Sixty days of ordinary leave, and ninety days total if you hold protected leave. Read that second number carefully, because the Army regulation still says something different: AR 600-8-10 paragraph 3-3 reads 120 days, and it is out of date on this point. The fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act cut the special leave accrual ceiling from 120 days (60 ordinary plus 60 protected) to 90 days (60 ordinary plus 30 protected), and the statute controls over the older regulation text. Anything above your cap is forfeited at the start of the fiscal year.
Readers asked this on CheckMyRegs and CheckMyAFI 12 times — this page answers it from the official catalogs and the publications’ own text.
| Branch | Controlling publication | Dated | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | AR 600-8-10 Current Leaves and passes — paragraph 3-3 predates the FY23 NDAA change | 2020-06-03 | Official link |
| Air Force | DAFI 36-3003 Current Military leave programme, including reserve carryover | 2026-02-26 | Official link |
| Marine Corps | MCO 1050.3J Current Marine Corps leave and liberty policy | 2009-05-19 | Official link |
| Coast Guard | COMDTINST M1000.8A Not in the current catalog Military assignments and authorized absences | 2013-10-07 | Official link |
| Navy | MILPERSMAN 1050-010 Current Navy leave policy in the MILPERSMAN 1050 series | — | Official link |
Leave accrues at two and a half calendar days for each month of active duty service, and you may accrue and carry forward up to sixty days at the end of each fiscal year — accrued leave above sixty is lost at the start of the new year unless it is protected.
“2–3. Leave accrual a. Leave accrual is based on law (see 10 USC 701). (1) Soldiers accrue leave at the rate of 2.5 calendar days for each month of active duty service. (2) Soldiers may accrue and carry forward up to 60 days leave at the end of each FY. (3) Temporary extensions allowed Soldiers to temporarily carry forward 75 days of leave from 1 October 2008 through 30 September 2015. However, accrued leave in excess of 60 days was lost at the start of subsequent FYs, beginning with 1 October 2015. (4) Accrued leave exceeding 60 days is lost at the start of new FYs unless protected by SLA or when a Soldier is in a missing status (per 37 USC 551).”
Since the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, the maximum retained at fiscal year end is ninety days: sixty of ordinary leave plus up to thirty of special leave accrual. Protected leave is also held for two years rather than three, and approval now normally rests with the first flag officer in the chain.
AR 600-8-10 paragraph 3-3 continues to authorise a maximum of 120 days, sixty ordinary plus sixty protected. That text predates the fiscal 2023 change and has not caught up — quoting it in a leave dispute will not help you, and banking on it can cost you thirty days.
“3–3. Rules to request special leave accrual a. SLA criteria are based on law as established in 10 USC 701. b. SLA authorizes Soldiers to carry forward a maximum of 120 leave days at the end of an FY (60 days of normal leave plus up to 60 days of SLA-protected leave). From FY08 through FY15, however, Soldiers could carry forward up to 120 leave days (75 days ordinary leave plus 45 SLA-protected days).”
Reserve component members can carry leave earned on one active duty tour into a future tour of thirty days or longer, but must elect it before the tour end date on the prescribed form.
“7.9. RC or SFAS-NSD Carryover Leave. RC or SFAS-NSD members may carry over leave earned during an active duty tour for use during a future active duty tour of 30 days or longer (long tour). RC members must make an election prior to tour end date by using DAF Form 1089A. Carryover leave usage is not restricted to the next tour and may be used on future/subsequent active duty tours. Members are authorized to carry leave forward, but commanders should strongly encourage members to take leave during the tour in which the leave was earned, as there is no guarantee that leave carried forward can be used due to unforeseen mission requirements.”
Where the gaining commander approves carryover leave, those days are included as part of the overall tour length and are taken during that tour rather than added to it.
“7.9.1.3. If the gaining commander approves, the carryover leave days will be included as part of the overall tour length and carryover leave will be taken during that tour. (T-3) Example for RC or SFAS-NSD only: RC or SFAS-NSD member agrees to a 60-day tour and asks to use 10 days of carryover leave. Commander approves an overall 60 -day tour length that includes authorized travel, duty time, annual leave accrued during the tour (5 days) and the 10 days of carryover leave.”
Department of the Army civilian employees run on a separate rule entirely — generally 240 hours, or thirty days, carried from one leave year to the next, with 360 hours for employees stationed outside the continental United States.
“b. Generally, the maximum amount of annual leave that a DA Civilian employee may carryover from one leave year to another is 240 hours (that is, 30 days). This excludes any restored annual leave. Exceptions to this general rule include− (1) A full -time emplo yee assigned to an area outside the continental United States (OCONUS) may accumulate and carry forward a maximum of 360 hours (that is, 45 days) from one leave year to the next. Upon return from overseas, the employee’s initial maximum annual leave accumu lation becomes 240 hours (that is, 30 days) or the amount carried over from the prior leave year, whichever is greater, not to exceed 360 hours (that is, 45 days). Once the returning employee’s leave balance falls at or below the 240 -hour limit, he or she must return to the maximum limit applicable to his or her currently held position. (2) Members of the Senior Executive”… (paragraph continues in the PDF)
Need this narrowed to your branch or a specific paragraph? Ask it here — free, and the answer quotes the regulation text where we have it indexed.
Updated 2026-08-01. CheckMyRegs is an unofficial index — always cite the official publication.