland landlord-tenant law and procedure. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws, court fees, and local rules change over time. For advice on your specific situation, consult a licensed Maryland attorney or a qualified housing counselor. **Related reading:** - [How to Fill Out DC-CV-082, Field by Field](/blog/dc-cv-082-how-to-fill-out) - [What Happens After You File an FTPR Case in Maryland](/blog/what-happens-after-filing-ftpr-maryland) - [Section 8 Evictions in Maryland: What's Different](/blog/section-8-eviction-maryland) - [Maryland Eviction Forms: The Complete Landlord's List](/blog/maryland-eviction-forms-complete-list) Every compliant filing starts before the complaint, with the free 10-day notice: **Start free with the Notice of Intent**: https://www.evictpro.us/notice-of-intent ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the SCRA affidavit in a Maryland eviction? It is the sworn statement about each tenant's military status required by the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3931, before a court may enter a default judgment. In Maryland Failure to Pay Rent cases there is no separate numbered affidavit form: the military service affidavit is a built-in section of the DC-CV-082 complaint, sworn under the penalties of perjury, with checkboxes for military status and a line for the supporting facts. ### Do I need an SCRA affidavit if my tenant was never in the military? Yes. The affidavit is required in every case where the defendant may not appear, regardless of what you believe about the tenant's status. Saying a tenant is not in the military is exactly what the affidavit exists to document, and the court expects a factual basis, ideally a Defense Manpower Data Center certificate, not just your impression. ### How do I check a tenant's military status? Through the Department of Defense's SCRA website run by the Defense Manpower Data Center at scra.dmdc.osd.mil. With the tenant's last name and Social Security number (date of birth also works in many cases) the site returns a certificate stating whether DoD records show the person on active duty. The DC-CV-082 form itself includes a checkbox for verification through the DoD site. ### What if I cannot determine the tenant's military status? DC-CV-082 includes an option for exactly this: the landlord states they are unable to determine whether any tenant is in the military service. Under § 3931, the court may then require the plaintiff to post a bond to indemnify the tenant if it later turns out they were a servicemember. Expect delay; a clean DoD certificate is faster. ### What happens if the tenant is an active-duty servicemember? The court cannot enter a default judgment against them without appointing counsel, and under 50 U.S.C. § 3931(d) proceedings are stayed for at least 90 days where required. Active-duty status does not make eviction impossible, but it changes the timeline and procedure substantially, and a landlord who conceals or ignores it risks the judgment being reopened. ### What is the penalty for filing a false military affidavit? Under the federal statute it is a criminal offense: fine, imprisonment up to one year, or both. Maryland's plaintiff guidance repeats the same warning. The affidavit section of DC-CV-082 is sworn under the penalties of perjury, so guessing checkbox answers is genuinely dangerous. ### What is DCA-109 and what does the $5 per tenant fee cover? DCA-109 is the District Court of Maryland's cost schedule. For Failure to Pay Rent filings it lists, alongside the filing fee, a service fee of $5 for each tenant of record; in Baltimore City it is $5 per location plus $5 for each tenant for whom personal service is requested. Every tenant you name on DC-CV-082, and every tenant your SCRA affidavit must cover, carries that per-tenant fee. EvictPro itemizes it at cost at checkout.