---
kind: "section"
citation: "50 U.S.C. § 3938a"
title: "50"
title_heading: "War and National Defense"
number: "3938a"
heading: "Annual notice to members of the Armed Forces regarding child custody protections guaranteed by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/50/3938a"
units:
  - "Chapter 50 — Servicemembers Civil Relief"
  - "Subchapter II — General Relief"
---

# §3938a. Annual notice to members of the Armed Forces regarding child custody protections guaranteed by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act


The Secretaries of each of the military departments shall ensure that each member of the Armed Forces with [dependents](/usc/50/3911.md?p=4) receives annually, and prior to each deployment, notice of the child custody protections afforded to members of the Armed Forces under the [Servicemembers](/usc/50/3911.md?p=1) Civil Relief Act ([50 U.S.C. 3901](/usc/50/3901.md) et seq.).


## Source credit

(Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title V, § 573, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2141.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### References in Text

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, referred to in text, is act Oct. 17, 1940, ch. 888, 54 Stat. 1178, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.

### Codification

Section was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, and not as part of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act which comprises this chapter.