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Suggest a Feature →Terminal Leave: Your Rights
General information, not legal advice. For legal issues, contact Trial Defense Service (TDS) or your Legal Assistance Office.
“Your commander can deny terminal leave and make you work until your last day. Terminal leave isn't guaranteed.”
While commanders have the authority to deny terminal leave for mission-essential reasons, they must allow you to sell back unused leave if they deny terminal leave. Most commands approve terminal leave because denying it creates a financial liability for the unit. You are entitled to use or be compensated for your earned leave.
How Terminal Leave Works
Your ETS date (or retirement date) stays the same. Terminal leave starts before that date. So if your ETS is September 30 and you have 30 days of leave, your terminal leave starts September 1. You clear the installation, turn in equipment, out-process, and then you're on leave — but still active duty — until September 30.
Can Command Deny It?
Technically, yes. The commander has authority over leave approval. But here's the practical reality:
If the commander denies terminal leave, they must allow you to sell back your unused leave. Leave sell-back costs the Army money (comes from the unit's budget or personnel accounts). Most commanders approve terminal leave because it's free — you're on the books but not consuming resources.
Calculating Your Terminal Leave
Start with your leave balance. Add accrued leave through your projected departure date (2.5 days/month). Subtract any leave you plan to take before terminal leave. The remaining balance is your terminal leave.
Example: You have 45 days of leave. Your ETS is June 30. You want to start terminal leave on May 15. That's 46 days — close to your balance. You'd actually start on May 16 (45 days before June 30).
PTDY + Terminal Leave Combo
You may be able to take Permissive TDY (PTDY) for job hunting or house hunting in addition to terminal leave. PTDY is not chargeable — it doesn't come out of your leave balance. Combined with terminal leave, this can give you significant time before your ETS.
- Up to 10 days PTDY for house hunting (PCS-related)
- Up to 20 days PTDY for job hunting (SkillBridge or transition-related, branch-dependent)
The Sell-Back Option
You can sell back up to 60 days of unused leave when you separate. You can only do this once in your career. The payment is your base pay divided by 30, multiplied by the number of days sold. This is taxable income.
Some soldiers choose a combination: take 20 days of terminal leave and sell back 10 days.
Transition Checklist During Terminal Leave
Even though you're on leave, there are things you should be doing: 1. VA disability claim (file before separation ideally) 2. Enroll in VA healthcare 3. Start using your GI Bill if applicable 4. Set up your civilian health insurance transition 5. Start your job search in earnest
Clear Post Before Terminal Leave
You must complete all out-processing and clearing before terminal leave starts. This includes CIF turn-in, housing inspection, medical and dental records, finance office, and unit clearing papers. Start this process at least 2 weeks before your terminal leave start date.
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Contact your installation's Trial Defense Service (TDS) for UCMJ matters, or Legal Assistance Office for general legal issues. These services are free for active duty service members.