DD Form 1617, DoD Transportation Agreement: Signing, Submitting, Renewing

DD Form 1617 is the transportation agreement that Department of Defense civilian employees sign before transferring to or from a duty station outside the continental United States. When you sign it, you commit to a minimum tour of at least 12 months, and in exchange the government pays for your travel, your dependents’ travel, and the shipment of your household goods. The form itself states that a signed agreement “is necessary before a transfer can be authorized and expenses paid.”¹ A fillable copy is available from the Executive Services Directorate.²

Who Signs DD Form 1617

The form covers DoD civilian employees, not uniformed service members. Three categories of civilians use it: new appointees to an OCONUS position, current employees receiving a permanent change of station to an OCONUS location, and student trainees assigned overseas.¹ The statutory authority is 5 U.S.C. § 5722, which allows agencies to pay travel and transportation costs for civilians appointed outside the continental United States only when the employee agrees in writing to serve a prescribed period.³

If you are active duty, reserve, or National Guard, this is not your form. Military OCONUS moves use different paperwork.

Filling Out the Form Block by Block

Have your PCS orders in front of you before you start. The orders carry the duty station details, appointment dates, and authorization codes that Blocks 3 and 5 must match. A mismatch between the agreement and your orders will delay authorization of your travel allowances.

The form has 12 numbered blocks plus an agreement section beneath them.¹

Block 1, Name. Full legal name in Last, First, Middle Initial format.
Block 2, Type of Agreement. Check one of four options: Initial, Renewal with PCS, Renewal without PCS, or PCS Only. A first-time overseas transfer is Initial.
Block 3, Appointment Date. The effective date of your appointment or transfer, in YYYYMMDD format, matching your PCS orders.
Block 4, New Appointee or Student Trainee. Yes or No. Section 5722 treats new appointees and student trainees as a separate eligibility category, so this distinction matters.
Block 5, New Assigned Permanent Duty Station Location. City and country of your overseas assignment.
Block 6, Actual Residence When Appointed or Transferred. Your U.S. home address at the time of the transfer. This address becomes the default destination the government will pay you back to when the tour ends, so enter it carefully.
Block 7, Previous PDS Location. City, state, or country of the duty station you are leaving.
Block 8, Other Remarks. Leave this blank unless your personnel office instructs you otherwise; the space is reserved for agency officials.
Block 9, Employee Signature. Your signature accepting the agreement terms, including the repayment obligation if you leave early.
Block 10, Date Signed. The date you sign, in YYYYMMDD format.
Block 11, Civilian Personnel Officer or HR Officer Signature. A designated civilian personnel officer, human resources officer, or their designee signs here. This is the authorizing official, not a witness.
Block 12, Date Signed. The date the authorizing official signs.

Beneath the numbered blocks sits the agreement language itself. Read it before signing Block 9. It commits you to remain in government service for a prescribed minimum period beginning on the effective date of your transfer or appointment, and it spells out what you owe the government if you fail to complete the tour.¹

A note on what the form does not ask for: Social Security numbers, dependent names, household goods weight estimates, and Unit Identification Codes belong on other PCS documents, particularly DD Form 1614 and the household goods shipping paperwork. DD Form 1617 is the service agreement only.

What You Are Agreeing To

The bargain is direct. The government pays to move you and your family overseas, and you stay in government service for at least 12 months from the transfer date. Federal law makes this sequential: an agency can pay outbound travel only after the employee agrees in writing to serve the minimum period, and it can pay return travel only after the employee has actually served it.³

Twelve months is the statutory floor. Your agency can prescribe a longer tour, up to three years, at the agency head’s discretion, and the length written on the form should match what your orders prescribe.³ Teaching positions under Chapter 25 of Title 20, meaning DoDEA schools, are measured in one school year rather than 12 calendar months.

What Happens If You Leave Early

The consequences turn on how much of the tour you completed.

Departure or removal for cause before 12 months. You repay the government everything it spent on your move, including household goods storage and shipment, temporary quarters expenses, real estate and relocation costs, miscellaneous allowances, and any other transfer-related payments. You also cover your own return travel.¹
Departure or removal for cause after 12 months but before the full prescribed tour ends. You keep the outbound moving expenses, but you pay to return yourself and your dependents to your actual residence.¹

Repayment is due upon demand, and the agency can withhold your final pay to recover the debt.¹

Repayment can be waived when you cannot complete the tour for reasons beyond your control that are acceptable to your agency. Both 5 U.S.C. § 5722 and the form carry this exception.³ The form points to the Joint Travel Regulations for the list of acceptable reasons, which commonly include medical conditions preventing overseas service, reductions in force, and agency-directed reassignments.¹ Your agency decides whether a given reason qualifies.

How to Submit the Signed Form

Submission routes vary by component. Air Force civilian hires complete the agreement through the USA Staffing New Hire portal during onboarding, together with the New Hire Questionnaire and the PCS-1 Worksheet; a technician is then assigned to process the order. Other DoD components route the form through their own civilian personnel offices or HR systems.

However the form is submitted, Block 11 must be signed by your designated civilian personnel officer or HR officer before the agreement takes effect. On paper, deliver the form directly to your civilian personnel office so the authorizing official can review and sign. Keep a copy for yourself; you will want it if any question arises later about your tour dates or allowances.

A signed DD Form 1617 is a prerequisite for your travel and transportation allowances. Your agency cannot authorize PCS expenses until the form is executed and on file. If your household goods shipment or travel booking seems stalled, check first whether your signed agreement has actually been processed.

Renewing the Agreement for a Second Tour

If you finish your overseas tour and agree to another one at the same OCONUS location, you sign a fresh DD Form 1617 and select Renewal with PCS or Renewal without PCS in Block 2 rather than Initial.¹ A renewal makes you eligible for renewal agreement travel, a government-paid round trip between tours to your actual residence in the United States for you and your eligible dependents. Dependents can travel separately, but their travel must be completed within six months of your start date for the new tour, and you must perform the renewal travel yourself for their travel to be reimbursable.⁴ Signing the renewal restarts the clock: another 12-month minimum, another full tour obligation.

1
Department of Defense. DD Form 1617 – Department of Defense (DoD) Transportation Agreement: Transfer of Civilian Employees Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS)
2
Executive Services Directorate. DD Form 1617
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 5722 – Travel and Transportation Expenses of New Appointees; Posts of Duty Outside the Continental United States
4
Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Renewal Agreement Travel