uga.edu travel policy

Travel Center

Uga travel policy.

View the current UGA travel policy and policy highlights

Travel Reimbursement Checklist

Print a checklist of items you will need to submit for travel reimbursement

Finding Per Diem Rates

View a Step-by-step guide to finding per diem rates

Reimbursement for Meals with Candidates or Guests / Food Purchases

View information about meals

We appreciate your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience. Click here to learn more about giving.

Every dollar given has a direct impact upon our students and faculty.

Important Travel and Reimbursement Information

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

The UGA Accounts Payable and Travel team is committed to serving and supporting faculty and staff travel for university purposes. Please share this important travel information with all faculty and staff in your departments, schools, and colleges. The main goal is to protect UGA faculty and staff traveling on university business against the risk of incurring expenses that cannot be reimbursed or paid directly by UGA. These travel and expense requirements apply to both UGA employees and non-employees traveling for UGA-related activities.

• Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, etc. should not be used for domestic lodging per state travel policy:  All travelers need to be aware of this  state of Georgia policy and that neither UGA nor USG has the authority to grant exceptions. For UGA to reimburse lodging expenses, travelers must stay at a hotel or motel. For travel reimbursement purposes, all 50 U.S. states are considered domestic travel. The 16 U.S. territories and commonwealths, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are also considered domestic travel. Please note that “international travel” may be defined differently for other functions. This is how the State of Georgia defines international travel for the purpose of lodging and travel reimbursements.
• Comprehensive Travel Review:  To help protect individuals in your unit who may be traveling, consider encouraging them to complete this brief  comprehensive travel review  course. This new resource covers all UGA travel policy and procedures in detail. 
• Approver Responsibilities:  Consider encouraging anyone in your unit who approves travel to complete the  approver responsibilities review  course. This new resource takes less than 10 minutes to complete. Approvers hold joint responsibility for ensuring that travel expenses follow state and university policies and guidelines. 
• Additional Resources:  Approver checklists and other resources are available on the travel  website . The travel policy is available  here . 

  Each unit has one or more  expense managers  available to assist your faculty and staff. You are encouraged to contact these individuals with questions. The Accounts Payable and Travel team is also available to assist at  [email protected] .   A campus-wide message regarding this travel information will be distributed later this week. Please share this message among your team members.

Administrative Memos are coordinated through the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. For more information, contact Mike Wooten at  [email protected] .

Travel at UGA

Accounts Payable is responsible for processing all documents related to University business travel. These include requests for authority to travel, reimbursement requests, and travel agency billings. Each document is reviewed for proper approval, compliance with travel regulations, and budgetary funding. Travel is subject to the statewide travel regulations issued by the State Accounting Office. Please review the full travel policy for comprehensive guidance regarding your upcoming travel.

• Guidance on Trip Planning and Trip Cancellations
• Travel Reimbursement Steps
• Cities Within 50 miles of Georgia
• Direct Billing - Hotel and Transportation
• Direct Billing - Airfare
• Determining Business Miles Traveled

More Links by Travel Type

• In-State Travel Per Diems
• In-State Hotels With Direct Billing
• Georgia Center Hotel
• In-State Lodging and Taxes
• Hotel/Motel Tax Exempt Form
• Rental Cars
• Mileage Reimbursement

Please contact  Courtney Tittle  for issues concerning In-State Travel

• Meal Per Diems
• Out-of-State Lodging and Taxes
• Airport Shuttle

Please contact  Ashley Burgess  for issues concerning In-State Travel

• Meal Per Diem Link Foreign
• International Lodging and Taxes
• Visa/Passport Fees
• Fly America
• International Travel Advisories

Please contact  Ashley Burgess for issues concerning International Travel

• For the Media
• Open Records
• Division of Marketing & Communications

Statewide travel policy changes

A new statewide travel policy became effective July 1. These regulations should be adhered to by both employees and non-employees seeking reimbursement from UGA. Accounts Payable has published the new travel policy and the travel expense statement has been modified for travel. The changes are outlined below:

• For non-overnight trips in Georgia, travelers will receive 100 percent of the allowable per diem if the travel is more than 50 miles from home and headquarters and the traveler is away for more than 12 hours.

• The General Services Administration per diems, located at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21287 , will continue to be used for travel outside the state of Georgia. The incidental expenses amount included in the GSA per diem rates will not be included in the reimbursement for domestic travel.

• When a meal is provided on the day of departure or day of return during overnight travel, the full meal per diem reimbursement rate is now reduced by the amount of the provided meal(s) before the 75 percent proration.

• Clayton, Coweta, Fayette and Gwinnett counties no longer are included as high-cost travel areas. The meal per diem rate for these areas is the regular Georgia rate of $28 a day.

• The Certification of Exemption of Local Hotel/Motel Excise Tax form has been updated to assist travelers in gaining compliance with this law. The new form is located at http://www.busfin.uga.edu/forms/excise_exempt.pdf .

The travel policy is located at http://www.policies.uga.edu/FA/nodes/view/1301/Employee-Travel-Effective-July-1-2013 . Questions can be directed to Jennifer Collins at [email protected] or Andre Simmons at [email protected].

You may also like

UGA remembers those who passed away in last year 

Advanced Leader Program expands professional…

Volunteers uplift statewide UGA Extension outreach…

Using robotics to help sort onions on georgia farms.

Former dean establishes UGA college’s first chair

Assistant director provides access, advocacy

Travel Center

Uga travel policy.

View the current UGA travel policy and policy highlights

Travel Reimbursement Checklist

Print a checklist of items you will need to submit for travel reimbursement

Finding Per Diem Rates

View a Step-by-step guide to finding per diem rates

Reimbursement for Meals with Candidates or Guests / Food Purchases

View information about meals

We appreciate your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience. Click here to learn more about giving.

Every dollar given has a direct impact upon our students and faculty.

My Accounts

• My Library Account View/renew books, media, and equipment
• ILL Account (ILLiad) Interlibrary loan requests
• Special Collections Research Account (Aeon) Archives and Special Collections requests

1. When can I start spending my own money on travel plans?

As soon as your Request Form is approved by the University Librarian, you can begin purchasing airline tickets, booking hotel rooms etc. This approval will be conveyed to you via email from the Libraries Finance & Accounting Unit. (However, keep in mind that airfare, registration, and car rental fees can often be billed to the Libraries directly if that's preferable to you.)

2. I am traveling on Libraries business but I will not incur out-of-pocket costs, do I still need to fill out a form?

3. my travel to a conference has been approved—how do i know when i’m actually registered, 4.when will i be reimbursed for my expenditures.

Once you fill out an expense report in UGA Financials , and your supervisor has logged in and approved it, the reimbursement process will begin. Expenditures can only be reimbursed after they have been spent. For example, lodging costs can only be reimbursed after the hotel stay, but airline tickets and registration fees may be reimbursed before the actual flight or conference since those are paid in advance.  Depending on how your travel is funded, you may be reimbursed via direct deposit, or by a paper check. Reimbursement times can vary between a few days and a few weeks depending on funding source and other external factors.

5. I’m faculty--my projected travel expenditures exceed my annual funding allotment. What do I do?

In many situations, faculty will need to personally fund the remaining balance when their travel expenditures exceed their annual funding allotment. However, there is no disadvantage to listing all of your projected expenses on the Request Form, even if the total exceeds your travel fund allotment. It can be helpful for the University Librarian to know the true cost of your travel when considering your travel request.

Depending on the nature of your travel, it is also possible that a case can be made for your remaining balance to be covered by the Libraries under administrative travel . It is up to the traveler to make this case to their supervisor and/or Department Head—if the Department Head agrees, it should be brought to the University Librarian.

6. What can be directly billed to the Libraries?

7. what is a per diem.

A per diem is a maximum daily reimbursement set by the government. Depending on where you are traveling and the time of year, the per diem may vary. Knowing the per diem associated with your travel destination is a helpful way to estimate your costs when filling out the Request Form. When seeking reimbursement after traveling, you can simply request the per diem instead of providing receipts.

When traveling within Georgia, you should use state employee per diem rates . Please note that you can only claim per diem if you're traveling overnight. Employees traveling overnight within the State of Georgia are eligible for ($50) daily per diem amounts to cover the cost of three (3) meals per day, less any provided meals. There is one standard per diem rate for all cities in Georgia. Incidentals are not included in the daily per diem rate.

Use the link to GSA Per Diem Rates on SAO’s Statewide Travel Policy website to access per diem rates for Out of State travel.

Please note that UGA only reimburses meal per diems at a rate of 75% on the first and last day of travel. (If you fly to a conference on Wednesday and return Friday, Thursday would be the only day for which you could claim 100% meal per diem reimbursement.) Here is another breakdown of meal per diems that explicitly states the 75% rate per meal.

There is also a per diem for incidental expenses (IE), but UGA only reimburses incidental expenses when travel is international.

8. Should I drive a UGA vehicle, rent a car, or drive my own car? 

9. can i park a uga vehicle at my house, 10. how does the process for renting a vehicle work, 11. i’m driving my own vehicle-how do i calculate mileage, 12. can i stay in an airbnb, vrbo, homeaway, etc, 13. what if my expense report is not submitted in time after my travel is completed, 15. i have a unique situation that isn’t addressed here, or in the university’s travel policy. who can help me.

Travel Center

Travel policy.

• Employee Travel
• Non-Employee Travel  
• Group Travel  (to be processed through OneSource)
• Group Travel Information Summary

Travel Forms

• Travel Authorities and Expense Statements in OneSource
• In-State Hotel Tax Exempt Form  (GA only; needs to be completed within 45 days of travel event)
• Non-Employee Travel Authorization Form
• Non-Employee Payment Form
• Non-Resident Alien Requirements
• UGA International Travel Authority Portal  (faculty and students)

OneSource Information - Onesource  

• General OneSource Travel Instructions Checklist  
• Creating a Travel Authority
• Creating a Travel Expense Report
• Faculty Travel with Delegates
• Faculty Travel without Delegates
• How to complete an Expense Report
• How to complete a Non Travel Expense Report
• Food Rules Information

Quick Links

• Travel at UGA
• Rental Cars  
• Federal Per Diem Rates  

Note that Geology is set up for direct-billing or invoicing with  Enterprise , UGA's Automotive Center, and U-Haul. Geology also has departmental vehicles available for reservations as well.

Use for out of state meals and for all lodging (in-state per diem rates for meals are listed in the travel policy).

If you have questions on the travel policy and procedures, please contact the department's Administrative Specialist.

Your gift helps to fund research, travel, and field experience for students and faculty.

The University of Georgia reimburses employees for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred while performing approved official travel away from headquarters and places of residence. While the University of Georgia Foundation may fund travel expenses, Travel Expense Statements (TES) should be submitted to the University of Georgia and will be reimbursed using UGA/University System of Georgia (USG) travel policies, with certain exceptions as noted herein. See the University System of Georgia Travel Policies for information about reimbursable travel expenses for UGA/USG employees.  In accordance with UGA/USG policy, each employee must request his or her own reimbursement. The administrative head is responsible for ensuring that travel reimbursement requests are for reasonable and necessary amounts.

In rare circumstances, the University of Georgia Foundation will consider payment of reasonable and necessary travel expenses that are not allowable per the University System of Georgia.  Please contact the Foundation’s Expenditure Control Office prior to incurring said expenditures for processing and documentation requirements. 

Travel cash advances may be obtained by employees to pay for costs associated with travel. The amount of the travel advance should be calculated based on the estimated travel expenses on the Travel Authority (TA) but cannot exceed the TA amount. See Expenditure Control Cash Advances Policy 8.14 for more detail on cash advances for employees.

Last Updated on September 17, 2019

Contact Franklin Works for questions on travel.

Plant Biology Travel Policy

The department has limited funds for faculty travel and all travel from departmental funds must be authorized by the department head, the Arts and Sciences Dean’s office, Contracts & Grants (if using a grant account) and Business Services.  International travel must be approved by the Office of International Education in addition to all other approvals.

In order to meet the required deadlines, all requests for authority to travel must be completed prior to travel in a timely manner.  In-State travel requests must be submitted a minimum of 1 week prior to date of departure.  Domestic travel requests must be submitted a minimum of 3 weeks prior to date of departure, and International travel requests must be submitted a minimum of 4 weeks prior to date of departure.  You must follow the set guidelines for allowable per diem rates for meals (most meal per diems will be calculated by the system when you submit your expense report after your travel).  Lodging expenses must be reasonable for the area.  All requests should be submitted electronically through https://financials.onesource.uga.edu

Please remember that a travel authority request should be submitted every time you travel off campus on UGA related business, even those trips that are no cost to UGA.  Failure to submit a request for authority to travel prior to travel may mean you will not be covered by the University’s Health Insurance and you forfeit claims for reimbursement.  All requests for authority to travel must be done correctly and completely or they will be rejected.  You CANNOT exceed the allowable GSA per diem rates for meals.  You can find per diem rates (out-of-state only) here:  https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates

Travel Information

Travel Instructions

OneSource Training Library

In-State Travel

Meal allowance for travel within Georgia is $50 ($13 for breakfast, $14 for lunch, $23 for dinner). 

Reimbursement may be made for actual lodging expenses based on reasonable rates as determined by the circumstances of the trip.  All lodging claims must be documented by receipts and must be at a business that offers lodging to the general public such as a hotel or motel and not a private residence.

State employees should not be charged county or municipal excise tax on lodging when staying within the state.  Employees are required to submit a copy of the hotel/motel excise tax exemption form when they register at a hotel/motel.  This for is located online at:  https://busfin.uga.edu/forms/excise_exempt.pdf

Out-of-State Per Diems

Out-of-state per diem rates follow the appropriate GSA rates. To view the GSA rates for travel within the US, click here .  The GSA rates include both the cost of meals and incidental expenses. However, for out-of-state travel, incidental expenses are not reimbursed.  Employees traveling overnight are generally eligible for per diem amounts designed to cover all days on travel status other than the day of departure and the day of return. Travelers are eligible for 75% of the total per diem rate on the first and last day of travel.

Foreign Travel Per Diem UGA does reimburse the incidental expenses on foreign travel

Rental Cars

When you travel, if you need to rent a car at an airport, please note that UGA currently has a mandatory statewide contract with Hertz (i.e. you need to book with them ONLY, unless for some reason they are not available, although please check with Gretchen before you reserve a car in case the contract has changed).  Collision coverage is automatically provided with Hertz and they have discounted rates for UGA employees.  Please book Hertz rentals under Corporate Promotional Discount Code: 2018753.  For more information and reservations, please go to:  http://busfin.uga.edu/accounts_payable/Hertz_INTERSTATE.pdf

We appreciate your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience.  Click here to learn more about giving .

Every dollar given has a direct impact upon our students and faculty.

Travel Forms and Policies

Regulations.

The State Accounting Office has issued new statewide travel regulations. The Board of Regents has advised all USG institutions to implement the changes outlined below. The University of Georgia will make these changes effective for travel beginning on November 1, 2012.

• UGA Travel Regulations w/Mileage Rates and Per Diems
• Additional Arts & Sciences Travel Regulations
• Applications for Provost travel funding should be filled out and routed to the Business Manager (history department).
• Submit at least 2 weeks prior to domestic travel, 4 weeks prior to international travel
• Per diem rates are now following federal guidelines and will be reimbursed by city/state or international per diem rates allowed. Follow the link provided, and click on the state you are traveling to in order to determine the per diem allowed by city/county for meals and lodging. There is also a link on this page for international travel. Please remember that if your room rate is 25% over the per diem listed for the city, you will need to submit a letter justifying the higher charge.
• Submit post-travel, within 30 days
• Request for Authority to Travel on Official University Business

We appreciate your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience.  Click here to learn more about giving .

Every dollar given has a direct impact upon our students and faculty.

• Graduate Programs
• Prospective Students
• Current Students
• Faculty & Staff

Graduate Policies

The Graduate Bulletin is the primary resource on UGA Graduate School academic policies for faculty, staff, and students.

As policies are updated or new policies are adopted, they will be posted in the “Recent Policy Updates” column feed for easy access. Looking for a specific policy? Use the black “search” button at the top of any page of the site or view more policies below.

Recent Policy Updates:

• Policy Update: Doctoral Time Limits (3/13/2024)
• Policy Update: Awarding Doctoral Degrees to University Faculty (2/7/24)
• Policy on Use of Generative AI in Theses and Dissertations (1/18/24)
• Updated Leave of Absence Policy (10/11/23)
• Student Involvement in Graduate Admissions policy (4/5/23)

View all policy updates

Popular Graduate Resources:

• Graduate Assistant Onboarding Resources
• Graduate Coordinators Handbook (GCs only)
• Important Dates & Deadlines
• Important Forms
• Thesis & Dissertation Information
• Upcoming Funding and Awards Deadlines
• Administrative Logins

View more resources

Graduate School Process Improvements:

Please review the current process improvement projects and their statuses.

Graduate Policies:

Academic regulations.

• Graduate Enrollment Policy
• Graduate Course Loads
• Cumulative Grade Point Average Requirement
• Final Registration Requirement
• Application for Graduation
• Leave of Absence
• Probation & Dismissal
• Change of Degree Objective
• Faculty Roles on Advisory Committees
• Use of Credit
• Awarding Doctoral Degrees to University Faculty
• Application Requirements
• Classification of Graduate Students
• Acceptance of Credit by Transfer
• Deferring an Application
• Readmission
• Retention of Graduate Application Materials

Degree Requirements

• Doctor of Education (EdD)
• Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)
• Master of Arts (MA)
• Master of Education (MEd)
• Master of Science (MS)
• Professional Master’s Degrees (PMD)
• Specialist in Education (EdS)
• Graduate Tuition Waiver Policy
• Withdrawal Policy for Graduate Students on Assistantships

Oversight of Graduate Education

• Article I. The Graduate Program Faculty
• Article II. The Graduate Council
• Article III. Amendments

Graduate Resources:

For graduate coordinators.

• Graduate Coordinator Resources
• Graduate Coordinators Handbook
• Procedure for Nominating a Graduate Coordinator
• Scheduling Oral Comps & Dissertation Defenses
• Information for Students Admitted for SU2024 and FA2024

Student Assistantships: Policies & Procedures

• Assistantship Funding Programs
• 2020 Payroll Process
• Graduate School Block Grants (see Assistantships – Information for Faculty)
• Graduate Tuition Return Incentive Program
• Scholarships and Student Aid Costs Policy
• Summer Tuition Waiver Eligibility (see Assistantships – Information for Faculty)
• Assistantship Letter Templates (see Assistantships – Information for Faculty)
• Departmental Annual Rates for Graduate Assistants

Thesis & Dissertation Formatting Resources

• Selecting Software
• Creating single or multiple files
• Converting your document to PDF
• Creating PDF Files with Adobe Acrobat
• Formatting Tips
• Thesis and Dissertation Templates
• Using Adobe Acrobat

Additional Resources

• Faculty & Staff FAQs (includes questions regarding admissions, graduate coordinators and enrolled students)
• Enrolled Graduate Student Forms

Unlocking potential. Building futures.

Apply Today

The Graduate School Brooks Hall 310 Herty Drive Athens, GA 30602 706.542.1739

• Administration
• Graduate Bulletin
• Strategic Plan
• Virtual Tour
• Request Information
• Requirements
• Application Fee
• Check Status
• UGA Main Campus
• UGA Gwinnett
• UGA Griffin
• UGA Atlanta-Buckhead