DD Form 1561 "Statement to Substantiate Payment of Family Separation Allowance (FSA)"

How to Fill Out DD Form 1561?

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:

• The military member is on a duty aboard a ship, which is away from the homeport continuously for more than 30 days;
• They are on temporary duty - including temporary additional duty - away from the permanent station continuously for more than 30 days, and their dependents are not residing at or near the TDY station;
• Dependents do not live in the vicinity of the members' permanent duty station and their transportation is not authorized at government expense;
• The transportation of dependents is authorized at government expense, but they cannot accompany the military member to their permanent duty station because of medical reasons;
• The dependents are evacuated from a dangerous area and temporarily occupy government quarters in a safe area;
• Married army couples, if both spouses serve on active duty, can both apply and receive FSA.

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.

DD Form 1561 Instructions

Instructions for filling out DD Form 1561 are not included within the form itself. The filing steps are as follows:

1. The form is divided into two parts. Part I is filled by the applicant and Part II is for the certifying officer. The applicant provides their personal information in the top line of the form.
2. The applicant has to choose required the FSA type: either Restricted, Transportation or Ship.
   • The Restricted FSA (FSA-R) applies when the dependents' transportation is not authorized or impossible due to a medical condition.
   • The Transportation FSA (FSA-T) is used by soldiers, deployed from their temporary duty station for more than 30 days.
   • The Ship FSA (FSA-S) is for service members who are on a duty aboard a ship for more than 30 days.
3. After the applicant has stated their departure date in Item 6, they have to fill out the certification block. The way of filling it in depends on the case.
4. Then, after the applicant has read and accepted the information provided in Item 9, they have to date the form and sign it. The soldier then submits the form to their servicing personnel office.
5. The certifying officer files Part II of the DD 1561 form according to the type of the FSA requested. Item 10 is for the FSA-T type. The officer has to specify the location of the soldiers' temporary duty, the dates and days spent in the stated location.
6. Block 11 is for FSA-T. The officer has to provide the departure station and date, proceed time and the permanent duty station of the soldier.
7. If the service member chose FSA-S, the certifying officer must complete Item 12. This block requires specifying the name of the ship and the homeport. The officer also has to specify the orders under the authority of which the soldier is performing their duty and the date of those orders.
8. Finally, the officer types in their name, title, and organization, fills in the date of filing and signs the completed form.