Restricted File in the Army

August 1, 2026

Soldiers often wonder what their restricted file is. A restricted file in the Army refers to a specific section of a Soldier's AMHRR/OMPF/Military Record. Only certain entities can view a Soldier's restricted file. Importantly, the restricted file is still part of a Soldier's military record maintained at HRC. Often, Soldier's confuse the restricted file with the local file. A Soldier's local file is their counseling packet, maintained at the local unit, compared to a record maintained by HRC, or "Big Army."

Most commonly, Soldiers wondering about the restricted file in the Army are concerned about Article 15s or GOMORs. Unlike a GOMOR, Article 15s can be directly filed in a Soldier's restricted file. The imposing Commander makes this decision entirely within their discretion. GOMORs cannot be filed directly in a Soldier's restricted file. Instead, a GOMOR is either rescinded or filed in a Soldier's local file, which, again, is a file maintained by their local unit. GOMORs that are locally filed are destroyed after 18 months or upon a PCS, whichever is sooner.

Any documents in a Soldier's restricted file in the Army can only be viewed by certain entities. While this is constantly changing, most Officer promotion boards do look at the restricted file; however, this does not occur currently until an Officer is up for promotion to MAJ. Another common example is the QMP for enlisted Soldiers: as of the date of this article, documents in an NCO's restricted file still trigger review under the QMP for possible separation. Again, when a restricted file can be viewed changes frequently depending on the needs of an Army. Of note, documents in the restricted file of a Veteran's record are not releasable; instead, a page is inserted that says certain documents are in the Veteran's restricted file and cannot be viewed.

In order to transfer a document (Article 15/GOMOR) from the performance to restricted section of a Soldier's AMHRR, the Soldier in question must demonstrate that the purpose of the document has been served and that it is in the best interests of the Army to transfer it. This can be done by the Department of the Army Suitability Evaluation Board (DASEB) or Army Board for Corrections of Military Records (ABCMR). More information can be found in AR 600-37, available for download at this link. Importantly, even if a document can still be viewed in a Soldier's restricted file, Attorney Barry believes it is given less weight by whoever is viewing it, like a promotion board. He has seen Soldiers and Officers promoted even with documents in their restricted file.

Applications for transfer of Article 15s and GOMORs to the restricted file are complicated and using an experienced lawyer leads to the best results. While legal assistance Attorneys are available to assist, they are typically very inexperienced and are either unwilling or unable to provide the assistance needed to succeed. A civilian Military Lawyer can be retained, which allows a Soldier to be represented by a proven lawyer with good former client reviews.

This Article was written by Attorney Matthew Barry. Attorney Barry is highly rated by former clients and has a proven track record of success. He has extensive experience with all types of Military Adverse Actions, including those relating to a Soldier's restricted file the Army.

The Law Office of Matthew Barry represents Servicemembers worldwide. He has offices on the East Coast, West Coast, and in the Central U.S.