To file a DD Form 1351-2, complete the May 2011 version of the travel voucher with your identifying information, a full itinerary, itemized expenses, and supporting receipts, then submit it through the Defense Travel System (DTS) for temporary duty travel or through DFAS’s SmartVoucher tool for a permanent change of station. You have five working days after returning to your permanent duty station, or arriving at your new one, to get the voucher in.1Defense Travel Management Office. Department of Defense DTS Regulations Filing it correctly the first time is the single biggest factor in how fast you get paid. Recent Army PCS vouchers averaged about 7.8 business days from receipt to settlement, with roughly three more business days for the deposit to reach your bank.2Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Army Permanent Change of Station PCS Travel Vouchers
Pick the Right Submission Path
Which tool you use depends on the type of travel. TDY vouchers go through DTS, which handled the authorization and reservations and now pulls that data into the voucher for settlement. PCS vouchers usually go through SmartVoucher on the DFAS website, or as a paper DD 1351-2 if SmartVoucher isn’t available to you.3Defense Finance and Accounting Service. SmartVoucher DFAS reports SmartVoucher cuts PCS claim returns by up to 50 percent compared with manual completion, because it walks you through questions and generates the form for you.
If neither system fits your situation, you can submit by email or physical mail. DFAS maintains a page of the correct addresses for each service branch and claim type.4Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Where to Submit Your Claim DD Form 1351-2 For email, use the subject-line format your branch specifies and keep file sizes manageable so security filters don’t drop the package. For mail, keep a full copy before it goes in the envelope.
Completing the Form
Personal and Payment Information (Blocks 1–14)
The top of the form captures your name, grade, Social Security number, branch of service, and Electronic Fund Transfer information so Treasury can deposit funds to the right account.5Defense Finance and Accounting Service. DD Form 1351-2 Travel Voucher Instructions Confirm the routing and account numbers against what your bank has on file. A wrong number won’t reject the claim, but the deposit will go astray and chasing it through Treasury takes time.
Indicate in Block 5 how you want to be paid, and note in Block 9 whether you received any travel advances. Leaving Block 9 blank when you did receive an advance is one of the most common reasons DFAS returns vouchers.6Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Top Errors on Military PCS Travel Vouchers
The Itinerary in Block 15
Block 15 does most of the work. List every leg of your travel in chronological order with departure and arrival dates, locations, mode of transportation, and reason for each stop. Each location gets its own line. The dates must match your orders exactly; discrepancies here are one of the fastest ways to have a voucher kicked back.
If you took leave during the trip, annotate the leave dates and use the code “LV” in the reason-for-stop column. You can also record leave in Block 10d, or in the remarks section (Block 29) if 10d runs out of space. Skipping this can trigger an overpayment of per diem that DFAS later recoups from your pay.
Per Diem, Mileage, and Other Expenses
Reimbursable expenses have to follow the Joint Travel Regulations. Per diem covers meals and incidentals and varies by location; use the Defense Travel Management Office lookup for the rate at your duty location.7Defense Travel Management Office. Per Diem Government-provided quarters or meals reduce your per diem, and you’re required to disclose them on the voucher. Not disclosing can lead to recoupment and administrative penalties.
For a privately owned vehicle, TDY mileage in 2026 is $0.725 per mile for a car and $0.705 per mile for a motorcycle. PCS moves use the Monetary Allowance in Lieu of Transportation (MALT) rate, which is $0.205 per mile.8Defense Travel Management Office. Mileage Rates Mileage is calculated on the official distance between duty stations, not your odometer. Tolls, parking, and registration fees are itemized separately.
Government Travel Charge Card and Split Disbursement
If you used a Government Travel Charge Card on the trip, split disbursement is mandatory. Part of your reimbursement goes straight to the card vendor to pay the balance, and the rest deposits to your personal account.9Defense Travel Management Office. Government Travel Charge Card Regulations The split needs to cover every undisputed charge, including ATM withdrawals and any meals you charged.
In DTS, the system defaults hotel, rental car, and air or rail charges to the split amount automatically. On a manual DD 1351-2, write the split disbursement amount in the upper right section of the form. If you leave it blank, the certifying official pulls your outstanding balance from the vendor and splits that instead. Anything the split doesn’t cover is still your responsibility to pay directly.
What to Attach
Travel Orders
Every submission must include a complete copy of your orders with any amendments or endorsements. These orders are the legal authorization for the travel and identify the funding source. If any pages are missing, including the page bearing the official seal, DFAS stops processing until you send the complete document.
Receipts
You need a receipt for all lodging regardless of amount, and for every other authorized expense over $75.10eCFR. 41 CFR 301-11.25 – Must I Provide Receipts To Substantiate My Claimed Travel Expenses Credit card statements and bank printouts don’t count. A valid receipt is an itemized document from the vendor showing the total was paid. Pre-checkout hotel folios that only show an amount due are not acceptable.11Defense Travel Management Office. Avoid Improper DTS Payments by Checking Receipts Ask for a final checkout receipt showing a zero balance before you leave the hotel.
Lost Receipts
If a receipt is gone, you can still claim the expense with a Statement in Lieu of Actual Receipts. Certify that the receipts were lost, misplaced, or destroyed, list each expense with vendor name, amount, and description, certify that no hidden charges are included, then sign, date, and attach it in place of the missing receipt.12Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Statement in Lieu of Actual Receipts
The Five-Day Deadline and Travel Debt
You have five working days from your return, or arrival at the new duty station for a PCS, to submit the completed voucher. Your command can set a shorter deadline. The rule exists partly to prevent GTCC delinquencies, but it also matters if you took a travel advance. An unsettled advance becomes a travel debt.
Once a travel debt is established, you get a notification email and generally have 30 days to pay, set up a payroll deduction, or request a waiver. Miss that window and involuntary payroll deduction begins. For advances tied to a cancelled trip, the timeline is faster: 30 days for military members and 15 days for civilians before involuntary collection.13Defense Travel Management Office. Understanding a Travel Debt Cancelled-trip debts can’t be waived or appealed, so return that money right away.
Errors That Get Vouchers Returned
DFAS publishes the most common reasons PCS vouchers come back. Every return restarts the processing clock, which during peak summer PCS season can mean weeks of added delay. Check for these before you hit submit:6Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Top Errors on Military PCS Travel Vouchers
- Using anything other than the May 2011 version of the DD 1351-2. Older versions are rejected outright.14Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Travel Pay Information
- Missing or inaccurate entries in Blocks 1 through 14.
- Orders submitted without amendments, endorsements, or the sealed page.
- Gaps in Block 15 where stops or dates are incomplete.
- Missing signatures. The traveler signs and dates Block 20a-b; the reviewer or approving official signs Block 20c-d.
- Block 9 left blank when you actually received a travel advance.
Tracking Your Payment
After you submit, check status through the myPay portal. Select “Travel Voucher Advice of Payment” from the main menu. Once the claim is settled, the advice of payment shows the final calculated amount and any adjustments the auditor made.15Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Check Travel Voucher Status Keep this document. It’s your record for tax purposes, and if a claim is reduced the codes on it explain why. Those codes tell you whether the issue can be fixed with a supplemental claim or whether you need a formal appeal.
Processing times shift with volume. Other branches and TDY claims have their own timelines, and summer PCS season stretches everything. Check your branch-specific DFAS page for current averages.
If Your Claim Is Denied or Reduced
You have 30 days from the initial determination to appeal to the component that denied it. Explain why the determination was wrong and attach any supporting documents. You can request up to 30 more days if you show good cause.16Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals. Frequently Asked Questions Claims Division If the component sticks with its decision, it sends you an administrative report; you then have 30 days to submit a rebuttal, after which the case goes to the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals. DOHA reviews the written record and can affirm, modify, reverse, or remand. A reconsideration request within 30 days of DOHA’s decision goes to the Claims Appeals Board, whose ruling is the final DoD action.
A Note on Taxes and False Claims
PCS reimbursements for shipping household goods, storage, and travel including lodging are excludable from gross income for active-duty members; meal costs during a PCS move are not.17Internal Revenue Service. Topic No 455 Moving Expenses for Members of the Armed Forces and the Intelligence Community TDY per diem and travel reimbursements are generally not taxable, though any amount above your actual expenses or the applicable per diem rate can be treated as taxable income on your Leave and Earnings Statement.
Claim only what you spent and can document. Knowingly submitting a fraudulent voucher exposes you to court-martial under UCMJ Article 13218GovInfo. 10 USC 932 Art 132 Frauds Against the United States and civil penalties under the False Claims Act of at least $5,000 per claim plus treble damages.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 3729 False Claims Even honest overpayments get recouped from your pay.