Out-of-Service Debt
Waivers and Remissions

Waiver of Indebtedness

Recovery of erroneous payments of pay and allowances may be waived if recovery is determined to be against equity and good conscience and not in the best interest of the United States. Applications for waiver must be received by DFAS within 3 years from the date the erroneous payment was discovered. There must not be any indication of fraud, misrepresentation, fault, or lack of good faith on the applicant's part. Active duty members, reservists, members of the National Guard, and current DoD employees must submit their applications through their finance/payroll offices. Separated military members, military retirees, and previous civilian DoD employees may submit their application to the Denver address shown on the top of the waiver application form, DD Form 2789 . Annuitants should contact the US Military Annuitant Pay Office at 1-800-321-1080 for specific procedures.

Remission of Indebtedness

The Secretary of the Service concerned has full authority over remission. Some of the Secretaries have re-delegated all or part of this authority to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. The remission law states, "If he considers it in the best interest of the United States, the Secretary may have remitted or canceled any part of an enlisted member's indebtedness to the United States or any of its instrumentalities remaining unpaid before, or at the time of the member's honorable discharge." Each case is considered, reviewed, and decided upon based on its own merits. Remission does not apply to debts arising from excess leave or erroneous payments of basic pay due to non-collection of courts martial forfeitures. Debts arising from advance leave which become excess leave upon separation, or recoupment of a bonus due to early separation, do not qualify for remission as there is not debt until discharge, and the member is no longer on active duty. Active duty enlisted personnel should submit the DD Form 2789 , Waiver/Remission of Indebtedness Application, through their finance/disbursing office.