Official Representation Funds Program
Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army
The Secretary of the Army designated The Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army (OAA) to be the Army's proponent for the use of Official Representation Funds (ORF) . OAA reviews, processes, and approves Army-wide ORF requests for exceptions to AR 37-47 policy and HQDA ORF requests that comply with regulatory guidance.
Army ORF policy does not apply to Army National Guard events. In accordance with OSD policy, the Chief, National Guard Bureau will promulgate ORF policy for the Army National Guard.
ORF are used by senior Army officials to extend official courtesies to authorized guests of the United States, DoD, and Department of the Army. The most common uses of ORF are for meals and refreshments at Army-sponsored events held in honor of authorized guests.
The official representation funds program is governed by the following regulatory and statutory authorities:
Department of Defense Instruction 7250.13 (Use of Appropriated Funds for Official Representation Purposes)
DoDi 725013p.pdf [PDF - 314.3 KB]
Army Regulation 37-47 (Official Representation Funds of the Secretary of the Army).
AR 37-47.pdf [PDF - 325.7 KB]
10 United States Code, Armed Forces, Section 127.
10 USC 127.pdf [PDF - 114.7 KB]
Official Representation Funds (ORF) requests must include the event's date/time, place, purpose, benefit, host, invitee lists of DoD personnel and authorized guests, and estimated costs and additional documentation as required by the scope of the request.
Current Army policy mandates that any event in excess of $35,000 requires an exception to policy granted by the AASA.
Other exceptions to policy include exceeding the regulatory ratio of DoD personnel to authorized guests at ORF events to avoid using ORF for events that primarily benefit DoD or DoD personnel.
The required ratio depends on overall size of the ORF party. For groups of 29 people or less, at least 25% must be authorized guests. For groups of 30 people or more, at least 50% must be authorized guests.
For these or any other Army-wide exception to policy, a complete request should be submitted to OAA at least 30 days before the event, or before the organization needs to obligate funds.
For Army-wide ORF events outside of HQDA that do not require an exception to policy, the Designated Official for that organization is responsible for approving the event, and coordination with OAA is not required.
Non-HQDA organizations can contact OAA for policy guidance even if no exception to policy is required to ensure compliance with DoD and Army policy.
For HQDA ORF events, they must be sent to OAA for approval. Those requests not requiring an exception to policy should be submitted to OAA at least 10 work days before the event, or before the organization needs to obligate funds.
Q: Where should we record guest information for an ORF event?
A: You should use the DA 4843, dated April 2020 and found on the Army publishing website.
Q: What level of host is required for ORF events?
A: DoD hosts for ORF events should normally be at the GO/SES level. Events can be hosted by people at the GS-15/O-6 level when appropriate and when a GO/SES has delegated hosting duties to them in writing.
Q: How much per-person is allowed for each guest attending an ORF event?
A: There is no standard set rate on how much guests are authorized per-person. Cost is subjective and acceptable rates vary depending on the location, stature of the DoD host and primary guest, scope of the event, and numerous other factors. To determine if your planned cost per-person is appropriate, you can compare to other similar events, or contact the ORF program manager for discussion.
Questions can be emailed to the Official Representation Funds program manager at: usarmy.belvoir.hqda-oaa.mbx.orf-eee@army.mil