DA Form 137-1, the Army’s Unit Clearance Record, is the form you complete before a PCS, ETS, retirement, or transfer to confirm you’ve settled debts, turned in property, and closed out pay items with your losing unit. Finishing it correctly matters for one concrete reason: if the clearance isn’t completed, DFAS releases only 55 percent of your final pay and holds the other 45 percent until any outstanding obligations are verified.1AskTOP.net. Unit Clearance Record DA Form 137-1 Work through the five sections in order, start early, and keep a signed copy when you’re done.
When You Use the Form
The form’s instructions list four triggering events: PCS to a new duty station, expiration of term of service, retirement, or transfer to another service or component.1AskTOP.net. Unit Clearance Record DA Form 137-1 Your unit S-1 usually issues it as part of the out-processing packet. Clearance can take weeks depending on how many offices need to sign, so most installations recommend starting 30 to 60 days before departure, and earlier for ETS or retirement. Waiting until the final week almost guarantees an office will be unavailable or an item will need extra time.
Section A: Personnel Data
The top of the form takes eight blocks of basic information: your name, rank, the orders number authorizing the move, your gaining unit, your losing unit, the orders date in YYYYMMDD format, the reason for clearing (PCS, ETS, retirement, or other), and your departure date.1AskTOP.net. Unit Clearance Record DA Form 137-1 Check the orders number and dates against the actual orders. If finance flags a mismatch here, the rest of the clearance stalls.
Section B: Debt Verifications
Section B accounts for anything that could affect your pay during the 60 days before the clearance forms were issued. That covers leave taken, TDY travel, hospitalization, field duty, lost time, AWOL, and any confinement.1AskTOP.net. Unit Clearance Record DA Form 137-1 The point is to surface money owed in either direction before your records transfer. Unfiled travel vouchers from a recent TDY and any open statement of charges belong here.
Section C: Adverse Actions
Section C captures disciplinary or administrative actions from the same 60-day window: UCMJ actions, courts-martial, administrative reductions in grade, and administrative discharge proceedings.1AskTOP.net. Unit Clearance Record DA Form 137-1 Your unit leadership fills this in, not you. Know what’s there anyway, because an open adverse action can hold up departure or change the terms of a separation.
Section D: Property and Pay Items
This is usually the slowest part. Block 11 covers property accountability and specific entitlements including COLA, BAS, statements of charges, cash collection vouchers, reports of survey, BAH, OHA, family separation allowance, imminent danger pay, and the combat pay program. Each item needs a source document date, dollar amount, and disposition entry.1AskTOP.net. Unit Clearance Record DA Form 137-1
Block 12 is a checklist of pay-related items to verify or close out. It runs long: incentive pay by type, special duty assignment pay, leave forms (DA Form 31), meal cards, line-of-duty investigations, evaluation reports, family care plans, pre-separation counseling (DD Form 2648), the DoD travel charge card, flag status, the weight control program, PROFIS duty positions, duty rosters, physical profiles, personnel registers, change-of-address forms, TRICARE dental enrollment, the Exceptional Family Member Program, and any enlistment or reenlistment bonuses.1AskTOP.net. Unit Clearance Record DA Form 137-1 Each item that applies to you needs to be cleared, annotated, or backed by supporting documentation before the verifying official signs.
Section E: Battalion and Unit Signatures
Blocks 13 through 16 collect sign-offs from the battalion S-1, the S-2/S-3, the S-4, and any other designated officials. Block 17 is remarks, often used for conditions or items tracked after departure. Block 18 is your own signature authenticating the form, and Block 19 is the commander’s or battalion S-1’s authenticating signature.1AskTOP.net. Unit Clearance Record DA Form 137-1
Getting these signatures often means walking the form from office to office. Some units run a paper clearing route; others handle portions electronically. Each office can refuse to sign until its area is clear. The S-4, for example, will not sign until every issued item is turned in or otherwise accounted for.
What Happens to Your Pay if Clearance Is Incomplete
If you’re transitioning from the Active Army and the clearance is not completed correctly, DFAS releases 55 percent of your final pay and holds the remaining 45 percent pending verification of any outstanding debts.1AskTOP.net. Unit Clearance Record DA Form 137-1 The same 45 percent gets withheld if the unit commander or battalion S-1 fails to complete their portion of the form. The money is eventually reconciled after DFAS finishes its review, but that can take months, and until then you’re living on roughly half of what you expected.
Items That Most Often Stall Clearance
A few things trip up soldiers more than anything else. Outstanding hand receipts for equipment issued months or years ago top the list. If the item is missing and you can’t produce a turn-in receipt, you’ll need a statement of charges or a report of survey before the S-4 will sign.
The DoD government travel charge card is another common snag. An outstanding balance gets flagged in Section D and holds the clearance until the balance is paid or a documented payment plan is in place. Overdue evaluation reports cause similar delays: if an NCOER or OER falls due near your departure, the rating chain has to complete it before the S-1 signs. Expired family care plans, or plans never updated after a change in family status, create the same problem. Pulling your records 60 to 90 days before you expect to start clearing leaves time to fix these without scrambling.
After the Form Is Signed
Once every section is signed and the commander or S-1 authenticates Block 19, the completed form goes into your out-processing file. A copy stays with the losing unit and a copy goes to finance to authorize release of your full final pay. For PCS moves, the record helps the gaining unit confirm you left with a clean slate. For separations and retirements, it feeds into the broader transition process alongside DD Form 214 preparation.
Keep a personal copy. If DFAS later questions a debt or withholds pay, your signed clearance record is the most direct evidence that accounts were settled before departure.