Title 37, United States Code - Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services

Scope

Title 37 of the United States Code is the federal statutory framework for pay and allowances of the Uniformed Services. The title was enacted by Pub. L. 87-649, signed 7 September 1962, with an effective date of 1 November 1962. Every basic-pay table, special pay, incentive pay, allowance, leave entitlement, and pay-related benefit a Marine receives traces back to a specific Title 37 chapter.

Audience

Disbursing clerks and pay-policy analysts at HQMC and the Service-pay community. S-1 personnel processing pay transactions. Commanders authorizing special and incentive pays. Marines reviewing their LES against statutory entitlements. The DODFMR Vol 7A implements Title 37 at the DoD policy level.

Chapter structure

• Chapter 1. Definitions. Section 101.
• Chapter 3. Basic Pay. Section 201.
• Chapter 5. Special and Incentive Pays. Section 301.
• Chapter 7. Allowances Other Than Travel and Transportation Allowances. Section 401.
• Chapter 8. Travel and Transportation Allowances. Section 451.
• Chapter 9. Leave. Section 501.
• Chapter 10. Payments to Missing Persons. Section 551.
• Chapter 11. Payments to Mentally Incompetent Persons. Section 601.
• Chapter 13. Allotments and Assignments of Pay. Section 701.
• Chapter 15. Prohibitions and Penalties. Section 801.
• Chapter 17. Miscellaneous Rights and Benefits. Section 901.
• Chapter 19. Administration. Section 1001.

Key sections cited across the portal

• 37 U.S.C. 204. Basic pay entitlement.
• 37 U.S.C. 301. Incentive pay for hazardous duty.
• 37 U.S.C. 402b. Basic Needs Allowance (BNA) statutory authority.
• 37 U.S.C. 403. Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH).
• 37 U.S.C. 404. Travel and transportation allowances.
• 37 U.S.C. 415. Move-In Housing Allowance.
• 37 U.S.C. 421 through 422. Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay.
• 37 U.S.C. 501 through 504. Cash payment for accrued leave.
• 37 U.S.C. 551 through 558. Missing Persons Act provisions.
• 37 U.S.C. 1003 through 1006. Reserve pay administration.

Authority

United States Congress enacts Title 37. The Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives maintains the official text at uscode.house.gov. Implementing regulations live in DODFMR Vol 7A for the DoD framework and in MCTFSPRIUM for the Marine Corps transaction-level reporting.

Authority chain in the portal

• DODI 1341.15 implements 37 U.S.C. 402b (Basic Needs Allowance).
• DODFMR Vol 7A implements military pay policy authorized by Title 37.
• JTR implements the travel allowances authorized by Title 37 Chapter 8.
• MARADMIN 628/20 administers Special Duty Assignment Pay, Assignment Incentive Pay, and Volunteer Supplemental Incentive under Title 37 authority.

Status

Active and continuously amended. Originally enacted by Pub. L. 87-649 on 7 September 1962, effective 1 November 1962. Subsequent amendments restructure chapters (Chapter 8 was created in 2011 by Pub. L. 112-81). The current edition is the United States Code itself; the external link above resolves to the current Title 37 front matter.