Does anyone have any insight on how to properly search the MLA website when a customer has multiple surnames or perhaps a hyphenated name?

For example, if customers name is John Cruz De La Hoya, which surname(s) are required to be entered in the Last Name field on the MLA Department of Defense website? La Hoya or Cruz, or Cruz De La Hoya?

If "Cruz De La Hoya" is his legal last name, i'd enter that.

Some people are entering the first surname (Cruz) as the last name search. Others are entering the second surname (De La Hoya) as the last name search, while most enter the entire last name (Cruz De La Hoya).

Looking to determine the appropriate way to search and if its best to search all 3 variations to be sure.

I wouldn't enter all 3 variations....i'd enter whatever the legal last name is.

I would use the last name as shown on the military ID as that should provide consistent results. 3 critical field are the SSN, DOB and last name. The next time you get a multiple last name like Cruz De la Hoya, try submitting it more than one way and see if it shows a hit based on the last name entered in addition to the same SSN and DOB. If you do that, let us know if it triggered off a partial last name or not.