DoD Foreign Clearance Guide (FCG): Access, APACS, and Requirements

The DoD Foreign Clearance Guide is the country-by-country reference that every service member, DoD civilian, and contractor must check before traveling internationally on official business. Each country entry lists the clearances, training, medical steps, passport rules, and host-nation restrictions that apply to that destination, and you access it through your APACS account. The Air Force maintains the guide as the DoD Executive Agent for the Foreign Clearance Program under DoD Directive 4500.54E.¹

Check the entry for your destination before you start any travel arrangements, even if you were in the same country recently. Country entries change with threat assessments and diplomatic conditions, and a requirement that was current six months ago may not be current now.

How to Access the FCG

The unclassified FCG sits on NIPRNet and is reached through your Aircraft and Personnel Automated Clearance System (APACS) account.² DoD users can reach it through .mil and .gov networks, and non-DoD users with an authorized APACS account can reach it over the internet. A classified version lives on SIPRNet. If your itinerary or request contains classified information, you must use SIPRNet; entering classified data on the NIPRNet site is prohibited.³

DoD personnel who fall under Chief of Mission authority rather than a combatant commander use the Department of State’s eCountry Clearance (eCC) system instead of APACS.⁴

The Three Clearances the FCG Drives

A trip can require up to three separate clearances. The FCG country entry tells you which apply, and APACS routes each one to the correct approver.

Country clearance is permission for official U.S. government travel into a foreign country, granted through the U.S. diplomatic mission there.¹
Theater clearance is permission for official travel within a geographic combatant command’s area of responsibility, granted by the theater commander or a delegated authority.¹
Special area clearance is an added clearance for certain destinations or operational areas. Not every trip needs it; the country entry will say when it applies.³

APACS sends country clearance requests to U.S. embassies, theater clearance requests to combatant commands, and special area clearance requests to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. You can track each clearance status separately inside your submitted request.³

What the Country Entry Will Require

Every FCG country page lists the prerequisites you need in place before your request can be approved. The exact combination varies by destination, role, and combatant command, but several requirements show up on nearly every trip.

Antiterrorism and SERE Training

Level I Antiterrorism Awareness Training is mandatory for all DoD military and civilian personnel and must be current at the time of travel. It is prescribed by DoDI 2000.16 and taken through Joint Knowledge Online as a roughly two-hour module, renewed annually.⁵⁶ Contractors may also be required to complete it depending on their contract.

SERE 100.2 (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) is required for all U.S. citizens traveling to any combatant command AOR. Renewal periods differ by command: CENTCOM and AFRICOM require renewal every 24 months, and EUCOM, PACOM, and SOUTHCOM allow 36 months.⁷ A certificate that is still valid for one region can be expired for another, so check before you assume you’re covered.

ISOPREP and Medical Requirements

The Isolated Personnel Report (ISOPREP) is required for all personnel, U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, traveling to any combatant command AOR. The one exception is foreign nationals traveling to PACOM. ISOPREP validity runs from six months to one year depending on the destination.⁷

The country entry also specifies vaccinations and health screenings.² Look at this early. Some vaccinations need multiple doses spread over weeks, and a scheduling slip there will drag your whole timeline.

Official or Diplomatic Passport

Official travel requires a Special Issuance passport rather than your personal tourist passport. Official passports cover government employees and eligible family members traveling for official duties, and diplomatic passports are reserved for personnel serving under Chief of Mission authority or holding diplomatic status.⁸ Military personnel entering a Status of Forces Agreement country can sometimes enter on a military ID and travel orders; the country entry will tell you whether a passport is also needed. If your Special Issuance passport has less than six months of validity remaining, the State Department will destroy it rather than return it, so check the expiration well before you plan to travel.⁹

Submitting the Request in APACS

Clearance requests go through APACS. The personnel request form captures your identifying details, the purpose and justification for the trip, your full itinerary including transit points, exact arrival and departure dates, funding information, and your sponsoring organization. Mandatory fields have to be complete before the system will accept the submission.³

Verify every item on the country entry’s prerequisite list before you submit. A request that reaches approvers while your training is lapsed will be bounced back, and you may not have the time to rework it.³

DoD policy also requires using the Government Travel Charge Card for official travel expenses unless an exemption applies, such as travel to a country whose financial or communications infrastructure does not support card use. Your travel authorization must include notification of the GTCC requirement.¹⁰

Lead Time

Most personnel requests require a 30-day lead time before travel. Approvals typically come one to four weeks after submission, but the window depends on the destination and the number of approval levels the request has to pass. Some combatant commands set stricter lead times, so use the country entry rather than assuming 30 days is enough everywhere.³

If your departure falls within 30 to 45 days and you don’t have final details, submit with estimates and update the request later. Submissions inside the 30-day window require a written explanation for the late request, and required approval levels rise with the Force Protection Condition at the destination.³¹¹

Once clearances are granted, follow the approved itinerary. Any change to your cleared dates, locations, or transit points requires a modification submitted back through APACS.³

Personal Leave and Unofficial Foreign Travel

Personal travel doesn’t take you outside the FCG. The guide contains country-specific entries for leave travel, and certain destinations require a country clearance request even on personal leave.²

Separately, anyone with a security clearance must report all foreign travel to their security manager. Security Executive Agent Directive 3 requires covered individuals to submit an itinerary for unofficial foreign travel and get approval before departing, report deviations within five business days of return, and report even unplanned day trips to Canada or Mexico. Travel to Puerto Rico, Guam, and other U.S. territories is not considered foreign travel under SEAD 3.¹²

Contractors

Contractors traveling internationally have the same FCG clearance requirements as military and civilian personnel, plus a few added obligations. Contractors Authorized to Accompany the Force must be registered in the Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker (SPOT-ES) and carry a SPOT-ES–generated Letter of Authorization describing the government support they can receive. Reception at the operational area verifies both. Show up without them and you don’t get in.¹³

On the money side, the Defense Contract Audit Agency audits contractor travel for compliance with Federal Acquisition Regulation cost principles. Expenses that lack proper documentation or a documented official necessity are disallowed, and lodging and meal costs are capped at government per diem rates.¹⁴

What Happens If You Don’t Comply

For military personnel, traveling without required clearances or violating FCG requirements falls under Article 92 of the UCMJ, failure to obey a lawful order or regulation, which carries punishment as a court-martial may direct. In practice, outcomes run from administrative counseling to nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, depending on severity and pattern.¹⁵

DoD civilians face administrative actions including reprimand, suspension, or removal. Anyone with a security clearance who fails to meet SEAD 3 reporting requirements, including unreported foreign travel, can receive an unfavorable security determination, which effectively ends the ability to hold most DoD roles.¹²

For contractors, travel costs that aren’t properly documented or don’t comply with government travel regulations are disallowed during DCAA audits, so the contractor absorbs them.¹⁴ A contractor without a valid LOA or SPOT-ES registration can be denied theater admission outright, which leaves the mission unsupported and the company in breach of performance obligations.

1
Department of Defense. DoDD 4500.54E – DoD Foreign Clearance Program
2
Defense Travel Management Office. DoD Guidance on Foreign Travel
3
APACS and DoD FCG FAQs. APACS and DoD FCG FAQs
4
Department of State. eCountry Clearance Help System Content
5
The United States Army. Understanding Who Needs to Take Level I Antiterrorism Awareness Training
6
JKO. Level I Antiterrorism Awareness Training
7
NPS.edu. DoD Foreign Clearance Guide Official Travel Requirements – Traveler Page
8
Department of State. Steps to Apply for a Special Issuance Passport
9
Department of State. After You Get Your Special Issuance Passport
10
Defense Travel Management Office. Government Travel Charge Card Regulations
11
Africa Command. APACS How to Guide
12
Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Security Executive Agent Directive 3 – Reporting Requirements
13
Department of Defense. DoDI 3020.41 – Operational Contract Support Outside the United States
14
Defense Contract Audit Agency. Chapter 72 – Travel Costs
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 892 Art 92 – Failure to Obey Order or Regulation