Disturbance Expense

What Disturbance Expense is

Moving home costs more than the removal van. There’s getting your old place ready to hand back or let, redirecting post, fitting appliances, sorting satellite or cable, insuring things in storage. Disturbance Expense, or DE, is a fixed sum designed to cover the typical extra cost of a Service move, so you don’t have to itemise and claim every one of those things.

It covers moves within the UK, between the UK and overseas, and between overseas stations. The amount depends on what type of home you’re moving into and whether it’s in the UK or overseas. A separate child element helps with the cost of new school uniform when your children have to change school.

Who can claim

Regular personnel, Military Provost Guard Service and FTRS (Full Commitment) are eligible from their move from Phase 1 to Phase 2 training onwards, on any qualifying move.

To qualify you must be ordered in writing to move to a new place of duty for a permanent assignment, and you must be entitled to move at public expense, to or from a Residence at Work Address. For formal remote working, an alternative work address can count.

A few other moves also qualify: mid-assignment moves directed by DIO or made for Service reasons (or approved on strong welfare, medical or compassionate grounds), moves on security grounds verified by the police, and medical discharges or redundancies. Families of personnel who die in Service can claim for moves between Service homes and for their final move into private accommodation.

When you can’t claim

• Joining your initial Phase 1 training unit.
• Leaving the Services — unless you qualify under Final Tour of Duty, redundancy or medical discharge.
• Moving between two Selected Places of Residence.
• Returning from public accommodation to a home your family kept living in while you were away.
• Moves in your final six months of service — Final Tour of Duty rules may apply instead.
• Moves purely because of a temporary assignment, except in limited cases such as a family home that will be lived in for more than 182 days across two or more courses.
• Assignments to and from the EU Military Staff.

DE can’t be claimed alongside Insurance Allowance, and only one rate of DE is paid for each permanent assignment.

How much you get

Rates are as at 1 April 2026 and unchanged from 2025. Some older MOD web pages still show earlier overseas figures, so go by JSP 752.

Sharing a home

If you move into private accommodation shared with other Service personnel who aren’t your partner, you get half the rate when sharing with one other entitled person, or a third when sharing with two or more — rounded up to the next pound. Service couples living together get one DE claim between them, normally made by the partner recorded as PStat Cat 1s.

Worked examples

Mid-assignment, delayed and security moves

• Mid-assignment moves qualify when DIO directs the move or it’s for Service reasons. Moves for compelling welfare, medical or compassionate reasons need approval from DBS first.
• Delayed moves keep your entitlement where there’s a clear intention to move on assignment — for example if your family follows you later.
• Security moves, where a police force has verified a threat, are treated as moves for Service reasons and also bring Refund of Legal Expenses and removals entitlements.
• Transfers between Services with no break are treated as an assignment for DE.

The child element in detail

You can claim £109.41 for each child in full-time education — including nursery school or technical college — who has to change school because of your assignment. To qualify:

• You must be recorded as PStat Cat 1 or 2, with your children declared on JPA.
• You must be eligible for the family (SFA, SSFA, owned or rented) rate. People on the single accommodation rate don’t normally get the child element.

Is it taxed?

Some parts of DE are technically taxable under HMRC rules. For UK moves — including mid-assignment moves, Final Tour of Duty moves, short-distance moves and the child element — any tax and National Insurance due is paid by the MOD under a PAYE Settlement Agreement, so it doesn’t come out of your payment.

How to claim

1. Make sure you have your written assignment order and that your move is at public expense.
2. Claim through unit HR on JPA when you move, choosing the rate for the home you’re moving into.
3. Add the child element for each eligible child declared on JPA.
4. If you move into single living accommodation temporarily while sorting a permanent home, you can defer DE until you move in.

If your assignment is cancelled after you’ve already spent money preparing to move, you can claim those costs from DBS, up to the DE rate you’d have received.