PS Form 3972, the Absence Analysis, is the U.S. Postal Service’s official annual record of every absence an employee takes during a leave year. Supervisors log each missed day on a calendar-year grid using standardized leave codes and hours, and the form travels with the employee’s attendance record for the rest of the year. The current edition was revised in January 2026 and is posted on the Postal Service’s internal PolicyNet site.1United States Postal Service. PS Form 3972 Revision: Leave Absence Analysis
Where To Get the Current Form
From a USPS workstation, go to blue.usps.gov, click “Essential Links” in the left column, then “PolicyNet.” On the right under “Published Forms and Directives,” select “Forms,” choose the 3000–3999 range, and scroll to Form 3972 to open the PDF. The direct address for PolicyNet is blue.usps.gov/cpim.1United States Postal Service. PS Form 3972 Revision: Leave Absence Analysis Military sites without eBuy2 access can order physical copies through the Touch Tone Order Entry system at 800-273-1509.2United States Postal Service. PS Form 3972 Revision: Leave Absence Analysis
Completing the Header
The top of the form identifies the employee: full name, eight-digit Employee Identification Number, installation name, and the specific leave year (2026 for the current edition).1United States Postal Service. PS Form 3972 Revision: Leave Absence Analysis Every entry on the grid below is attributed to whoever appears in the header, so a mismatch with payroll records can create problems if the form is later cited in a grievance or an attendance review. Check the header before you check the grid.
The Leave Codes
The body of the form is a grid covering every day of the leave year. For each absence, the supervisor writes a code and the number of hours. The codes printed on the form are:3National Association of Letter Carriers (Branch 38). PS Form 3972 – Absence Analysis
- AL — Annual leave (vacation and other planned time off)
- SL — Sick leave for the employee’s own illness or medical appointments
- SLDC — Sick leave for dependent care, capped at 80 hours per leave year4United States Postal Service. Employee and Labor Relations Manual – 513 Sick Leave
- LWOP — Leave without pay
- COP — Continuation of pay following a traumatic on-the-job injury
- ML — Military leave
- CL — Court leave (jury duty or court appearances in an official capacity)
- ADL — Administrative leave (management-authorized paid time off, such as office closures or voting)
- H — Holiday leave
- AWOL — Absent without leave
- EAL — Emergency annual leave
- SAL — Annual leave used in lieu of sick leave
- SWOP — LWOP used in lieu of sick leave
- L — Late reporting
There is no generic “other” category. Military, court, and administrative absences each get their own code so a pattern of unscheduled sick calls is not mixed in with time that has no bearing on workplace reliability.
The F and U Prefixes
Two prefix letters modify the base codes. When an absence qualifies as protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the supervisor adds an “F” ahead of the code, so FMLA-covered sick leave reads “F SL” rather than “SL.” Any absence recorded as unscheduled on PS Form 3971 carries a “U” prefix.3National Association of Letter Carriers (Branch 38). PS Form 3972 – Absence Analysis The distinction has real weight: unscheduled absences receive closer scrutiny and can eventually lead to corrective action, while FMLA-designated absences carry legal protections that limit the discipline management can impose. A missing “F” is one of the more consequential errors an employee should check for at signing.
How the 3972 Connects to PS Form 3971
Employees request or report an absence on PS Form 3971, Request for or Notification of Absence. Management then transfers that information onto the 3972 grid.5United States Postal Service. Employee and Labor Relations Manual – 510 Leave The 3971 is the transaction slip; the 3972 is the annual ledger. Because the ledger is built from approved and disapproved 3971s, any discrepancy between the two, or between the forms and the Time and Attendance Collection System, can surface during an audit or grievance.
What the 3972 Can Trigger: Restricted Sick Leave
ELM Section 513.391 allows a supervisor who sees evidence of sick leave abuse to place an employee on the restricted sick leave list, but only after a set sequence: establishing an absence file, higher-management review, examining the past quarter’s LWOP and sick leave, discussing the record with the employee, and reviewing the next quarter for improvement. If there is still no improvement, the employee can be placed on the list, in writing.4United States Postal Service. Employee and Labor Relations Manual – 513 Sick Leave
The practical effect of restriction is that medical documentation becomes mandatory for every sick leave request, no matter how short. For employees not on the restricted list, supervisors can accept a simple verbal or written explanation for absences of three consecutive days or less; documentation is only required when the absence exceeds three days.4United States Postal Service. Employee and Labor Relations Manual – 513 Sick Leave Supervisors review the 3972 each quarter afterward. If sick absences drop substantially, the employee is taken off the list, again with written notice.
How LWOP on the Form Reduces Your Leave Accrual
LWOP entries carry a cumulative cost. Once an employee accumulates 80 hours of LWOP in a leave year (the equivalent of one full pay period), the Postal Service reduces the employee’s annual and sick leave credits by the amount earned in one pay period. Every additional 80 hours triggers another reduction.6United States Postal Service. Employee and Labor Relations Manual – 514 Leave Without Pay The adjustment does not apply to LWOP taken for active military service or to absences approved by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs.
Employees who have used up their 80-hour annual allowance for dependent-care sick leave face a related choice: additional caregiving time must be charged to annual leave or LWOP, at the employee’s option.4United States Postal Service. Employee and Labor Relations Manual – 513 Sick Leave Choosing LWOP still counts toward the 80-hour threshold that reduces leave credits, so the cost compounds.
Signing and Checking Your Record
At the end of the leave year, or periodically depending on local practice, the employee and supervisor both sign the form to confirm the entries are accurate. Signing is the moment to flag problems: a sick day miscoded as AWOL, an FMLA absence missing the “F” prefix, hours that don’t match the approved 3971, or a scheduled absence marked with a “U.” Raising errors at signing is much easier than challenging them later in a disciplinary hearing, and because the 3972 can appear as evidence in grievance and arbitration proceedings (union stewards sometimes request both the grievant’s form and those of comparable employees to test whether discipline was applied consistently), the accuracy of each entry matters beyond the day it was logged.
To review your own 3972 outside the signing routine, ask your supervisor or local HR office; it is part of your attendance record, and employees generally can inspect it, particularly with a union steward involved in a representational role.