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Pre-travel authorization form
Travel Reimbursement Form
Non-travel Reimbursement Form
Payments to Individuals

Pre-Travel Approvals 

Beginning March 7, 2025, non-local travel and training requests will be routed to a Dean, Chancellor (or designee), or Cabinet-level official for their review and determination of essential travel. In the College of Environment, directors and chairs have blanket approval for travel from the Dean.  

At EarthLab, travel must be preapproved, by the EarthLab Director for non-grant funded travel or the Principal Investigator (PI) for grant-related travel. Consulting with your manager or the F&A Pod prior to booking travel can also help reduce up-front costs for lodging and flights.

If you anticipate having guests from outside of the UW travel that will be billed to your program or project, you will be expected to follow this procedure on their behalf. This helps reduce delays in travel reimbursement for your guest. 

How to Request Pre-Travel Authorization

First, determine your organization-level business case, which includes how the travel relates to your work assignment and the expected benefits of the trip for the University, your unit, and/or your grant-funded project.

Fill out this form to send the information to the EarthLab F&A Pod, to confirm travel funds are available in the budget(s) you specify. Be prepared to answer questions including total expected cost and budget(s) to charge.

Send an email to the EarthLab F&A Pod (earthfa@uw.edu) copying your business case approver to alert the team that you submitted the form. For grant-funded travel, your business case approver is your grant Principal Investigator (PI). For non-grant funded travel, your business case approver is listed below:

EarthLab – Phil Levin
Center for Nature and Health – Gregory Bratman or Josh Lawler
Climate Impacts Group – Susan Dickerson-Lange or Jason Vogel
NW CASC – Meade Krosby
Washington State Climate Office – Guillaume Mauger
Washington Ocean Acidification Center – Jan Newton or Terrie Klinger

Your business case approver should reply all to the email with written approval. 

The EarthLab F&A Pod will review your budget to confirm that funds are available and provide a written response, copying the EarthLab director. 

Should both approvals have been made, the EarthLab director will reply all with written approval.  

Congratulations, you are now approved to travel. Please contact the EarthLab executive assistant or fiscal specialist to review options for booking travel up front.

Personal Time

Employees may want to add personal time to their business travel. If you plan to take any personal time during your work trip, you need a Comparison Airfare. This should be for a direct flight between your business destination and departure point for the dates you would have travelled without personal time. You must obtain this price quote before traveling, at the same time you purchase your airfare. If you have any questions about the rules for the Comparison Fare, please check in with our EarthLab Financial team earthfa@uw.edu before purchasing your tickets.  

International Travel 

If you are travelling internationally for UW business, you are required to register your travel with UW Global Travel. When you register your international travel, you will have access to 24/7 UW emergency response services, enrollment in emergency medical insurance and more. If your international work travel lasts longer than 30 days, your travel must also be approved by the UW Office of Global Affairs. Please review the UW Temporary International Remote Work Policy (updated August 2025).

Paying for Travel 

Official and Temporary Duty Stations 

UW uses the term “official duty station” to describe your primary physical address of work. You may only have one official duty station. “Temporary duty station” is where you will be travelling to – the official definition is a physical address where you will be working for less than one year.  

Travel expenses to and from a temporary duty station can be reimbursed, but travel to and from a permanent duty station cannot. Learn more on the UW Travel website.   

Common Eligible Travel Expenses + Payment Methods 

Here are some common travel-related purchases and how to pay for them:  

Transportation 

Airfare/Train/Bus: Employees should book the most cost-effective and reasonable mode of transportation. Booking fares above economy must be pre-approved. Refundable airfare is required for grant-funded travel and preferred for all other business travel. Please note there may be rules about international airfare using federal grant funds—consult the department before booking.

Rental Cars: Rental cars may be used when necessary and cost-effective. Employees should choose the most economical option. Drivers listed on the rental paperwork can only be the individual on business while traveling.

Mileage: If using a personal vehicle, employees will be reimbursed at the standard IRS mileage rate. A mileage log must be submitted. Rental cars are not eligible for mileage reimbursement. If you are requesting reimbursement for gas on a rental car, you must submit all fuel receipts.  

Accommodation 

Lodging: Employees are encouraged to choose reasonably priced accommodation. Reimbursement is provided for the actual cost.

Meals: Reasonable meal expenses will be reimbursed up to the per diem amount for your destination. Per diem rates for destinations can be found at the UW Travel Per Diem site. Alcohol expenses are not covered. Please note that individuals can only be reimbursed for their per diem, if you are covering someone else’s meal, you must submit itemized receipts and business justification. Meals provided during meetings or events require an attendee list AND business justification. Per diem guidelines should still be followed. 

Non travel reimbursements during your trip 

Employees may be eligible for non-travel business related expenses such as, but not limited to, conference registration, meals, etc. Non-travel expenses are subject to change, please review the College of Environment Reimbursements web page for the most up to date information or consult with the F&A team at earthfa@uw.edu. 

What to Collect While Travelling  

You must collect receipts for ALL purchases, even under $75. Please avoid making purchases via digital wallet (e.g. Venmo, PayPal) when possible. Check that the receipt includes the following information:

Vendor name
Date of payment
Total amount, including tip
Description of services
Indication that the bill was paid. (This could include the last four digits of the card number used to pay the bill, or the word “paid” on it. For hotels and rental cars, request the final, itemized bill upon check-out or car return. For Uber and other ride share, download the receipts from the app.)
Note that confirmation emails for lodging, rental cars and ground transportation do NOT count as receipts.

For food purchases 

F&A recommend claiming the per diem allowance for food, which is a straight-forward and cost-effective way to be reimbursed. If you claim the per diem for food, you will not be required to submit receipts for meals.  

If you choose to submit receipts, make sure the receipt includes the total bill, including tax and tip, which must be within the per diem limit. Things to note:  

Alcohol is not reimbursable.

The per diem allowance is the maximum reimbursable amount so receipts will not be reimbursed over, and may be reimbursed under, the per diem allowance.

In general, we recommend all travelers pay for their own expenses to expedite the reimbursement process. This is especially relevant when purchasing meals. For example, if you are travelling with colleagues for work, and one person pays for everyone’s dinner, it will be more difficult for that person to be reimbursed for everyone’s meals.  

To be reimbursed for travel, also collect:

Agendas for all conferences and meetings.

Descriptions of the business purpose for using a rideshare or taxi services (e.g., took an Uber from home to airport).

Descriptions of the business purpose for additional expenses indirectly related to your travel. Examples: Tickets to an event for team bonding; Art supplies required for participation in a workshop.

If you made a purchase with a digital wallet app such as Venmo or PayPal, provide a bank/credit statement (with redactions) showing the purchase. Please avoid digital wallet purchases when possible. 

Using a Corporate Travel Account  

Please contact EarthLab Finance and Administration (F&A) team at earthfa@uw.edu BEFORE you book a flight or hotel on EarthLab’s CTA. Notes on using a CTA:  

Hotel bookings are only purchased from the CTA if there are five or more staff on the same booking. Otherwise, use a Procard if possible.

Only room and tax should be charged on the CTA. Other hotel charges should be paid by the individual. If the expense is reimbursable, the traveler may submit an Expense Report.

The department must obtain a folio from the hotel for each room or a statement showing the breakdown of the total charges by room, by night and guest name. This detail should be audited for compliance with applicable regulations and filed with the CTA documentation.

If unallowable charges are billed to the CTA, the department is responsible for reconciling these charges to 64-XXXX discretionary funds or obtaining reimbursement from the traveler and depositing these funds using a reverse expenditure.

Travel Reimbursement

Travel costs charged to UW budgets must be work related and are to be obtained at the most economical price. Staff members are expected to use restraint in incurring travel expenses.  

Most costs associated with travel should be purchased using University payment methods such as the Corporate Travel Card (airfare) and conference registrations (ProCard). If you use your personal payment method, you will be reimbursed for authorized travel expenses once you submit the EarthLab travel reimbursement form; ideally within 30 days and no later than 60 days after travel ends. If you request travel reimbursement after 60 days, the reimbursement amount will be considered as income and taxed accordingly. 

Travel Reimbursement Form