DD Form 1561, Statement to Substantiate Payment of Family Separation Allowance (FSA), is used by U.S. service members separated from their dependents to apply for an FSA payment. Family Separation Allowance serves as compensation for expenses that occurred because of forced separation.
The latest version of the form - sometimes incorrectly referred to as the DA Form 1561 - was released by the Department of Defense (DoD) on December 1, 2017, with all previous editions being obsolete. An up-to-date DD Form 1561 fillable version is available for download and online filing below or can be found through the Executive Services Directorate website.
A military member serving an unaccompanied tour of duty and having dependent family members may apply for Family Separation Allowance of up to $250 a month. The application is possible under one of the following conditions:
In addition, the FSA has special conditions regarding visits by the dependents. Depending on the FSA type, it might be ceased. FSA-R type ceases in 30 days after the three months of dependents presence, FSA-T ceases after 30 days of the visit, same as FSA-S. More information on the FSA types can be found below.
Instructions for filling out DD Form 1561 are not included within the form itself. The filing steps are as follows:
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