[Request for Advance Decision Concerning Reimbursement of Miscellaneous Expenses]

The Department of Agriculture requested an advance decision as to whether an employee of the agency may be reimbursed for various miscellaneous expenses incurred in relocating to a new permanent duty station. The employee claimed reimbursement for teacher certification and tuition fees for his wife and a medical records transfer fee for his children. A teacher certification fee is similar to other license fees that GAO has held are reimbursable as costs inherent in the relocation of a place of residence. GAO has also held that expenses required as a condition precedent to the issuance of a license, such as tuition, may be reimbursed as part of the cost of obtaining the license. Accordingly, the employee may be reimbursed for the teacher certification and tuition fees. Concerning the claim for reimbursement of the medical records transfer fee, GAO has held that the cost of transmitting documents may only be reimbursed where the purpose of the transmittal relates to an item that would constitute a reimbursable expense. Since the medical records were neither part of a fully paid medical contract nor required to be transmitted by law, they were not an allowable expense in themselves. Therefore, the medical records transfer fee is not reimbursable as a miscellaneous expense.