SCRA Website Login Problems and How to Fix Them

The Department of Defense’s SCRA website at scra.dmdc.osd.mil is free, but its account rules are strict, and most of them are built for daily users. If you only run a search now and then, odds are your login will not work the next time you need it.

Every rule below comes from DMDC’s SCRA User Guide, version 5.29, updated May 27, 2026. Start with the symptom that matches yours.

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Quick Diagnosis

Symptom	Most likely cause	Fix
You do not know your username	DMDC assigns it by email; there is no recovery	Create a new account
You have not logged in for more than 35 days	Account automatically terminated	Create a new account
”Password expired” after logging in	Passwords expire every 60 days	Reset using your challenge questions
Locked after wrong passwords	Three failed attempts lock the account	Answer your challenge questions
Locked out after wrong challenge answers	Three wrong attempts terminate the account	Create a new account
Kicked out mid-search	10 minutes of inactivity ends the session	Log in again
Logged out after a lot of searches	500 single record requests per session limit	Log in again
Redirected to Manage Account	Required profile fields are incomplete	Complete every required field
Security certificate error on first visit	Browser certificate issue	See the FAQs on the SCRA website

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”I Don’t Know My Username”

You never chose a username. When you created the account, DMDC generated one and emailed it to the address on the account. Search your inbox for that email first.

If you cannot find it, there is no recovery. DMDC’s guide: “If you forget your username you will not be able to access your account and you will need to create a new account.”

Prevent it: the moment the username email arrives, save the username somewhere your whole team can find it, such as a password manager.

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”My Account Was Terminated”

DMDC terminates accounts automatically after 35 days without a login: “If you have not logged into the system within the last 35 days, the system will automatically terminate your account and you will no longer have access to the file(s) you uploaded using that account.”

A terminated account cannot be restored. You have to create a new one, and any requests made from the old account, “regardless of status,” must be submitted again.

This is the rule that catches law firms, small landlords, and lenders who run one or two searches a month. If the gap between searches is more than five weeks, plan on a new account each time, or log in at least once every 35 days to keep the account active.

Other ways an account is disabled:

• Closed: if you close an account yourself, it cannot be reopened.
• Incorrect challenge answers: three wrong attempts during a failed login or a password reset terminate the account and everything associated with it.

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”My Password Expired”

SCRA passwords expire every 60 days. Starting five days before expiration, the site shows a warning after you log in. You can keep going without changing it until the expiration date, at which point you must reset it.

To reset an expired password:

1. Select Click Here to Reset Password on the expiration message.
2. Answer your three challenge questions. Answers are case-sensitive.
3. Enter and confirm a new password.
4. Log in with your username and the new password.

Password rules

New passwords are rejected unless they meet all of these:

• 15 to 26 characters
• At least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number, and one special character from ! # $ % & * < > ?
• No character repeated more than twice in a row
• At least 8 characters different from the previous password
• Not one of your last 5 passwords
• A password cannot be changed again within 24 hours of the last change

If the site says your new password was not changed, check it against this list. The most common miss is a special character outside the allowed set.

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”I Forgot My Password”

If you know your username and your challenge answers:

1. Go to the login screen through Single Record Request, Multiple Record Request, or My Account, then Go to Login Page.
2. Enter your username and click Forgot password? below the password field.
3. Answer the three challenge questions.
4. Enter and confirm a new password. It cannot match the old one.

If you do not remember your username or your challenge answers, you need a new account.

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”My Account Is Locked”

Three failed login attempts lock the account. To unlock it, you must answer your challenge questions.

Be careful here. Three incorrect challenge answers during that process terminate the account entirely. If you are not sure of the answers, creating a new account may cost you less than losing the attempts.

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”I Was Logged Out in the Middle of a Search”

Two limits cause this:

• Inactivity timeout: after 10 minutes with no activity, the session ends. A countdown banner appears first; click Continue to stay logged in. DMDC notes that timer lengths may change.
• Session cap: you can run up to 500 single record requests in one session. At the limit, the site logs you out and you start a new session.

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”The Site Keeps Sending Me to Manage Account”

DMDC requires every user and company field to be complete before you can run a search. If any are missing, you are redirected to the Manage Account page until they are filled in. The required fields include:

• Your first and last name, email, phone number, and purpose of use
• Your address
• Your company name, even if you are searching on behalf of another company
• A company point of contact: name, title, and phone number
• Company address

The DUNS number is the only optional field. Every field has character restrictions; most reject special characters other than spaces, dashes, and apostrophes.

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Creating a New Account

If you need to start over:

1. Go to scra.dmdc.osd.mil and select My Account, then Create an Account.
2. Set a password that meets the rules above, and choose three challenge questions.
3. Complete every required field.
4. Accept the Terms of Use and submit.
5. Save the username DMDC emails you.

Then see How to Run an SCRA Search for the search itself, and SCRA Status Report Explained for reading the result.

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When the Account Becomes the Bottleneck

The account rules reward one pattern: one person logging in at least every few weeks. Teams that search monthly lose accounts to the 35-day rule. Teams where the person who holds the account is out on the day a filing is due lose the day. Either way, the certificates live wherever that person saved them.

Civrel runs DMDC verification on your behalf, so no one on your team manages an SCRA website account. Every check is stored with its case, with the certificate and a full audit trail. See how Civrel handles DMDC verification.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I log in to the SCRA website?

Go to scra.dmdc.osd.mil, select Single Record Request or Multiple Record Request, and enter the system-generated username DMDC emailed you plus your password.

Why was my SCRA account terminated?

Most often because you had not logged in for 35 days. Accounts are also terminated after three incorrect challenge question answers, and a closed account cannot be reopened.

How often do SCRA website passwords expire?

Every 60 days. The site warns you five days before.

Can I recover a forgotten SCRA username?

No. DMDC does not offer username recovery. You must create a new account.

How long before the SCRA website logs me out?

After 10 minutes of inactivity, or after 500 single record requests in one session.

Is the SCRA website free?

Yes. DMDC’s guide states the website “is free to the public.” An account is free as well.