Permanent Change of Station Handbook
A Handbook on Travel and Transportation Benefits for Relocating Employees
7.0 Traveling to Your New Official Station
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Permanent Change of Station Handbook A Handbook on Travel and Transportation Benefits for Relocating Employees 7.0 Traveling to Your New Official Station |
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As defined in section 1.1 - Determining Your Entitlements, the entitlements of this section apply to all transfer types. |
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This section will help you determine answers to the following questions: ü What form of transportation will you use to travel to your new official station? ü How much will you be reimbursed for lodging, meals, and incidentals while traveling to your new official station by privately owned vehicle? |
7.1 Performing Travel to Your New Official Station
7.1.1 Travel by Common Carrier
7.1.2 Travel by Privately Owned Vehicle
7.3 Additional Guidance for Moves Outside the Continental United States
You are eligible for reimbursement of certain expenses associated with your transportation, lodging, meals and incidental expenses while traveling to your new official station. Additionally, you may be eligible for reimbursement of certain expenses associated with your immediate family's transportation, lodging, meals and incidental expenses while traveling to your new official station based on the entitlements outlined in section 1.1 -Determining Your Entitlements.
7.1 Performing Travel to Your New Official Station
You and your immediate family members may travel to your new official station by privately owned vehicle or common carrier, as authorized by the Service. In deciding how to travel to your new official station, be aware that you are not entitled to the shipment of a privately owned vehicle. Shipment of a privately owned vehicle must be authorized separately by your new supervisor. For more information reference section 6.0 - Transporting Your Privately Owned Vehicle.
7.1.1 Travel by Common Carrier
If you would like to travel to your new official station by common carrier (e.g., commercial airline service, train), you must list the request on your Employee Relocation Allowance Data Sheet (Form 3-139), notify your Regional PCS Coordinator, and obtain approval. The authorization to travel by common carrier must be documented on your Travel Authorization. Once you receive approval to travel by common carrier, you must make coach-class accommodations and purchase your ticket using your FWS government charge card. If your immediate family is also traveling by common carrier, you must provide your Regional PCS Coordinator with the details of your travel arrangements. Your Regional PCS Coordinator will purchase your family's tickets on your new Region's corporate bankcard.
| Hint: When selecting which form of transportation to use for traveling to your new official station, you should consider the implications on your daily commute to and from work. The Service may not authorize the use of a Government owned vehicle or reimburse you for incurred commuting costs, while you wait for your privately owned vehicle to arrive at your new official station. |
7.1.2 Travel by Privately Owned Vehicle
If you travel to your new official station using your privately owned vehicle, you will be reimbursed for mileage at a rate of 19¢ per mile.
If you and your immediate family wish to travel to your new official station using more than one privately owned vehicle, you must obtain approval from your new supervisor. The authorization to travel using more than one privately owned vehicle must be documented on your Travel Authorization. The following criteria will be applied in deciding whether to permit you to use an additional vehicle to travel to your new official station:
Your vehicle cannot reasonably accommodate you, your immediate family, and luggage.
Special accommodations are necessary to transport a member of your immediate family due to age or a physical condition.
You must report to your new official station prior to your family, who has delayed their travel for acceptable reasons (e.g., completion of school term, sale of property, settlement of personal business affairs).
Your immediate family must travel to your new official station prior to you for acceptable reasons (e.g., enrollment of children in school at the beginning of the term).
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Example: John, his wife Jane, and their two children drive to John's new official station. The distance between John's old and new stations is 350 miles. To determine the amount he will be reimbursed for mileage, John performs the following calculation: ð 19¢ × 350 miles = $66.50 |
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As defined in section 1.1 - Determining Your Entitlements of this handbook, the entitlements of this section do not apply to the following transfer types:
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You and your immediate family may be eligible to receive per diem allowances during your travel to your new official station to cover any lodging, meals and incidental expenses. In order to be eligible, you and your immediate family's travel to your new official station must meet the following two conditions:
1. Total travel time exceeds 12 hours.
2. Average travel distance is 350 miles per day.
Note: You may choose to interrupt your travel for weekends and/or holidays. However, you and your family members will not receive per diem allowances for the additional travel days. On regular business days, you may only interrupt your travel with prior authorization from your new supervisor.
If your total travel time is less than 12 hours, you and your family members will not receive any per diem allowances. If you do not meet the average daily driving distance requirement (350 miles), you will not receive per diem allowances for the excess travel time.
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Hint: The Service uses MapQuest® (www.mapquest.com) to determine distances and estimate travel time. |
On your first day of travel to your new official station, you must travel at least 50 miles, in order to be eligible for per diem allowances.
To determine the maximum number of days you are authorized for traveling by privately owned vehicle to your new official station, divide the distance between your old and new official station by the 350 mile daily driving average. To determine the number of nights' lodging you are authorized, round to the closest whole number (i.e., round down to next whole number for .4 or less, and round up to next whole number for .5 or more).
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Example: John is driving to his new official station that is located 1050 miles from his old official station. John performs his travel as follows: Day 1: 250 miles Day 2: 450 miles Day 3: 350 miles To determine the average number of miles traveled per day, John performs the following calculation: ð 250 miles + 450 miles + 350 miles = 1050 miles à 1050 miles / 3 days = 350 miles per day John is therefore in compliance with the Service's policy and will receive per diem allowances for each travel day because he traveled an average of 350 miles per day. |
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Example: Jane is driving to her new official station that is located 1750 miles from her old official station. She performs the following calculation to determine the number of days she is permitted to travel: ð 1750 miles / 350 miles = 5 days Jane plans her trip itinerary as follows: Day 1: 250 miles Day 2: 400 miles Day 3 (holiday): 50 miles Day 4: 400 miles Day 5: 550 miles Day 6: 150 miles Since Jane decides not to travel the required driving distance during the holiday, she has taken 1 day longer for her travel than she should have. She will therefore not receive per diem for the extra (sixth) day of travel. |
You will not be reimbursed for expenses incurred due to excess driving time that cannot be appropriately justified. Appropriate reasons for not meeting the daily minimum driving average include the following causes of delay:
Unsafe weather conditions (e.g., icy roads, hurricane).
Transportation of a family member with a physical handicap, who requires frequent stops.
Authorized stops to perform official duties, as documented on your Travel Authorization.
Reasons that do not justify an extension include the following situations:
Your privately owned vehicle breaks down.
You or a member of your family becomes ill[1].
[1] If you or a member of your family becomes ill, you should contact your new supervisor and take sick leave.
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Example: John is transferring from his office in Manteo, North Carolina to a new official station in Maybell, Colorado. John visits MapQuest® (www.mapquest.com) and determines the driving distance between his old and new official stations is 2,086 miles. To determine the number of days for which he is eligible for per diem, John divides his traveling distance, by the required average daily driving distance as follows: ð 2,086 miles (traveling distance) / 350 miles (average daily driving requirement) = 5.96 days. John rounds 5.96 to the next closest whole number, which is 6, to determine the number of nights lodging to which he is entitled. |
You and your immediate family's lodging, meals and incidental expenses are reimbursed based on the standard CONUS rate using the formulas in the table below. Your first and last days of travel are reimbursed at three-fourths of the amount for M&IE calculated using the formulas in Table 8.
Table 8 - Reimbursement rates for lodging and M&IE during travel to the new official station
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Traveler |
Maximum Lodging per day |
M&IE per day |
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Employee or unaccompanied spouse |
Standard CONUS lodging rate |
Standard CONUS M&IE Rate |
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Accompanied spouse |
.75 × standard CONUS lodging rate |
.75 × standard CONUS M&IE rate |
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Children age 12 and over |
.75 × standard CONUS lodging rate |
.75 × standard CONUS M&IE rate |
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Children under age 12 |
.5 × standard CONUS lodging rate |
.5 × standard CONUS M&IE rate |
The standard CONUS rate is established by GSA annually and independent of the location in which you secure lodging. The current standard CONUS rate can be found on the GSA website (www.GSA.gov/perdiem).
You must claim your expenses using a Travel Voucher (SF-1012) and include all lodging receipts.
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Example: John, Jane, and their two children (ages 10 and 14) are traveling to Jane's new duty station that is located 1,050 miles from her current station. The family determines they are entitled to three travel days (1,050 miles/350 miles = 3 ð i.e., 3 nights lodging) and will complete their travel using one car. The family's mileage reimbursement is calculated as follows: ð 1,050 miles × 19¢ = $199.50 Jane visits the GSA website and determines that the current standard CONUS lodging rate is $70 and the standard CONUS M&IE rate is $39. The family's maximum reimbursement for the first and last day of travel (days 1 and 3) is calculated as follows: ð Jane's first and last day of M&IE are reimbursed at .75 × $39 = $29.25 ð John's first and last day of M&IE are reimbursed at .75 × .75 × $39 = $21.94 ð Child's first and last day of per diem (age 14) are reimbursed at: .75 × .75 × $39 = $21.94 ð Child's first and last day of per diem (age 10) are reimbursed: .75 × .5 × $39 = $14.63 The family's maximum reimbursement for a full day of M&IE is calculated as follows: ð Jane's M&IE per diem = $39 ð John's M&IE per diem = .75 × $39 = $29.25 ð Child's M&IE per diem (age 14) is = .75 × $39 = $29.25 ð Child's M&IE per diem (age 10) is = .5 × $39 = $19.50 The family's maximum reimbursement for a night's lodging is calculated as follows: ð Jane's lodging per diem = $70 ð John's lodging per diem = .75 × $70 = $52.50 ð Child's lodging per diem (age 14) is = .75 × $70 = $52.50 ð Child's lodging per diem (age 10) is = .5 × $70 = $35 à Maximum reimbursement for lodging per night = $210 The family's total maximum reimbursement for their three days of travel is as follows: ð Mileage = $199.50 ð 1st day of travel = $29.25 + 2 × $21.94 + $14.63 + $210 = $297.76 ð 2nd day of travel = $39 + 2 × $29.25 + $19.50 + $210 = $327 ð 3rd day of travel = $39 + 2 × $29.25 + $19.50 + $210 = $327 ð 4th day of travel = $29.25 + 2 × $21.94 + $14.63 = $87.76 à Maximum total = $199.50 + $297.76 + $327 + $327 + $87.76 = $1,239.02 |
7.3 Additional Guidance for Moves Outside the Continental United States
If you and your immediate family are moving to an official station OCONUS or returning to a CONUS official station from an official station OCONUS, you are entitled to reimbursement based on the standard CONUS rate, as indicated in Table 8 while traveling through the continental United States. Once you and your family begin travel outside the continental United States (e.g., Hawaii, Canada, Alaska), you are entitled to reimbursement based on the applicable locality rate instead of the standard CONUS rate indicated in Table 8.
If you and your immediate family are moving between two official stations OCONUS, you are entitled to reimbursement based on the applicable locality rate instead of the standard CONUS rate indicated in Table 8.
The locality rate is determined by the location of your new official station. Current locality rates can be found on the GSA website (www.GSA.gov/perdiem).