Instructions for Completing your PCS Travel Voucher (DD Form 1351-2)

 
For a step-by-step guide to help fill the form out correctly, click here. The numbers listed correspond to the numbers shown in the blocks on the DD 1351-2.
 
Things to Keep in Mind…

• Ensure you are using May 2011 version.
• Your Army Military Pay Office (AMPO) must provide you with mandatory PCS counseling prior to your relocation.
• Read your travel orders and understand the entitlements you are authorized.  Authorizations for many entitlements must be documented on your travel orders to be eligible for reimbursement.
• Per regulations, PCS orders must contain a full 9 digit SSN and have official seal/stamp on the last page of the orders in order to be valid and complete. If missing the claim must be returned.
• Please read the tax information under the section on Personally Procured Move (PPM) formerly known as Do It Yourself (DITY).  This is extremely important as the value of your reimbursement is affected.
• If your voucher is incomplete or has errors, you will be contacted via e-mail.  Be sure to have a legible email address in block 6e of your DD1351-2 travel voucher. Monitor your email for status and follow the directions if you receive a return notification.  Be sure to send back to the appropriate e-mail address, do not hit reply.
• If you would like all or a portion of your payment applied to your government travel credit card (GTCC) you must check the spilt disbursement box and include the amount requested. (If an amount is included in error, travel pay will process a spilt disbursement regardless if there is a balance or not.)
• All claimed reimbursable expenses $75 and over require a receipt.  Lodging and rental cars ALWAYS require a receipt regardless of costs. 
• Complete set of orders to include all amendments will need to be submitted along with the travel voucher.
• Make sure you include appropriate signatures and dates prior to submission. You (aka Claimant.) must sign the voucher AFTER Mission Complete Date and BEFORE the reviewer. NOTE: A parent or legal guardian should sign the voucher for a dependent minor. 

Supporting Documentation

Additional information regarding supporting documentation is provided below.
 
Lodging

En-route lodging may only be claimed under specific circumstances, such as planned airport delays. Additional supporting documentation will be required, such as a CTO airfare receipt showing that lodging was booked between flights, or a memo from the soldier’s command authorizing the lodging after-the-fact. Otherwise, en-route lodging is not directly reimbursed as this expense is factored into the standard per diem calculations.
 
Temporary Lodging Expenses (TLE) may be claimed at the old duty station prior to departure, the new duty station upon arrival, or at designated locations. Please submit DFAS Form 9098 to identify all travelers who utilized the lodging, and provide a breakdown of the lodging locations and nightly rates. If no lodging expenses were incurred, please indicate “meals only.” Temporary lodging may not be claimed at the soldier’s permanent residence, or at any OCONUS location. In most cases, TLE is capped at 10 days for CONUS moves and 5 days when the soldier is moving OCONUS.
 
Include one legible copy or original receipts for all authorized lodging claimed for reimbursement, whether en route or at PCS location. Travelers must include a paid, itemized receipt from hotel, motel, or other commercial establishment or Government facility.
 
If double occupancy rates are charged, the voucher must show the name of the other traveler on official travel. One half of the double occupancy charge will be allowed for each official traveler. If the person sharing the room is not an official traveler, the name is not required. The traveler is responsible for obtaining the single room rate if only the double rate is shown on the lodging receipt.

 
Dependent Travel

Dependent travel must be affirmatively approved in the PCS orders; if traveling OCONUS, then command sponsorship must be indicated. When completing the 1351-2, please follow these steps:
Check “Dependents” in Block 5
List the authorized dependents in Block 12, including names, relations, and dates of birth/marriage
List the dependents address in Block 13 on receipt of orders (PDS prior to PCS) in accordance with field instructions
If the dependents traveled on different dates (or via different locations) than the soldier, please provide the dependent itinerary in Block 15

 
Transportation
Whenever the traveler purchases his or her own commercial transportation tickets, a copy of the receipt must be submitted with the travel voucher. Reimbursement will not exceed that cost that would have been incurred if transportation had been purchased by the Government or other limitations as prescribed by the governing travel regulations. Please note that when commercial transportation tickets are purchased from a travel agency other than those under contract with the U.S. Government, reimbursement of the cost of tickets could be denied.

AIRLINE TICKET REIMBURSEMENT -  Travel orders must state the method of purchase,  whether the transportation ticket was purchased using an individually billed account (IBA) or centrally billed account (CBA) or was otherwise personally purchased by the traveler. 
Under a CBA, the traveler is not responsible for personally purchasing their airline tickets. A traveler will make their flight reservations through a Travel Management Company (TMC), the TMC charges the airfare costs to a CBA and then submits the claim for direct reimbursement to Commercial Pay.
An IBA is when a traveler makes their airfare reservations through a TMC and their government charge-card was charged for the amount of the ticket.  The traveler now has an out-of-pocket expense that they can claim on their travel voucher. 
Personally procured airfare is when the traveler purchases their own airfare.
 
 If the purchase method changes after the travel order is published, then the AO may approve the changed method after the fact on the travel  voucher. In order to avoid potential reimbursement issues, always ensure that your travel orders state “IBA Authorized” or you have AO approval, when paying for airfare related to a PCS with your government charge-card.
 
Separate Legs of Travel - If the trip involves more than one leg of travel, then each leg is computed separately and should be listed separately on your DD 1351-2. Official points include:

• Actual residence
• Home of record
• Primary residence
• Privately owned vehicle storage facility
• PCS location
• Safe haven location
• Renewal agreement travel leave location
• Passenger point of embarkation
• Passenger point of debarkation
• Place Entering Active Duty (PLEAD)

 
Miscellaneous Expenses

Include one legible copy or the original receipt for any additional authorized expense that is $75 or more. If small items of expense, such as tolls are lumped together and exceed $75, show the individual breakdown of expenses on the voucher.
For Example: A claim for on the DD Form 1351-2 as follows:
Block 18 = Feb 1-15 $76 in gas would be entered
Block 18 = Tolls $11, $15, $18, $20, $12
Block 18 = $76

 
TDY-en-Route

If TDY-en-route was authorized, this should be noted in the travel itinerary even if per diem has already been paid. The itinerary should show the soldier’s complete travel, from departing the old duty station to the arriving at the new, with all official stops in between. All related orders must be included, as well as receipts for authorized expenses.
 
The use of a rental car must be authorized in the travel orders or approved after the fact by the Approving Official (AO). If authorized, include one legible copy or the original receipt for the costs related to a rental car. Reimbursement for insurance paid by the traveler will not be authorized (except overseas). Upgrade charges are not reimbursable unless the approving official certifies that the upgrade was necessary to the mission and signs box 21 of the DD Form 1351-2.
 
Please note that DTS is not authorized for TDY-en-route travel. DFAS cannot reimburse TDY travel that was authorized through DTS or provide any supplemental payments for travel that has been partially paid through DTS. However, please include any DTS travel authorizations and payment advices for travel for TDY dates embedded within the PCS travel, as DFAS may need to analyze this travel to determine if any overlap occurred with the PCS.

 
Tips

Travelers must state what types of tips they are claiming for reimbursement. Please note: Not all tips are reimbursable. The following tips may be reimbursable:
 
Taxis and courtesy shuttle (must be included as part of taxi/shuttle fare. Up to 20% of fare authorized)
Baggage check-in fee at curbside and baggage handling tips for a traveler with a disability. NOTE: These are only for travelers with medical or special needs. There is no limitation on the amount that can be reimbursed.
 
Tips to maids, waiters/waitresses, room service, and to bellhops for personal baggage handling are not separately reimbursable. These types of tips are included in the daily incidental portion of the meal rate.

What documents do I need to keep…

We strongly recommend that you save every document showing expenses incurred while en route to your PCS location (i.e., receipts, bills, invoices, proof of payment etc.) these items may be needed for approval of your travel voucher.  In the event that you do not have a receipt or proof of payment, you may submit a ‘Statement in Lieu of Actual Receipts’ or ‘Statement in Lieu of Lodging Receipts’ with the travel voucher to validate the expense.  

Page Updated March 25, 2022