How to Fill Out and Submit DA Form 5960: BAH Filing and Recertification

DA Form 5960 is the Army’s authorization and dependency declaration for Basic Allowance for Housing. You file it to start, stop, change, correct, cancel, recertify, or report BAH, and you submit it with certified supporting documents to your unit S-1 or the local finance office. The current version is dated January 2022 and is available from the Army Publishing Directorate at armypubs.army.mil.1Army Publishing Directorate. Army Publishing Directorate

When to File

Any change to your dependency status or housing situation triggers a new form. The most common triggers are marriage, the birth or adoption of a child, divorce, or the loss of a dependent through death or legal separation. Marriage or adding a child shifts you from the without-dependent rate to the with-dependent rate; divorce or losing a dependent moves you back down.2The United States Army. Army to Implement 60-Day Window for Soldiers to Provide Supporting Documents for BAH Rates Under 37 U.S.C. ยง 403, you cannot receive BAH at the with-dependent rate without certifying the status of each dependent.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 37 USC 403 – Basic Allowance for Housing

A Permanent Change of Station also requires a new filing, because BAH is calculated from the zip code of your duty station. Moving out of the barracks into off-post housing is another trigger. If you are a single soldier in grades E-1 through E-5 living in barracks, you generally are not drawing BAH, so once the garrison commander issues a Certificate of Non-Availability, you file a 5960 to start the allowance. Deployment or extended field duty can also change your housing status temporarily.

How to Complete the Form

The form is split into two sections and a certification block. A missing entry or a mismatched date is the most common reason a form gets kicked back, so work through each block deliberately.

Section I: Identification and Action

The top of the form identifies you and tells finance what action you want:

  • Block 1, Name: last, first, middle initial, matching your military records exactly.
  • Block 2, Type of Action: check one of Start, Stop, Change, Correct, Cancel, Recertification, or Report. Start is for initial enrollment, Change covers any update to your rate or dependency status, and Recertification is for the annual renewal.
  • Block 3, From/To: the effective date in YYYYMMDD format. For a marriage, use the date of marriage; for a PCS, the date you report to the new station.
  • Block 4, Grade and SSN.
  • Block 5, Duty Location: installation, city, state, and zip. The zip drives the rate, so double-check it.
  • Block 6, Current Address: the full address of the residence where you live or will live.

Section II: Marital/Dependency Status and Housing

This section establishes the dependency status and living arrangement that together set your rate. AR 637-1 defines a dependent as your legal spouse, your minor children, or your unmarried children under age 23 who are enrolled in college and whom you support.4Department of the Army. Army Regulation 637-1 – Army Compensation and Entitlements Policy BAH distinguishes only between with-dependents and without-dependents; three children do not pay more than one.

  • Block 7, Marital/Dependency Status: Single, Married, Divorced, or Legally Separated.
  • Block 8, Dependents: list each by name, relationship, and date of birth, with SSN and duty station for spouses or former spouses where applicable. Note anyone who has custody of your children.
  • Block 9, Quarters Assignment: Adequate, Inadequate, or Not Available. Off-post soldiers typically select Not Available.
  • Block 10, Address and Lease Info: landlord name and address, your residential address, monthly rent or mortgage (principal, interest, taxes, insurance), lease effective and expiration dates, and the number of sharers if you split housing.
  • Block 11, Member Election: whether BAH is based on your duty station, your dependent’s location, or both. This matters when your family lives away from your duty station.
  • Block 12, Commander Determination: left blank for your commander.

Certification and Signatures

At the bottom, you sign and date the form, certifying that the information is correct and that you will notify finance immediately of any change that could affect your entitlement, including divorce, marriage, death, or a move into government quarters. A certifying officer, typically your company commander or the first commissioned officer in your chain, also signs. Both signatures are required before finance will process the form.

Supporting Documents

The form alone is not enough. Every dependency claim needs certified documentation, and missing paperwork is where most delays happen.

Documents in a foreign language need certified English translations, and every document should be an official certified copy; photocopies of originals are generally not accepted. Once your S-1 processes the form, they must upload the supporting documents to the Interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS). Since 2013, the Army has required BAH supporting documentation to be on file in iPERMS, and soldiers whose records are missing face pay reductions.6DVIDS. Lack of BAH Supporting Documents Affects Soldiers Pay

Where to Submit

Bring the completed form and all supporting documents to your unit S-1 or the local finance office. The S-1 reviews the package, uploads the documents to iPERMS, and forwards everything to DFAS for pay action.6DVIDS. Lack of BAH Supporting Documents Affects Soldiers Pay One important distinction: to start, stop, or change your rate, the local finance office must process it. IPPS-A can handle BAH recertifications digitally through MilPay Action Requests, but that tool is limited to recertifying existing entitlements and cannot process rate changes.7Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army. IPPS-A Update – BAH Recertification, Switchover/Switchback Exercise, TM SUBCATs, Revocation/Promotion PARs, Absence Attachments, Clearance Data, PayPer Mismatch Report and Resources

When you submit a recertification through IPPS-A, the system generates the 5960 digitally and routes it to your company-level commander for certification, then sends the approved document to iPERMS.8IPPS-A. 2nd Anniversary, Submit PCS Event, BAH Recertification If the recertification turns up a change in your BAH, such as a dependency status shift since last year, the HR professional must print and forward the form to finance for manual processing.

Annual Recertification

Every year, you submit a new DA Form 5960 confirming your dependency status has not changed, and your S-1 scans it into iPERMS. Soldiers who fail to recertify risk having BAH reduced to the without-dependent rate or stopped entirely.6DVIDS. Lack of BAH Supporting Documents Affects Soldiers Pay Deployed soldiers have 60 days after any post-deployment leave to comply. IPPS-A now sends email reminders as the deadline approaches.7Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army. IPPS-A Update – BAH Recertification, Switchover/Switchback Exercise, TM SUBCATs, Revocation/Promotion PARs, Absence Attachments, Clearance Data, PayPer Mismatch Report and Resources

Checking Your LES After Submission

Once the form is processed, the change should appear on your Leave and Earnings Statement within one to two pay cycles. Look at the Entitlements section for the BAH line item; it will show the monthly amount and whether it reflects the with-dependent or without-dependent rate. If the correct amount is not showing after two full pay periods, follow up with your finance clerk. The usual causes are a missing commander signature, outdated or uncertified supporting documents, or a mismatch between the effective date on the form and the date in the system. Catch discrepancies early. Overpayments get collected from future paychecks, and underpayments that go unreported can be difficult to recover once months have passed.

Special Situations That Change What You File

Dual-Military Couples

When both spouses are active duty with no children, each receives BAH at the without-dependent rate for their own duty station. If the couple has one or more children, they choose which spouse claims the with-dependent rate while the other keeps the without-dependent rate. If they cannot agree, the senior-ranking member gets the with-dependent rate.4Department of the Army. Army Regulation 637-1 – Army Compensation and Entitlements Policy A dual-military couple living together in government housing receives no BAH at all, even with a dependent child.

BAH-Diff for Soldiers Paying Child Support

If you live in government quarters or shipboard housing and pay court-ordered child support, you may qualify for the BAH Differential instead of full BAH. BAH-Diff equals the difference between the old with-dependent and without-dependent Basic Allowance for Quarters rates, adjusted annually for pay raises.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 37 USC 403 – Basic Allowance for Housing You are not entitled to BAH-Diff for any month in which your child support payment is less than the BAH-Diff rate. Attach the court order showing the child support amount when you file.

Secondary Dependents

A parent or parent-in-law can qualify as a dependent for BAH, but only if you provide more than half of that person’s total living expenses. Their own income does not count against them unless they actually spend it on their own support.9Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Secondary Dependency – General Information Claiming a secondary dependent requires a separate application through DFAS on DD Form 137, along with either a copy of your tax return showing the person as a dependent or a completed Worksheet for Determining Financial Support. Secondary dependency claims require annual redetermination; if you let it lapse, DFAS suspends the benefit with no back pay for the gap.

Penalties for False Statements

The form itself carries a warning: making a false statement or claim against the U.S. government is punishable by court-martial, with a maximum fine of $10,000, up to five years of imprisonment, or both.10US Army Fort Belvoir. DA Form 5960 – Authorization to START, STOP, or CHANGE Basic Allowance for Quarters Under UCMJ Article 107, anyone subject to military law who signs a false official document or makes a false official statement knowing it to be false faces punishment as a court-martial may direct.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 907 – Art 107 False Official Statements; False Swearing A soldier who falsely claims a dependent to collect the higher rate could face both a false official statement charge and a larceny charge for the money wrongfully received. Beyond criminal penalties, the Army recoups every dollar of overpayment, and a conviction can result in a dishonorable discharge that disqualifies you from most veteran benefits.