Medal applications

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Due to the volume of Personnel Archives and/or Medals requests currently on hand, please be aware that we may not be in a position to provide you with a decision on your request within the statutory time period.  We are working on rectifying this situation as quickly as possible.

Applying for an unclaimed medal

To apply for a medal and for general enquiries on medal entitlement, (for you or for a family member) or for information on which medals have already been issued (and when) you will need to complete the Medals application form (PDF, 565 KB) and provide supporting information that is requested on the form.

For information on the application process for the COVID-19 Response Recognition Award click here. 

Home Guard

Unfortunately the military personnel files of many of those who served in the Home Guard have not survived to the present day. This is likely due to the New Zealand Army purging a large number of military personnel documents in the years following World War II.

If we do not hold a military personnel file for someone who served with the Home Guard we will ask applicants if they can provide us with evidence of service such as old copies of the NZ Gazette, copies of posting notices, or letters home. A photograph on its own will not be sufficient to prove service, but could support other documents if the image is clear and the person is identified. Please note that for a service person to be eligible for a medal, we need to be able to confirm that they served with the New Zealand Army for a minimum of six months.

NZ Royal Honours

NZDF PAM does not hold or administer any stock of awards, decorations or medals issued under the auspices of the NZ Royal Honours system (i.e. MNZM, etc.). Information on these awards should be sought from the Honours Unit, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet(external link).

Foreign Awards 

NZDF PAM does not hold quantities of stock of any foreign awards, medals or decorations, except of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (for issue for those who have not yet claimed this medal) and of miniatures of United Nations and NATO medals (for issue to NZDF serving personnel). Enquiries about all other foreign awards should be sent to the issuing Government/authority/agency.

For NZDF serving personnel, permission to wear a foreign award must be obtained by submitting form MD 1456. For those NZDF serving personnel who were recruited laterally from another country, permission to wear medals awarded for service in another country must be obtained by submitting form MD 1655.

Completing the application form

Please complete the Medals application form (PDF, 565 KB), scan and email it to NZDF.PAM@NZDF.MIL.NZ.  Alternatively you may post it to:

NZDF Personnel Archives and Medals
Headquarters New Zealand Defence Force
Private Bag 905
UPPER HUTT 5140

Please include the following information about the service person in your application:

• Full name

• Date of birth

• Date of death (if applicable)

• Service number

• Service (i.e. Navy, Army, Air Force)

Additional information you might want to include is:

• Rank and Service (Army/Navy/Air Force)

• Regiment/Battalion/Unit/Ship

• Period of Service

• Next of Kin, Address and Occupation at time of Enlistment

• Don’t forget to include your current postal address, phone number and email address

Applying for a long service award (good conduct is required)

All Regular and Territorial members of the Armed Forces of New Zealand who serve for the required period and have a record of irreproachable conduct and character are recognised by a long service and good conduct award, governed by a New Zealand Royal Warrant. The full eligibility criteria are outlined in the NZDF Long Service Awards Regulations 2020.(external link)

To apply for a long service award please complete the Medals application form (PDF, 565 KB)  (PDF, 257 KB)and email it to NZDF.PAM@nzdf.mil.nz  alternatively you may post it to:

NZDF Personnel Archives and Medals
Headquarters New Zealand Defence Force
Private Bag 905
UPPER HUTT 5140

Good conduct is required for the entire period of qualifying service towards a long service award. 

For a Regular Force officer, soldier, sailor or airman who has served on or after 1 December 1977 this means that he or she must have at least 14 years of unbroken good conduct to qualify for a long service award. 

An adverse recordable occurrence (often called a ‘recordable entry’) breaks the period of good conduct. 

A Regular Force officer, soldier, sailor or airman will need at least 14 years of unbroken good conduct after the adverse recordable occurrence to qualify for a long service award.

Medal duplicates and replacements

Replacement medals are only available for purchase during the lifetime of current and former NZDF serving members. The cost of the replacements is met by the applicant.  Personnel Archives and Medals will issue you a quote for the cost of replacing the lost medal/s when we receive your request.

Requesting replacement medals

To obtain replacement medals write to NZDF PAM at nzdf.pam@nzdf.mil.nz including a scanned copy of the attached Statutory Declaration (PDF, 378 KB) swearing that you have lost your medals.  Alternatively, you may post your request and completed Statutory Declaration to:

NZDF Personnel Archives and Medals
Headquarters New Zealand Defence Force
Private Bag 905
UPPER HUTT 5140

NZDF does not provide duplicate sets of medals under any circumstances. Duplicate medals and replacement medal ribbon may be obtained through commercial providers which you will find by searching Google(external link) or using the yellow pages(external link).

Medal mounting and medal ribbon bars

NZDF does not provide medal mounting services and medal ribbon bars for former NZDF service members and their families. Unfortunately we are unable to recommend a medal mounter to you so we suggest you identify your nearest one by searching on Google(external link) or using the yellow pages(external link).

The mounting of medals and provision of medal ribbon bars at public (NZDF) expense is provided to NZDF serving personnel because they are required to wear medals on their uniform as a part of their employment.