Terminal Leave and Permissive TDY: Rules and Sequencing

• Submit your Army terminal-leave and transition-absence request about 60–90 days before the intended start date, using DA Form 31 or the local IPPS-A process.
• Eligible Army transition absences generally cannot exceed 20 days for CONUS cases or 30 days for qualifying OCONUS cases.
• Permissive TDY must occur before terminal leave, and civilian employment cannot begin until the first terminal-leave day.
• Leave sell-back normally has a 60-day career cap and pays basic pay only under the monthly basic pay ÷ 30 × days formula.
• Retirees must enroll in a retiree TRICARE plan within 90 days and should obtain a new USID card no later than 30 days after retirement.

Terminal leave keeps you on active duty until separation

Terminal leave is ordinary, chargeable leave taken immediately before retirement or separation. You stop reporting for normal duty, but you remain an active-duty service member until the date printed on your retirement or separation orders.

Your pay does not stop when terminal leave begins. You continue receiving otherwise authorized basic pay and allowances through your official separation date. Terminal leave ends at 2400 on that date. It does not move the date forward. The DoD military pay regulation governs pay while you are on authorized ordinary leave.

For Army personnel, the unit commander or a designated approval authority approves terminal leave. Approval is not automatic. Your projected leave balance determines how many days you can request; operational requirements and your command determine how many days you receive. There is no separate Army-wide terminal-leave cap beyond the leave you will have accrued by separation.

Before departing, you generally must:

1. Complete operational requirements and unit tasks.
2. Finish TAP and required transition processing.
3. Clear your unit and installation.
4. Complete final out with Personnel and Finance.
5. Possess retirement, separation, or release orders.
6. Obtain an approved absence request.

AR 600-8-10 identifies DA Form 31 and the terminal-leave selection. Installations may instead process leave through an IPPS-A Absence Request. Ask your S-1 or Transition Center which workflow controls locally. An outdated form can stall an otherwise valid plan.

Submit the complete request 60–90 days before your intended departure as an Army planning benchmark. That is not a universal approval deadline, so your installation may require a different timeline. Put terminal leave into your 18-month military separation checklist early enough to resolve clearing, orders, household-goods, and finance problems before your requested departure date.

Transition PTDY is limited to specific separation categories

What service members still call permissive TDY or PTDY is now generally described as an administrative absence or leave of absence. Current Army terminology includes Transition Leave of Absence, or TLA, and Involuntary Separation Leave of Absence, or ISLA. Older documents may use TAA and ISAA.

This is nonchargeable time for a genuine pre-separation job search, residence search, or relocation. You do not spend accrued leave. You also receive no travel or per diem reimbursement. Authorization remains discretionary, and mission requirements or ineligibility can end the request.

Eligible groups under the Army rules in this briefing include:

• Soldiers retiring from active duty.
• Soldiers involuntarily separating under honorable conditions.

An ordinary voluntary ETS generally does not qualify. Excluded categories can include officers released from active duty, other-than-honorable transitions, certain voluntary early separations, and early separation specifically granted to start school, employment, or an employment program. You may also be ineligible under the applicable Army provisions if you have already accepted employment and are not relocating.

An O-5 or higher normally approves the absence, although approval may be delegated to a company commander. Current Army HRC transition-absence guidance sets a total limit of 20 days for eligible CONUS cases and 30 days for eligible OCONUS cases. Your category and orders still control whether you qualify.

Do not confuse a transition residence search with the separate PCS house-hunting absence. PCS house hunting can provide up to 10 days for a move to another permanent duty station. It is not the retirement or separation provision.

Put PTDY before terminal leave—never after it

For one continuous transition block, use this sequence:

1. Finish Personnel and Finance final out.
2. Begin approved TLA, ISLA, or other authorized transition absence.
3. Begin terminal leave immediately afterward.
4. Remain on terminal leave through the official separation or retirement date.

You do not need an intervening duty day between the final transition-absence block and terminal leave. You cannot reverse the order. Once terminal leave starts, do not schedule PTDY behind it.

Multiple transition-absence trips require a different schedule. You must work at least one duty day between increments. Army HRC recommends preserving about two duty days before terminal leave for final-out processing. Only the last approved increment can flow directly into terminal leave.

You also cannot keep adding trips after final out. Passes, including weekend passes, cannot be granted after final out.

Put the entire sequence on one calendar and have your S-1 or Transition Center validate it. Use exact dates instead of labels such as “last month out.” Record:

• Your final duty day before clearing.
• Your Personnel and Finance final-out date.
• The dates of each transition-absence increment.
• The required duty days between increments.
• Your first day of terminal leave.
• Your civilian employment start date.
• Your official separation or retirement date.

If your plan depends on a job offer, record application, interview, and follow-up dates in the military transition application tracker. You can then give the employer a start date that does not create a prohibited overlap between PTDY and civilian employment.

Compare terminal leave and leave sell-back with basic pay only

You normally may sell no more than 60 days over your entire military career. Days sold at an earlier reenlistment or separation count against that cap. Have Finance verify your remaining eligibility before you build a plan around a lump-sum payment.

Use this gross sell-back formula:

Monthly basic pay ÷ 30 × eligible days sold

Only basic pay counts. Do not add BAH, BAS, special pays, or other allowances. Current Army finance guidance uses 22% federal withholding, plus applicable state withholding. Withholding is the amount held from the payment, not necessarily your final tax rate.

Assume your monthly basic pay is $4,500 and you sell 30 days:

• Gross leave payment: $4,500 ÷ 30 × 30 = $4,500
• Illustrative 22% federal withholding: $990
• Approximate payment after federal withholding: $3,510
• State withholding and final-pay adjustments: not included

With a fixed separation date, you continue receiving normal military compensation through that date under either option. Selling leave adds the after-withholding basic-pay settlement, but you remain available for duty during the days you could have taken as terminal leave. Taking terminal leave gives you time away from duty and may let you begin earning civilian wages before separation.

Terminal leave is financially stronger when civilian wages earned during that period exceed the net sell-back payment. Selling can produce more cash if you will not begin civilian work before separation and prefer the additional lump sum. You can also split the balance, taking part as terminal leave and selling the eligible remainder.

Do not assume the settlement arrives at final out. Army finance processes leave settlement after discharge. Check your balance for half-days as well. Army finance guidance says not to round a half-day upward into a full terminal-leave day.

Civilian employment can begin on terminal leave, not PTDY

You may work for a civilian employer while on approved terminal leave, including the federal government. This rule can make terminal leave more valuable than selling the same days because military pay continues through separation while civilian wages may begin sooner.

You may not use transition PTDY or TLA to start the job. That absence exists for job hunting, house hunting, and relocation. Set the civilian start date no earlier than the first day of terminal leave.

Use exact language with the employer. Saying you are “on terminal leave” when you are actually on PTDY can create a prohibited overlap. Give human resources the terminal-leave start date and your official separation date as two separate dates.

You remain subject to military status, conduct requirements, potential recall, and applicable ethics restrictions until separation. Request an ethics or legal review before accepting work involving any of the following:

• A federal agency or DoD organization.
• A defense contractor.
• A matter you handled personally for the government.
• Representation of the employer before a federal agency.
• A state or local role that may qualify as a statutory civil office.

Complete the review before promising a start date. Prepare the civilian side in parallel with the Military Transition Resume Center. Rehearse employer questions through military transition interview practice.

TRICARE coverage continues through your separation date

Active-duty TRICARE does not end when terminal leave begins. You and eligible family members remain covered under your active-duty status through the official separation or retirement date.

Retirement changes the rules on the actual retirement date. Update DEERS, then enroll yourself and eligible family members in a retiree TRICARE plan within 90 days of retirement. Missing that window can create a coverage or claims gap. Retroactive enrollment may be requested within 12 months, but applicable enrollment fees can be due back to the retirement date.

If you are separating rather than retiring, active-duty coverage ends with active-duty status. Do not assume you receive the Transitional Assistance Management Program. TAMP provides 180 days of premium-free transitional coverage only to eligible categories. Your personnel office and DEERS must determine whether your separation qualifies.

If you do not qualify for TAMP, arrange other insurance to begin immediately after separation. CHCBP may be available as a premium-based temporary option.

Coordinate medical exams and records before departure if you are filing a disability claim. The BDD VA claim process generally uses the 180-to-90-day window before separation. That period may overlap clearing and terminal-leave planning, so do not wait until final out to schedule required exams.

Your CAC remains valid while you are on terminal leave

Your CAC expiration should match your official separation or retirement date, not your first terminal-leave day. The CAC remains your active-duty credential while you are on terminal leave. Army HRC states that it expires the day after separation. At that point, you must stop using it and turn it in as directed. Review the Army CAC expiration and turn-in rules before leaving your installation.

Retirees need new USID cards for themselves and eligible family members after retirement processes in DEERS. Army guidance recommends obtaining them the day after retirement and no later than 30 days afterward. If you will relocate during terminal leave, schedule the RAPIDS appointment before departing. Confirm when the facility can issue the retiree card.

An early retiree ID card does not convert your TRICARE coverage early. Active-duty coverage continues until retirement. Retiree eligibility starts on the retirement date.

If you separate with a remaining reserve obligation, obtain the appropriate Reserve ID after separation. Bring DD Form 214 and separation orders. Ask the RAPIDS facility whether it requires two valid identity documents.

Before final out, place the DEERS status update and RAPIDS card appointment on your calendar. Add the post-separation health-plan effective date separately and verify that it begins as soon as active-duty coverage ends. Those dates prevent the most expensive terminal-leave mistake: discovering a coverage gap after you have already left the installation.

Questions people actually ask

How many days of terminal leave can I take?

For Army personnel, the maximum is generally your projected accrued leave balance on the separation or retirement date; there is no separate universal terminal-leave cap. Your commander or designee still approves the amount and dates based on mission requirements. Submit the complete request about 60–90 days before your intended start date and verify whether your installation uses DA Form 31 or an IPPS-A Absence Request.

Can I take permissive TDY after terminal leave starts?

No. Transition permissive TDY, now commonly called TLA or another administrative absence, must come before terminal leave. Complete required clearing and final out, take the approved transition absence, and then move directly into terminal leave. If you use multiple PTDY increments, you need at least one duty day between them, and only the last approved increment may flow directly into terminal leave.

Can I start my civilian job while on terminal leave?

Yes. Army guidance permits civilian employment during approved terminal leave, including federal employment. You remain on active duty until your official separation date, so military conduct, recall, and ethics rules still apply. You cannot begin employment during transition PTDY or TLA. Schedule the civilian start date for the first day of terminal leave or later, and request an ethics review for federal or defense-contractor work.

Is it better to sell leave or take terminal leave?

Compare net sell-back pay with civilian wages you could earn during terminal leave. Sell-back pays basic pay only using monthly basic pay divided by 30, multiplied by eligible days. BAH and BAS do not count. Terminal leave provides normal authorized military pay through separation and may let you earn civilian wages simultaneously. Remember that the normal career sell-back limit is 60 cumulative days.

Does TRICARE end when terminal leave begins?

No. Active-duty TRICARE continues through your official separation or retirement date. Retirees must update DEERS and enroll in a retiree plan within 90 days of retirement. Separating members should not assume they receive TAMP; only eligible categories receive its 180 days of premium-free transitional coverage. Confirm your status with your personnel office and DEERS before active-duty coverage ends.

Does my CAC work during terminal leave?

Yes. Your CAC should remain valid during terminal leave because you are still on active duty. Its expiration should align with your official separation or retirement date, and Army HRC states that it expires the following day. Retirees should obtain a USID card after retirement processes in DEERS, preferably the day after retirement and no later than 30 days afterward.