DFAS SmartVoucher: How to File a PCS Travel Voucher, and What DFAS Form 9098 Is For

Two things people search for after a move turn out to be one process. SmartVoucher is the DFAS web tool that walks you through questions and produces a completed DD Form 1351-2, the travel voucher. DFAS Form 9098 is the "Claim for Temporary Lodging Expense," the form you add when you are claiming TLE. All of that is settled and published by DFAS. What changes week to week is the wait: for the week of September 28, 2026, DFAS reports that Army PCS vouchers are averaging 13.1 business days to process, plus up to three more business days for the deposit to reach your bank.

What SmartVoucher is

DFAS describes it this way: SmartVoucher guides you step by step through a series of questions and then creates a completed DD Form 1351-2, making sure the required fields are filled in. You sign in with your myPay username and password or your CAC. When you finish, it gives you a list of supporting documents based on your answers.

DFAS lists three kinds of vouchers it is for: military temporary duty travel, military permanent change of station travel, and civilian temporary duty travel. It is not for civilian relocation moves.

The four steps, as DFAS lists them

1. 1Log into SmartVoucher with your CAC or your myPay ID and password.
2. 2Answer a series of questions, similar to tax software.
3. 3Attach the required forms and submit the completed voucher.
4. 4Watch your email for status updates or corrections needed.

For Army PCS travelers, DFAS says SmartVoucher lets you attach orders, amendments, leave forms and other supporting documents and sign electronically, with the package routed to an Army Military Pay Office for review. DFAS also says it notifies Soldiers by text or email as the claim moves, pays PCS money up to 50% faster, and cuts returned claims by up to 50%. If you cannot use SmartVoucher, you complete the DD Form 1351-2 by hand.

What you can file through it

• Military PCS advances and vouchers
• Vouchers for dependent moves during a PCS
• Supplemental vouchers
• Retirement and separation vouchers
• Temporary Lodging Expense vouchers
• Dislocation Allowance requests
• Personally procured moves (PPM), as an attachment only for submission
• Professional Military Education per diem accruals

Which form goes with which claim

These are the forms on the DFAS military PCS forms page. SmartVoucher produces the first one for you; the others are attachments when they apply.

What the settlement is made of

A voucher is paperwork for four separate payments. Knowing what each is worth before you file is the fastest way to notice when one is missing. The Dislocation Allowance is a flat amount by grade, and it is often the largest single line:

• Dislocation Allowance: the table above, from the rates effective January 1, 2026. Check yours in the DLA calculator.
• Mileage and per diem for the drive: a per-mile rate for each authorized vehicle plus a daily amount for each authorized travel day. The MALT calculator computes both from your origin and destination.
• Temporary Lodging Expense: claimed on DFAS Form 9098 with lodging receipts. The TLE calculator shows the daily ceiling for your family size and location.
• A personally procured move: paid on the weight you moved, documented by the Shipment Summary Worksheet and weight tickets. Estimate it in the PPM calculator.

How long it takes

DFAS posts the current figure at the top of its Army PCS travel voucher page and updates it weekly. For the week of September 28, 2026 it reads: processing times are averaging 13.1 business days, with up to three additional business days for deposit to your financial institution. That is a little over three calendar weeks from a clean submission to money in the account. A voucher returned for a missing document starts the clock again, which is why the attachments matter more than speed.

Check these before you submit

• Orders without the amendments. Attach every amendment, not only the original orders.
• Lodging receipts that do not show a zero balance. A reservation confirmation is not a receipt.
• TLE claimed without DFAS Form 9098. The lodging nights go on the form, not only on the voucher.
• Dates that do not match. The itinerary on the voucher, the leave form and the receipts have to tell the same story.
• A PPM without weight tickets. Empty and full tickets for each trip, with the Shipment Summary Worksheet.

The bottom line

SmartVoucher is the DFAS tool that builds your DD Form 1351-2 from a set of questions, signed in with myPay or a CAC. DFAS Form 9098 is the Claim for Temporary Lodging Expense you attach when you claim TLE. DFAS reported an average of 13.1 business days to process Army PCS vouchers for the week of September 28, 2026, plus up to three for the deposit. Rates shown are the 2026 figures; always verify with your finance office before making financial decisions.