Joint Travel Regulations and the Federal Travel Regulation
Which one governs your travel, what TDY and PCS change about an allowance, and where the authoritative text and the current rates actually live. Written for the people who apply these rules, not for someone looking them up once.
Which regulation applies to you
This decides everything else, and it is the thing people most often get wrong. The two regulations cover different populations and are maintained by different agencies.
JTR, for defense travel
The Joint Travel Regulations implement policy and law establishing travel and transportation allowances for uniformed service members and defense civilian employees, and others travelling at the department’s expense. It is maintained by the Defense Travel Management Office.
The JTR is published monthly, and policy changes can land at any point in the month. Each issue opens with a cover letter listing what changed, which is why a saved PDF is a liability.
Source: Defense Travel Management Office
FTR, for civilian agencies
The Federal Travel Regulation governs civilian employees of non-defense agencies. It is issued by GSA and codified at Title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations, chapters 300 through 304, so it carries the force of regulation and is amended through ordinary rulemaking.
Because it lives in the CFR, the current text is the eCFR version. Your agency’s own travel policy sits on top of it and can be stricter, never looser.
The FTR was comprehensively reorganized on December 8, 2025. The final rule eliminated roughly half the FTR text and renumbered sections, so a citation from older training material may now point at a section that no longer exists. Anything written before that date needs re-verifying against the current text.
Source: eCFR, Title 41 Subtitle F
If you are a defense civilian employee, the JTR is yours even though you are a civilian. That one point accounts for a large share of the confusion, and it is where most misapplied allowances start.
Answer two questions
Both regulations are explained in full above, so nothing is gated behind this.
Why the JTR is not just guidance
Alan McCain opens our JTR course by explaining what the regulation actually is and why misapplying it carries real consequences. He is a retired Navy Supply Corps officer who has spent his career in defense travel, budgeting, and financial management, and has supported eight federal agencies and the District of Columbia.
The JTR isn’t just guidance, it carries the force and the effect of law. Because the JTR directly implements federal statutory law, its provisions are legally binding. That means the difference between a correctly or incorrectly filed voucher isn’t a matter of opinion.
This is the opening of the full JTR course, which runs 24 hours across 13 modules. See the courses below.
TDY and PCS are different regimes
Both regulations split along the same line, and the courses are organised the same way, because the entitlements barely overlap.
TDY, temporary duty
Travel away from the permanent duty station for a defined period, then a return. The money questions are per diem, lodging, transportation, and reimbursable expenses, all driven by a travel order stating the purpose and the authorised allowances.
PCS, permanent change of station
A permanent relocation, which opens a much larger set of entitlements: service agreements, household goods shipment, house hunting trips, temporary quarters, and relocation allowances, each with its own eligibility rules.
Where the rates come from
Rates are set separately from the regulations and change on their own schedule, so the source matters more than any figure reproduced on a page like this one. We deliberately do not republish rates here.
- Per diem is a shared responsibility. Calculation of travel per diem rates across the federal government is shared between the General Services Administration, the Department of State, and the Defense Travel Management Office. GSA publishes the continental US rates, DTMO publishes revised rates in the Federal Register through a Civilian Personnel Per Diem Bulletin, and State covers foreign locations. GSA per diem rates
- POV mileage reimbursement rates are published by GSA and revised periodically. Current POV mileage rates
- The regulation text itself is the JTR at DTMO or the FTR in the eCFR. The JTR changes monthly, so work from the live version.
Airfare: the City Pair Program and Fly America
Two rules decide almost every federal flight booking, and they are the pair travellers most often get caught by.
The GSA City Pair Program
GSA negotiates contract fares between city pairs that federal travellers can book on official travel. The contract fare is what makes government airfare predictable, and its terms are what people miss:
- Last-seat availability. If an economy seat exists on the flight, the contract fare must be offered.
- No advance purchase requirement, and no penalty for changing or cancelling.
- Contract fares are the baseline used for cost construction comparisons when a traveller wants a different routing.
Fly America
When U.S. government funds pay for the travel, the flight has to be on a U.S. air carrier. The rule itself is simple; what causes trouble is knowing when a legitimate exception applies, such as an Open Skies agreement.
Booking a foreign carrier without a valid exception is the expensive mistake here: the traveller can be left personally responsible for the airfare.
Long flight times alone do not unlock premium class. That threshold is set separately.
Both are covered in depth in the TDY courses below, alongside per diem computation, deductible meals, and reimbursable expenses.
Training on both regulations
Priced on GSA Schedule contract 47QRAA24D004K and available as a private class for one agency on your own dates. Every course can be funded with an SF-182.
Defense agencies: JTR
Non-defense agencies: FTR
All dates Eastern, refreshed daily from the Graduate School USA catalog. Every course also runs live online, so the class itself needs no travel authorization.
Questions we get
Does the JTR or the FTR apply to me?
If you are a uniformed service member or a defense civilian employee, the JTR. If you are a civilian employee of a non-defense agency, the FTR. Defense civilians being covered by the JTR rather than the FTR is the single most common mix-up, and it is where most misapplied allowances begin. Your agency travel policy sits on top of whichever applies and can be stricter, never looser.
How often does the JTR change?
It is published monthly, and policy changes can take effect at any point during the month. Each issue opens with a cover letter listing what changed. Anyone applying it needs to work from the current version rather than a downloaded copy, which is the practical reason a saved PDF causes problems.
Where is the FTR actually written down?
Title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations, chapters 300 through 304. It is issued by GSA and amended through ordinary rulemaking, so the current text is the eCFR version rather than any reprint.
Who sets per diem rates?
Calculation of travel per diem rates across the federal government is a shared responsibility of the General Services Administration, the Department of State, and the Defense Travel Management Office. GSA publishes the continental US rates, DTMO publishes revised rates in the Federal Register through a Civilian Personnel Per Diem Bulletin, and State covers foreign locations. Because they are revised on their own schedule, we link to the sources rather than reprinting numbers that go stale.
What is the difference between TDY and PCS?
TDY is temporary duty: travel away from the permanent duty station for a defined period, then a return. The money questions are per diem, lodging, transportation, and reimbursable expenses. PCS is a permanent relocation, and it opens a much larger set of entitlements: service agreements, household goods shipment, house hunting trips, temporary quarters, and relocation allowances. They are close to separate subjects, which is why the courses are sold separately.
Should I take the TDY course, the PCS course, or both?
Take the one that matches the work you actually process. If you handle both, or you are the person others come to with travel questions, the combined course covers both regimes in one sitting and costs less than the two separately.
Can we run this for our own travel or finance office?
Yes, and for a group it is usually the cheaper route. Private classes are priced as a flat rate per class rather than per seat, against GSA Schedule contract 47QRAA24D004K, and run on your dates either at your location or live online.
What changed in the FTR in December 2025?
A comprehensive reorganization took effect on December 8, 2025. The final rule eliminated roughly half of the FTR text and renumbered sections, and it harmonized thresholds that used to differ across the regulation. Practically, that means a citation you took from older training material may now point at a section that no longer exists, and any agency policy written before that date should be re-checked against the current text.
What is the GSA City Pair Program?
A GSA-negotiated set of contract airfares between city pairs for official federal travel. Two features matter most: last-seat availability, meaning the contract fare must be offered whenever an economy seat exists on the flight, and no advance purchase requirement or change penalty. Contract fares also serve as the baseline for cost construction comparisons when a traveller wants a different routing.
Can I fly a foreign airline on official travel?
Generally no. Fly America requires travel paid with U.S. government funds to be on a U.S. air carrier. There are legitimate exceptions, including Open Skies agreements, but they have to actually apply. A traveller who books a foreign carrier without a valid exception can end up personally responsible for the airfare. Note that a long flight on its own does not authorize a premium class of service; that threshold is set separately.
Can I pay with an SF-182?
Yes. All of these courses can be funded with an SF-182, and the vendor details your agency needs for Section B are ready to copy on our SF-182 page.
Training a travel or finance office?
Tell us how many people apply these rules and whether you need the JTR, the FTR, or both. We will put a private class together on your dates, priced against the GSA Schedule.