How to Fill Out and Submit AF Form 3902: Routing, Review, and Approval

AF Form 3902 is the Department of the Air Force’s application for off-duty employment, and every active-duty Airman, along with Air National Guard and Reserve members on active-duty orders, needs an approved copy on file before starting any civilian job, side gig, or business activity. Download the current version from the Air Force e-Publishing site at e-publishing.af.mil, complete Section I, and hand it to your first-level supervisor at least two weeks before your planned start date. Do not begin working until the commander’s signature is on the form.

Who Has to Submit One

Anyone in uniform who wants to earn money, or receive any benefit including free products, outside of official duties. That covers the obvious cases — a weekend job at a restaurant, a part-time retail shift — and it also covers self-employment, freelance work, gig apps like DoorDash or Uber, revenue-generating blogs or YouTube channels, social-media endorsements, and paid speaking.¹

No cash has to change hands. Accepting products or services in exchange for an endorsement counts as compensation and triggers the form. Fitness modeling, supplement promotion, and financial-product endorsements tied to your military service raise a second issue on top of that: the prohibition on using your military title or position for commercial purposes.¹

Filling Out Section I

Section I is the applicant portion and takes up most of the page. Work top to bottom.

Blocks 1–6: your full name, grade, Air Force Specialty Code, organization and office symbol, duty phone, and duty title. Copy these from your personnel records exactly.
Blocks 7a–7d: the prospective employer’s name, business address, whether the employer is a DoD contractor (yes, no, or don’t know), and a phone number. For self-employment or gig work, list yourself or the platform company and give whatever business address or contact number fits.
Block 8: your job title at the civilian position.
Block 9: off-duty periods of employment, meaning the days per week and hours per day you plan to work.
Block 10: a description of what you will actually do. Write it so a lawyer who has never heard of the company can spot potential conflicts.
Block 11: your normal military duty schedule, so reviewers can see how the two schedules overlap.

Block 7c is the field most likely to slow things down. If you mark “yes” or “don’t know,” the legal review will look harder at whether your military duties touch any contracts that employer holds.²

The Thirteen Certification Questions

Blocks 12 through 24 ask you to certify, by marking “will” or “will not,” whether the job triggers any of thirteen ethical or operational concerns. Checking “will” does not automatically kill your application, but it does require a written explanation on the back of the form.

Block 12: could the job discredit the Air Force, DoD, or U.S. Government.
Block 13: could it interfere with or be incompatible with your military duties.
Block 14: could it interfere with local civilian employment (enlisted only).
Block 15: will it require absences during normal duty hours.
Block 16: does it involve expense to the Air Force or use of government facilities, property, or manpower.
Block 17: could it endanger your safety or health.
Block 18: does it involve use of your military title or representation before a federal agency.
Block 19: is the employer currently in a strike.
Block 20: could the position be incompatible with your rank, position, or assignment.
Block 21: does it require acting as a sales agent soliciting military members junior in rank or grade.
Block 22: could it appear to involve a conflict of interest.
Block 23: does the employer do business, or try to do business, with any DoD agency.
Block 24: could the employment violate any federal, state, or local law, or any Air Force regulation.

Read each item before you check “will not.” Block 16 catches Airmen who plan to check scheduling apps on a government computer or take work calls on a duty phone. Block 21 catches insurance, financial-product, and multi-level-marketing sales aimed at people on base. When in doubt, check “will,” write an honest explanation, and let the legal office decide. That is a far better outcome than a false “will not” that surfaces later.²

Sign and date Block 25. Your signature confirms you understand the applicable provisions of the Joint Ethics Regulation.

Routing: Supervisor, Legal, Commander

After you sign, the form moves through three more reviewers, each with a section of the page.

Supervisor Recommendation, Section II

Your first-level supervisor interviews you, evaluates whether the extra workload will affect your duty performance, and marks either “Recommend Approval” (Block 26) or “Recommend Disapproval” (Block 27). A disapproval recommendation requires a written explanation. Approval at this stage does not authorize you to start; it only advances the form.²

Legal Review, Section III

The Staff Judge Advocate or a designated ethics counselor reviews the form for conflicts of interest and compliance with the Joint Ethics Regulation and federal ethics statutes. The reviewer focuses on Blocks 7c and 18–23: whether the employer is a DoD contractor, whether you would represent anyone before a federal agency, and whether any financial relationship conflicts with your official duties. Approval or disapproval goes in Blocks 29–30, with remarks in Block 31.³

Commander Decision, Section IV

The unit commander or a delegated authority makes the final call. They weigh the supervisor’s recommendation and the legal review, then mark “Approved” or “Disapproved” in Blocks 33–34. The commander can attach conditions, such as limiting your hours during exercises, deployments, or inspection periods. The signed form returns through administrative channels and a copy stays in unit records. Plan on roughly two to four weeks from the day you hand it to your supervisor, longer if the legal review is complicated.

Jobs That Won’t Be Approved

Some employment is off-limits regardless of what your commander thinks:

Foreign government employment. Active-duty members, ANG personnel, and Ready Reservists cannot work for a foreign government, its agencies, or educational and commercial institutions it owns or controls.⁴
Employers where you have a personal financial conflict. You cannot work for a company with a financial interest in a government matter you participate in “personally and substantially” as part of your official duties.⁴
Defense contractor advisory boards. DoD employees may not serve in an official capacity on an advisory board for a defense contractor.⁴
Compensation for general and flag officers serving on outside boards. Senior officers cannot receive compensation for serving as an officer or board member of a non-federal entity, with narrow exceptions for professional associations and closely held family businesses.⁴

If you file a financial disclosure report (OGE Form 278e or 450), you also need prior written approval before working for any “prohibited source,” meaning any person or organization that seeks official action by your agency, does business with it, is regulated by it, or has interests affected by your official duties.⁵

Keep the Side Job off Government Time and Equipment

The Joint Ethics Regulation prohibits using government property, duty hours, or subordinates for anything other than official duties. That covers using your office computer to run a side business, asking a coworker to help with your civilian scheduling, and making client calls from your duty phone.⁶ Limited personal use of government equipment may be authorized, but ask before you assume.

If your off-duty work touches politics, the Hatch Act and DoD Directive 1344.10 add restrictions on top of the 3902 process. Active-duty members cannot engage in partisan political activity while on duty, in uniform, in the workplace, or in a government vehicle, and cannot solicit political contributions or promote fundraising events at any time, including from anonymous accounts.⁷ Campaign work, political consulting, and lobbying will draw a closer legal look.

Terminal Leave and a Restriction Specific to Officers

Starting a civilian job during terminal leave does not excuse the form. For off-duty employment purposes, you remain active duty until your official separation date, and an approved 3902 must be on file the whole time.⁴

Commissioned officers face one restriction enlisted members do not. Officers are generally prohibited from representing individuals, companies, or non-federal organizations before any federal agency, and this rule applies even during terminal leave.⁴ If a civilian employer expects you to file permit applications, appear at regulatory hearings, or otherwise interact with federal agencies on their behalf, the legal office will likely disapprove the request until you are fully separated.

When to Submit a New Form

An approved 3902 does not last forever. Submit a new one when:

the type of employment or the employer changes;
your principal Air Force duties change; or
the number of regularly scheduled off-duty hours increases.

Occasional overtime or covering for an absent coworker does not require a new form. A previously denied request can be resubmitted after a change in your military duties or readiness requirements.⁸

Already working off duty when a new governing instruction takes effect and never got prior approval? You generally have 90 days from that effective date to get an approved form on file.⁸ That window is for transition, not a loophole.

What Happens if You Skip the Form

Working a civilian job without an approved 3902 violates a lawful general regulation. The usual response is nonjudicial punishment under Article 15 of the UCMJ. Depending on whether the imposing officer is company-grade or field-grade, an enlisted member can face up to 45 days of extra duty, 60 days of restriction, reduction in grade, or forfeiture of up to half of one month’s pay for two months.⁹

More serious cases, especially those involving a genuine conflict of interest or a false statement on the form, can be charged under Article 92 at a court-martial. The maximum punishment for failing to obey a lawful general order or regulation is a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and two years of confinement.¹⁰ That ceiling is rare for a paperwork failure, but outcomes widen quickly when dishonesty or a procurement-integrity issue is involved. File the form, wait for the signatures, and keep a copy.

1
Offutt Air Force Base. Ethics 101: Off Duty Employment
2
Ellsworth Air Force Base. Application and Approval for Off-Duty Employment
3
Altus Air Force Base. AF IMT 3902 – Application and Approval for Off-Duty Employment
4
Department of the Air Force. Off-Duty Employment
5
eCFR. 5 CFR Part 3601 – Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Department of Defense
6
Mountain Home Air Force Base. Pre- and Post-Employment Restrictions For Separating and Retiring Air Force Personnel
7
Offutt Air Force Base. The Hatch Act
8
Air Force – AF.mil. ACCI 51-500 – Off Duty Employment, Outside Employment and Business Activities
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 815 – Art 15 Commanding Officers Non-Judicial Punishment
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 892 – Art 92 Failure to Obey Order or Regulation