What are the DMF, SCRA, and MLA checks, and how do I order them?

These are three individual-level checks.

• DMF (Death Master File): checks whether a Social Security number belongs to someone the Social Security Administration has recorded as deceased. Used to catch identity theft and synthetic identities.

• SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act): checks whether a person is on active military duty, recently left it, or has orders to report, which triggers interest rate caps and protections against certain collection and foreclosure actions.

• MLA (Military Lending Act): checks whether a person is a covered borrower, meaning an active-duty service member or a dependent, which caps the cost of most consumer credit and restricts certain terms.

How to order them:

• Standalone: POST /dmf/searches, POST /scra/searches, and POST /mla/searches. Each takes the person’s name and SSN; SCRA and MLA also take date of birth, and MLA accepts an ITIN.

• On a person search: add the Order.Scra and Order.Mla options to POST /person_searches to run the military checks alongside liens, litigation, and watchlist screening for the same person.

• In the console: the Military Search and Death Master File pages under the dashboard run the same checks for one individual at a time.