Pass / Special Liberty Request
Request a regular or special pass (Army 3- or 4-day), special liberty, or a local-area waiver: dates, destination, travel risk, and the approval block.
What this worksheet covers
Name, rank, and unit prefill from your service profile.
Part i - request
- Name (Last, First, MI)
- Rank / grade
- Unit
- Type of absence
Army: a 3-day special pass must include at least one duty day; a 4-day special pass must include at least two consecutive non-duty days (AR 600-8-10, para 7-2). Other services: follow your command's liberty order.
- Basis for special pass / liberty
These are the reasons AR 600-8-10, para 7-2i lists for an Army special pass.
- Depart (date and time)
Normally the end of the duty day. Army passes are counted in calendar days, not hours.
- Return (date and time)
Normally the start of the next duty day (or first formation).
- Destination address
- Distance / driving time
- Mode of travel
- Contact phone while away
- Emergency contact (name, relationship, phone)
- Travel outside the local area, the United States, or your overseas area of assignment?
- Travel risk assessment completed (TRiPS or local form) and briefed to supervisor
- Remarks / justification
For a special pass, say why. For compensatory time off, name the event (for example, the dates of the field exercise or holiday duty).
- Requester signature
- Date
Part ii - recommendation and approval
- First-line leader recommendation
- First-line leader (rank, name) / date
- Approving authority decision
Army: the unit commander or an approved designee approves a pass (AR 600-8-10, paras 7-1b(3) and 7-2h(3)).
- Approving authority (rank, name) / date
- Conditions / remarks
How to fill out the Unit request worksheet
Pass and liberty are non-chargeable time off; they do not use leave days. This worksheet collects what the approver needs to say yes: the type of pass, exact start and end, where you will be, how you are traveling, and how to reach you. When: Submit it by your unit's deadline (often one to two weeks out) for a special pass, special liberty, a holiday period, or travel beyond your command's local area.
Step by step
- Pick the type. Army: a regular pass is normal off-duty time (weekends, 3-day holiday weekends); a special pass is a 3-day or 4-day pass granted for a reason (AR 600-8-10, para 7-2).
- Enter the exact departure and return date and time. A pass starts and ends on post, at the duty location, or where you normally commute from.
- Give the full destination address, how you will travel, the distance, and a phone number you will answer.
- Complete your service's travel risk assessment (for example TRiPS for Army and Marines) and attach it if the command requires one.
- State the reason. Army special passes are granted for recognition, religious observance, voting, personal problems, or compensatory time off.
- Route it to your first-line leader, then the approving authority. Keep a copy with you while you are away.
What a strong one looks like
- Army: no pass of any type may exceed four days, a special pass may not be followed immediately by another pass, and pass and leave never go on the same DA Form 31.
- Leaving the country or your overseas area on pass needs travel clearance first (AR 600-8-10, para 2-11).
- If you need more time while away, call your chain of command before the pass ends. An approved extension is charged as leave; returning late without one is AWOL/UA.
Common mistakes
- Departing before the approved time, or from somewhere other than your duty station.
- Traveling past the command's mileage or driving-time limit without approval.
- A phone number you will not answer. Recall rules still apply on pass.