You can immediately verify online if someone is currently in the military, at no cost. Military discharge forms (DD 214) are often searchable by name in the online county Recorder index. Most counties in California don’t provide the documents online but you can still find out if the person has been in the military, their full name, branch of service and date the form was filed. These are listed in the index as “military separation” or “military discharge.”

In Sutter County, California, you can purchase and download the document at their website. If your county doesn’t offer this service, go to Courthousedirect, which has Recorder public records online. For a small fee you can download the documents.