AF Form 988 Leave Request/Authorization: Fill Out, Route, and Close

AF Form 988 is the Air Force leave request and authorization form, and to fill it out you log in to LeaveWeb at leave.af.mil, complete Part I with your identifying information, leave dates, leave address, and contact number, choose the correct leave category, and submit it for supervisor and commander approval. Once approved, the system issues a leave authorization number and lets you print the form. Reservists are the exception: they still complete a paper AF Form 988 and route it manually through DJMS-RC.¹ The whole process is governed by DAFI 36-3003.²

Pick the Right Leave Category First

Before you touch the dates, decide which category of leave you’re requesting. The choice determines who approves it and whether the days come out of your balance.

Chargeable categories deduct from your accrued leave: ordinary (annual) leave for vacation, rest, personal business, or family visits; advance leave when you haven’t yet accrued the days you need; emergency leave for a personal or family emergency involving immediate family; en route leave tied to a PCS; terminal leave taken before separation or retirement; and Environmental and Morale Leave at qualifying overseas installations.²

Emergency leave is still chargeable despite the name. Initial periods cannot exceed 30 days, with extensions up to another 30. Unit commanders approve it and can delegate approval for enlisted members down to the first sergeant.²

Non-chargeable categories don’t touch your balance. Convalescent leave is authorized for medical recovery by a commander or MTF director, typically up to 30 initial days (except after childbirth); extending beyond 30 requires additional medical review and O-5 or civilian-equivalent approval. The Military Parental Leave Program provides 12 weeks of non-chargeable leave after a qualifying birth, adoption, or long-term foster care placement. Bereavement leave is granted for the death of a spouse or child. Permissive TDY covers specific reasons in DAFI 36-3003, including house hunting during a PCS, and the 2026 update allows incremental use of house-hunting days between gaining and losing duty stations, plus packing and unpacking of household goods.²

Completing Part I

Part I is where you identify yourself, define the absence, and give the unit a way to reach you. Active-duty members complete these fields inside LeaveWeb rather than on a paper form.¹

Enter your full name (last, first, middle initial), current grade, and unit of assignment. You’ll also enter your Social Security Number. The form’s privacy act statement treats SSN disclosure as technically voluntary, but the form won’t process without it because the Air Force uses the SSN for pay and leave tracking.³

Select the leave category. Enter your exact start and end dates. LeaveWeb calculates chargeable days automatically, accounting for weekends and holidays where applicable. Double-check the dates. Errors here throw off your balance and create pay issues later.

Give a leave address (street, city, state, zip) and a phone number where you can be reached. This isn’t optional; the unit needs it if you’re recalled for an operational emergency.³ If you’ll be in more than one place, list the primary address where you’ll spend most of the leave period. One requirement people overlook: you must be in the local area of your permanent duty station before your leave starts and when you return.⁴

Routing and Getting Your Authorization Number

Submit the completed Part I in LeaveWeb.⁵ The request routes to your supervisor or designated leave approver, who checks the dates against the unit’s mission schedule, manning levels, and any upcoming exercises or deployments before deciding.

Once the CSS or Base Finance Management office authorizes the request, LeaveWeb assigns a leave authorization number and lets you print the AF Form 988.¹ That number is your legal proof of authorized absence. Keep the printed copy with you during travel; if you’re stopped or recalled, the authorization number confirms your status.

The LeaveWeb dashboard shows pending, approved, and denied status so you can track the request without chasing anyone. Do not depart before you have an authorization number. Leaving without it can result in charges under Article 86 of the UCMJ for absence without leave, with punishment as a court-martial may direct.⁶

Closing Out With Part III on Return

The form isn’t finished when you walk out the door. When you return, Part III closes the record. It compares your actual leave dates against what was originally approved and indicates whether the leave should be recorded with no change, corrected, or canceled entirely.⁴

You sign Part III certifying that the leave taken is a true and correct statement, with a warning that false statements carry penalties. Your approver then signs confirming the days used are accurate based on your last duty day before departure and your first day back.⁴ That reconciliation feeds Finance’s records. Skipping it, or letting it sit open, creates discrepancies that surface months later as pay problems.

Extensions, Amendments, and Cancellations

If you need more time while already on leave, it’s your responsibility to request an extension before your authorized leave expires. DAFI 36-3003 requires that you ask, orally or in writing, far enough in advance that you could still return to duty on time if the extension is denied.² In practice, call your supervisor. If you can’t reach anyone and your leave expires, you’re technically AWOL until it gets sorted out.

Plans change. If your approved leave needs different dates, or you’re not going at all, update the record in LeaveWeb before those days are charged against your balance. For a date change on an already-approved request, submit a corrected request or notify your administrative office so they can adjust it.

If you simply don’t take the leave and never update the system, Finance deducts the originally approved days as though you took them. Fixing it later requires a leave audit through your servicing finance office and takes time to resolve. An unreconciled negative balance also shows up on reports and draws attention from your chain of command.

Terminal Leave Has Different Timing

Terminal leave runs from your last day of duty until your separation or retirement date, and it takes more lead time and coordination than a regular request.

LeaveWeb accepts terminal leave requests within 60 days of the start date. If you’re also taking permissive TDY, such as for a job search program, submit the PTDY request first, then submit the terminal leave request after the permissive leave has been saved and routed to your commander for approval.

The unit commander, or someone on G-series orders, must sign the approval before your Finance final out-processing appointment. For retiring members, the last day of terminal leave should align with the first date on your retirement orders; use the date you’re relieved from active duty as the final day of leave.

Space Force Guardians

DAFI 36-3003 applies equally to United States Space Force members. Guardians use the same LeaveWeb system and the same AF Form 988 unless separate Space Force guidance is published, in which case the Space Force-specific instruction would take precedence.² As of the February 2026 update, no separate USSF leave instruction exists, so everything above applies to Guardians as well.

1
Air Force LeaveWeb. Create Leave Request
2
Department of the Air Force. DAFI 36-3003 – Military Leave Program
3
United States Air Force. AF Form 988 Leave Request
4
HQ RIO. AF Form 988 Leave Request Authorization
5
Air Force LeaveWeb. Login Page – LeaveWeb
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 886 – Art 86 Absence Without Leave