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No overnight stay allowed when traveling 50 miles or less each way from Stanford or from home, whichever is farthest.

Exceptions can be requested via DFA for the following criteria:

• The employee’s attendance is necessary
• Per IRS guidelines, the employee must have adequate rest time. The University defines this as 7 hours. After commuting is considered, the employee will have less than 7 hours to rest at home.

• For travel in excess of 350 miles, commercial air travel is generally the most economical and practical; however, other forms of travel such as bus, rail or ship, may be allowed in certain circumstances.
• For travel of 350 miles or less, ground transportation by personal car, bus, shuttle service, ride service, taxi, rental car, or some combination of these is likely to be the most economical.

• Split, Co-Sponsored Travel – when travel costs of a Stanford faculty, staff, or student will be shared by Stanford and one or more external organizations
  • All travel purchased must follow Stanford’s Travel Expense policy.
  • Personal funds should be used to pay for travel expenses covered by the external entity
  • A Stanford travel card may be used to pay for the portion not covered by the outside entity and that benefits Stanford
  • If it is not easy to separate the costs that will be paid by the external entity, the Stanford travel card may be used for the total cost of the trip and Stanford reimbursed by the traveler or travel arranger for the external party portion.
• Fully Externally-Sponsored Travel – when a Stanford employee or student travels on behalf of an external organization that fully pays the travel costs
  • Stanford resources may not be used to book, purchase, or reimburse expenses for fully externally-sponsored travel
  • May not be booked via Stanford Travel booking channels
  • Use of a Stanford travel card and advances are prohibited

• Lodging: Stanford travelers may choose either the actual reimbursement method or the per diem reimbursement method.
• Travel meals: Stanford travelers must use the per diem reimbursement method.

Generally, the expenses of a spouse, family member, or other person accompanying the business traveler are not reimbursable. Such expenses are only allowed if the accompanying person has a position with the university and is traveling to make a significant contribution to the furtherance of the university business. Exceptions to this policy are rare and must be approved before travel by the Provost, outside of those related to house-hunting expenses for a prospective employee as outlined below.

House-hunting expenses for a prospective final candidate employee may include a spouse/same-sex domestic partner if pre-approved by the department Chair and DFA. The need for Stanford to reimburse these spouse/partner travel expenses should be judiciously and thoughtfully considered before approval and would be offered only to those candidates most likely to be extended a job offer.  Travel expenses for a final candidate’s children and other family members may be reimbursed on a rare and exceptional basis; submit requests for pre-approval to the SoM Controller’s Office. The reimbursable house-hunting expenses should be documented in a written letter of authorization to the candidate outlining the terms and conditions of the reimbursement, including a maximum to be reimbursed. No house-hunting expenses can be reimbursed after a candidate accepts Stanford’s offer of employment; such costs should be covered by a relocation bonus provided to the new employee.

Submit requests for other exceptions requiring Provost Office pre-approval for spouse/partner/family member travel to the SoM’s Controller’s Office.

Common airlines and economy fare classes allowed include:

• United Airlines: “Economy” and “Economy Plus”
• Southwest Airlines: “Wanna Get Away”
• American Airlines: “Main Cabin”
• Delta Airlines: “Main Cabin” and “Delta Comfort +”

The fare comparison documentation is often in the form of a screenshot of Stanford Travel of search results taken from a Stanford Travel booking channel on the same day.

Formal exceptions are not required if you save comparison screenshots at the time of booking. You may upload your documentation to the expense transaction with a robust business purpose.

Medical exemption to fly business or first class must be submitted annually unless it explicitly states they are for a long-term condition, in which case it will be valid for five years.

Visitors will require a new note and medical exemption request submitted per visit (no blanket exemptions).

Submit a request on the Stanford Services & Support Portal with a doctor’s note that includes:

• The medical reason for requesting to fly business or first class.
• Whether this request is due to a short-term or long-term need. If this request is short-term and does not apply to the whole fiscal year, please provide an expiration date.

2/3 of airfare must be recorded to an unallowable expenditure type.

The primary purpose for reimbursing a travel meal is to defray the cost of meal expenses when traveling outside of one’s local area, which is defined as more than 50 miles away from home or Stanford, whichever is greater.

Stanford travelers (university affiliates) have two options to claim travel meals while traveling for Stanford business – per diem or daily maximum. One option must be selected for the entire duration of the trip. 

Non-Stanford-affiliated guests (visitors) must follow the Daily Maximum guidelines (per diem is not allowed for visitors). Receipts are only required for meals greater than $75.

The University uses the per diem rates established by the U.S. Government – domestic per diem rates are maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA), and foreign per diem rates by the Department of State.

All meals provided by a conference must be deducted from the per diem claim.

If per diem is claimed for meals, a traveler can be reimbursed for a business meal or group travel meal they host for others, but the traveler paying for the business/group meal must deduct the meal from their per diem claim.  Other SU travelers participating in the business/group meal claiming per diem must also deduct that meal from their per diem.

The traveler may claim a daily maximum of actual receipts.

All meals provided by a conference must be deducted from the daily maximum claim.

A business meal may occur while traveling – deduct the travel meal and claim a business meal (using business meal guidelines).

Domestic: $90/day (Breakfast: $20, Lunch: $30, Dinner: $40)

International: $140/day  (Breakfast: $30, Lunch: $40, Dinner: $70)

Stanford Travel will flag hotel rates above the guidelines to alert the traveler.

Standard rooms should be booked (no deluxe, premium, suites, etc.).

Domestic – $250, excluding taxes/fees, regardless of occupancy

International – based on federal per diem rates by location

The rate maximum guidelines (excluding taxes/fees) can increase for the following cities:

• $450 – Palo Alto and vicinity (10  miles from city center), New York City
• $385 – San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, Chicago
• $330 – Boston, Los Angeles area (includes Los Angeles County, Ventura County and Orange County), San Diego, Seattle, Washington DC, Austin, Honolulu

Conferences often offer conference rates, or special rates offered by the conference organizers, on hotel rooms where that conference is being held. Lodging booked at conference rates is acceptable, even if those rates exceed Stanford’s hotel and lodging rate maximums, as long the conference hotel guidance is followed.

When a room block for conference rooms at the special rate is sold out, a room may still be booked in the conference hotel, even if it is above the established lodging maximums. In these situations, note in the business purpose that the conference hotel was sold out and provide documentation, which should be captured at the time of booking to demonstrate that:

• The hotel was, in fact, the conference hotel (i.e., capture a screenshot of the conference website listing the hotel as a conference hotel), and
• Include proof that the special block of rooms at the conference rate was sold out (i.e., capture a screenshot of the room availability and rates)

Travelers should use reasonable and economical means for travel to and from the airport. The university reimburses for actual expenses when traveling to or from an airport, including personal mileage, parking fees, ride-hailing service charges, and taxi fares. When airport parking costs are considered, shuttle or ride services are usually the most economical solution for trips lasting 3 days or longer. The use of ride-share services is not required, even if it is the most economical option.

If a traveler decides to park at a local airport, they should choose the most economical onsite parking, usually Long Term or Economy, rather than daily or hourly lots.

Car services are generally not considered the most economical option. Tesla on Call, Tesla Taxi, and rideshare premier services like Uber Select/Black and Lyft Lux/Black are considered car services. A reasonable and rational explanation must be provided if a car service is selected.

Car services should only be used for special situations (very early/late flights, to/from a remote residence, or when the traveler needs additional assistance (i.e., requires medical accommodation)) and/or when it makes the most economic sense, such as a small group traveling together.

Travelers are not required but are encouraged to use Stanford Travel when booking car service.

When a car service is used for one of these special situations, the maximum reimbursement is $300 round trip or $150 for a one-way trip.

Travelers are expected to select the most reasonable and economical option.

The university will not pay or reimburse the cost of transportation (such as private sedans, limousines, rideshare services, or other car services) used to travel on, around, or between campuses.

When conducting meetings with individuals in different work locations, the University strongly encourages employees to utilize Zoom for virtual meetings or Stanford shuttles, where applicable. If in-person meetings are considered the most appropriate, and Stanford shuttles are not available, all transportation costs (including mileage, parking, etc.) will be considered commuting expenses which are not reimbursable. This includes, but is not limited to, employees whose primary work location does not require paid parking, events/trainings held on campus, etc. Travel costs may be reimbursable if the employee is in a formal remote work arrangement AND lives outside of the 10 Bay Area counties*.

*The 10-county area includes all of the following counties: Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, San Francisco County, Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Marin County, Napa County, Sonoma County, Solano County, or Santa Cruz County.

The university self-insures against risk for all employees and students who rent a car from any agency while on university business within the continental U.S.

• Stanford travelers should not elect additional car rental insurance within the continental United States.
• Stanford travelers should accept additional car rental insurance in foreign countries and Hawaii.

Only business-related, non-travel expenses should be charged on the PCard. Personal expenses are not permissible under any circumstances.  See Fingate for current examples of permissible and non-permissible expenses on a Stanford PCard.

Purchases (including tax, shipping and installation) must be under $5,000. Splitting a purchase into multiple transactions to stay under $5,000 is not permissible under any circumstances.

Expenses should be verified and approved within 60 days.

Before purchasing items from other suppliers, check Amazon for Business first for availability. 

• Free two-day shipping on Prime-eligible items
• Relieves administrative burden for both verifiers & approvers