Obtaining Approval for Move/Relocation Expenses
Last Updated: August 28, 2023 1:08:06 PM PDT
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Follow these guidelines to obtain approval for payment of moving expenses for eligible new appointees or transferring employees.
1. Check eligibility for payment of move/ transfer expenses for the person being hired or transferred.
- Ensure eligibility for payment of move/relocation expenses.
2. Determine the appropriate approval authority for the type of payment you are requesting.
- Approval authority for move/ transfer expenses is one of the following:
- Senior Management Group (SMG) & Management and Senior Professionals (MSP) Professional and Support Staff (PSS). Submit the approval request to the designated authority by following the appropriate hierarchy for the hiring department:
- Katie Brittingham, Talent Lead, Talent Acquisition
- Doug Levine, Manager of Talent Acquisition, UC San Diego Health
- CEO, UCSD Medical Center
- Dean, School of Medicine
- Assistant Vice Chancellor, Business and Fiscal Affairs, Health Sciences
- Associate Dean, Academic and Staff Administration, Health Sciences
- Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), UC San Diego Health
- Senior Management Group (SMG) & Management and Senior Professionals (MSP) Professional and Support Staff (PSS). Submit the approval request to the designated authority by following the appropriate hierarchy for the hiring department:
- Academic positions
- See the Academic Affairs website to review the Approval of Moving Expenses for Academic Appointees. On their chart: For General Campus, the higher authority serves as exception approver.
- Note: Postdoc move reimbursements through July 2021 were approved by VC-Research Affairs and effective July 1, 2021, they are approved by the Dean of The Graduate Division. After all department approvals are obtained, IPPS Travel will route the expense report to the Office of Postdoctoral Scholar Affairs for final review and approval of the expense report.
3. Obtain approval.
- Before making a commitment to the person who will be moving or transferring, submit a request for move/relocation approval. For academic, the move approval form or approval request memo must be submitted by your department chair or administrative head to the appropriate approval authority (see
list of approval authorities above in Step 2). For campus staff approvals, submit via e-mail and provide:- Name and title of new or transferring employee
- Payroll title of position
- Title code
- Department
- If the position was filled by an open recruitment (including requisition number)
- Point of Origin: New Hire/ Candidate’s current location (City, State Zipcode)
- Destination: New Hire/ Candidate’s new residence location (City, State Zipcode if known)
- Applicable dates
- Estimated dollar amount of the reimbursement requested
- Funding source
- Details of the request (i.e. general move of household goods, transportation)
- Requisition Number of the recruitment
- Chancellor's approval documentation (exception requests only)
- Note: If the point of origin is outside the United States, Mexico, or Canada, include an estimate of foreign moving costs.
- Redact the Street Address line of any residence addresses to protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and data privacy. Displaying the City, State Zipcode is sufficient to verify the move.
- If the approval authority approves the request, your department will receive the signed approved form (or e-mail if applicable). Attach a copy to the Concur Expense Report.
- Expense reimbursement requests should be submitted within 60 days of when the expense was incurred.
4. If the person is seeking payment that qualifies as an exception to policy, follow these steps for requesting a policy exception.
- The hiring department must request, in advance, any applicable exception to policy specifying:
- Name and title of new or transferring employee
- Payroll title of position
- Title code
- Department
- If the position was filled by an open recruitment (including requisition number)
- Points of origin and destination of move
- Applicable dates
- Estimated dollar amount of the reimbursement requested
- Funding source
- Details of the request (e.g., general move of household goods, transportation)
- Requisition Number of the recruitment
- Special circumstances or need for the exception
- Submit the request for exception to the appropriate approval authority:
- Management and Senior Professionals (MSP) Professional and Support Staff (PSS)
- Submit to your department chair or administrative head, who follows appropriate hierarchy for Chancellor approval. Health Sciences and Medical Center submit requests to the CEO UC San Diego Medical Center for approval.
- Senior Management Group (SMG)
- Follow appropriate hierarchy for required review and approval by the Regents.
- Academic positions
- See the Academic Affairs website
- Management and Senior Professionals (MSP) Professional and Support Staff (PSS)
- If you receive approval, attach original receipts, copies of the approval, and exception memos to the Concur Expense Report.
For more information, see who to contact for additional guidance.
Notice: Published UCSD policy is decisive as it has been adapted to UCSD's organization, delegation of authority, terminology, chart of accounts. The source for this policy is UC Policy and Regulations for MSP and PSS personnel (PDF) and Senior Management Group Moving Reimbursement (PDF).