Federal Travel Regulation (FTR)

The Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) was established in 2004. The Code of Federal Regulations (FTR) is available at www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr. Each version is updated as official changes are published in the Federal Register (FR). FR publications and FTR looseleaf pages are available at www.gsa.gov/ftr.

The FTR is the regulation contained in 41 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Chapters 300 through 304, that implements statutory requirements and Executive branch policies for travel by federal civilian employees and others authorized to travel at government expense.

The Administrator of General Services promulgates the FTR to: (a) interpret statutory and other policy requirements in a manner that balances the need to ensure that official travel is conducted in a responsible manner with the need to minimize administrative costs, and (b) communicate the resulting policies in a clear manner to federal agencies and employees. 

GSA’s Office of Governmentwide Policy’s Center for Travel and Transportation Policy Formulation sponsors an Interagency Travel Management Committee (ITMC) that provides a forum through which federal agencies can exchange information and ideas for resolving common interests relating to the effective utilization of the FTR. Through the ITMC, GSA strengthens lines of communication and disseminates information to agency representatives. To ensure compliance with internal agency rules and regulations, federal employees are referred back to his/her ITMC representative for direct assistance. The ITMC representative is generally found in the agency’s Office of Finance and/or travel policy office. If additional assistance is needed, GSA is available at (202) 501–4318.

Visit the FTR and Related Files to access the working copy of the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) and Travel/Per Diem Bulletins.

The shortcut to this page is www.gsa.gov/federaltravelregulation.