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Travel Expenses- Which legal authority should I use to accept travel expenses from a non-Federal entity?

By Office of Science Quality and Integrity

The following information is provided to help USGS employees, volunteers, emeriti, and student support contractors easily and accurately select the appropriate legal authority to accept travel funds from an outside source (i.e. an entity other than USGS).

If you will be attending a meeting, conference, seminar, lecture or similar event, select 31 U.S.C. § 1353. 

  • This legal authority must be considered before any other legal authority is selected.
  • This legal authority cannot be used for:
    • fieldwork;
    • when another Federal agency is paying for the travel;
    • to carry out an agency’s statutory or regulatory function such as investigations, inspections, audits, negotiations, or litigation; or
    • to attend promotional vendor training. 
  • Only DOI or your bureau may accept reimbursement (you may not accept cash or a check payable to you or “sign over” a check). 
  • You may accept “in-kind” travel expenses that are provided to you directly (such as an airline ticket, a hotel room or meals).
  • A Form DI-2000 is required.  USGS employees traveling within the U.S. can fill out a standalone DI-2000 in Webforms.  By contrast, for international travelers, when you select 31 U.S.C. § 1353 as the legal authority on your DI-1175, a DI-2000 is automatically generated within the DI-1175. 
  • More information about the DI-2000 and the DI-1175 can be found here.  Detailed DI-2000 guidance can be found here.  FAQs regarding the DI-2000 can be found here.  

 

If you will be conducting fieldwork or engaging in an activity where no information product will be developed, or your travel expenses are being paid by a non-Federal source and USGS is not required to produce anything including a report, data, etc. select 43 U.S.C. § 36c (and a Form 9-3089 is also required).  More information about the 9-3089 form can be found here.

 

For USGS employees, if there is a USGS collaborative agreement that includes payment of your travel expenses, select 43 U.S.C. § 36c (and a Form 9-3089 is also required).  More information about the 9-3089 form can be found here.

 

If there is a CRADA or Technical Assistance Agreement (TAA) that includes payment of your travel expenses, select 15 U.S.C. § 3710(a).

 

If another U.S. Federal Agency or another DOI bureau paying your travel expenses, select 31 U.S.C. § 1535.

  • Inter/Intra-Agency Travel Agreement Form is required. 
  • See the Department of the Interior Inter/Intra-Agency Agreement (IAA) Handbook.

 

If you will be traveling to provide assistance to a foreign government or an international organization designated by the Dept of State and there is an approved agreement in place under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 Section 607, select 22 U.S.C. § 2357.

 

If you will be accepting travel expenses from a foreign government for travel expenses that take place outside the United States, select 5 U.S.C. § 7342 (Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act).  You cannot accept travel to and from the US under this authority. 

 

If your travel is related to your detail to an international organization, select 5 U.S.C. § 3343.

 

If your travel is related to Fulbright award you have received, select 22 U.S.C. § 2451.

 

If you will be traveling to receive training and a U.S. tax exempt organization will be paying all or part of your travel expenses, select 5 U.S.C. § 4111.

 

If payment of your travel expenses is included in an Intergovernmental Personnel Act agreement, select 5 U.S.C. § 3775(a).

 

If you are assigned to a USGS Cooperative Research Unit and traveling using university funds, select PL 86-686.  

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This page was last updated on August 30, 2019.