How Duty Book works

What Duty Book is

Duty Book is your service record binder, on your phone. Scan or import a document once and it is filed under the right tab, encrypted on your device, and ready to hand over as a board-ready PDF packet the moment you need it.

How it works

Scan a document with your camera, or import a PDF or photo you already have on this phone.
Duty Book reads the page on the device, recognizes the form by its number and type, and files it under the exact tab it belongs to. Every detail stays editable before you save.
It files the document under the tab that matches your branch's records. Turn on an expiration date for anything that lapses, such as weapons, fitness, clearances, and certifications, and Duty Book reminds you 90 and 30 days out.
When a board or records review lands, tap Export, choose your tabs, and Duty Book builds one PDF in board order with divider pages and a bookmark outline.

Where your records live

Duty Book has no account and no server, and the app itself never uploads anything. Your records are filed and encrypted on your phone behind Face ID. Duty Book cannot read them, and neither can we.

Backing up with Apple iCloud

To be clear: this is Apple's iCloud, not Duty Book. Duty Book has no servers, so a backup goes to your own Apple iCloud account, never to us.

Turn on iCloud Backup for your iPhone (Settings, then your name, then iCloud, then iCloud Backup) and your Duty Book records are included in that Apple backup automatically. Apple handles it as part of your device backup, Duty Book still never sees your documents, and no Duty Book account exists.

If you lose your phone or move to a new one, set the new phone up from that iCloud backup and your book comes back exactly as it was. For a second copy you control, you can also export an encrypted archive from Settings.

Choosing your branch

Duty Book names every tab the way your branch names its own records and files them to the right system. You can change your branch anytime under Branch of service in Settings.

Branch	Records system
Army	iPERMS
Navy	OMPF
Marine Corps	OMPF
Air Force	ARMS
Space Force	ARMS
Coast Guard	CGMHRR/iPERMS

What the Duty Book unlock includes

Scanning, importing, filing, search, viewing and encrypted storage are always free, with no limits. One optional payment, no subscription and no account, unlocks everything below and keeps it forever:

Board-ready PDF packet export, with bookmarks, divider pages, and per-document selection
Expiration tracking with reminders 90 and 30 days out
Encrypted archive export and import
The PCS move module, with countdown tasks, entitlement estimates, PPM incentive, and a paperwork checklist you scan or import into

Restore it on any phone signed in to your Apple Account.

Common questions

If your phone is lost or stolen

Your records are encrypted at rest behind Face ID, so a lost or locked phone cannot be read. To wipe it remotely, use Apple's Find My. On another Apple device or at iCloud.com/find, pick the phone and choose Erase This Device. That erases everything on it, and your iCloud backup stays intact so you can restore to a new phone.

Because Duty Book has no server and no account, the app cannot reach a lost phone itself. That is by design. Remote erase is handled by Apple's Find My, which is safer than any login we could build.

Where do I put a document that isn't listed?

If a document isn't a recognized form, or you'd file it somewhere else, put it under Admin and local. That tab is the catch-all for anything not filed in your official record, and it is yours to keep.

You can move any document to another tab at any time: open it and tap the Tab row to change it. Nothing is locked to where it first landed.

Local tabs like Admin and local, Weapons, and fitness are never included in an export packet by default, so a board only sees what belongs in your official record.

What if my records are already gone?

Settings has a Rebuild your book checklist that walks you through recovering what exists elsewhere. There is a longer version on the support page.