Per the State of Minnesota Policy on Drivers' License and Record Checks and Minnesota State Board Policy 5.19.3.1 all faculty, staff or students, driving any vehicle for university-related activities, should take care to comply with applicable laws by: not driving with an inactive, cancelled, suspended or revoked license; maintaining appropriate liability insurance; refraining from driving while distracted or under the influence of alcohol or drugs; abiding by any applicable license restrictions; and driving lawfully and courteously.

All faculty, staff and students must receive Minnesota State authorization before driving for any university-related activities. Additional information regarding the process of requesting this authorization can be found on Public Safety Parking and Transportation web page. All faculty, staff or students driving on state business are required to complete the online Vehicle User Agreement.

Original itemized lodging receipt showing room rate and tax is required to claim lodging reimbursement.

Maximum Lodging Allowances
There is no rate schedule for non-PDF funds, but reimbursement is limited to the single room rate. Inquire about government rates when making reservations.

Sharing Accommodations
Each employee may claim one-half of the lodging expenses. You will not be reimbursed for expenses incurred by another employee even if you did in fact pay for their share. Each employee is required to submit their own expenses on their own expense report with receipts as evidence of payment.

Accompanying Spouse
The State of Minnesota allows reimbursement at the single rate when a spouse is accompanying an employee on an overnight trip. The employee should have the establishment certify the single rate on the receipt.

St. Cloud State partners with Enterprise-Rent-A-Car for its vehicle travel needs. The agreement provides vehicles for both authorized university employees and authorized student employees for field trips, meetings, and other official state business.

St. Cloud State Public Safety manages the travel/vehicle rental process. Information on how to reserve a vehicle can be found on the Parking and Transportation Travel/Vehicle Rental Procedures web page.

Reimbursement for Using Personal Car on State Business
If you choose to utilize your personal vehicle for state business the rate of reimbursement per the state bargaining agreements and compensation plans is as follows. Trips crossing calendar years will require the use of two rates to determine the reimbursement amount.

• 63 cents per mile - beginning January 1, 2025
• 60 cents per mile - prior to January 1, 2025

Mileage shall be paid based on the most direct route. This amount should be listed under "Trip Miles" on the Employee Expense Report. Vicinity driving should be listed under the "Local Miles" column. For trips that cross the mileage rate change, two rates must be used.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car has indicated that they should always have vehicles available. In the unlikely event that an Enterprise Rent-A-Car was requested but was not available the mileage reimbursement rate for a personal vehicle will be the standard IRS rate, which is 7¢ greater than the rate listed above. To obtain the higher reimbursement rate please attach to your travel reimbursement request a written statement from Enterprise Rent-A-Car indicating that a car was requested but was unavailable. The higher reimbursement rate is only applicable for in-state travel. All out-state travel will use the lesser rate listed above.

Out-of-state travel by personal vehicle may be authorized. Employees utilizing this option must include with their expense report an airfare quote dated at least two weeks prior to the trip. Your expenses by personal vehicle cannot exceed this quote and you will be reimbursed the lesser of the two amounts. All out-of-state mileage calculations are based on the lesser mileage rate as noted above.

Reimbursement for Rental Car
Reimbursement for a rental car while on a trip can be claimed, but a "justification statement" must be attached to your expense report. You must demonstrate that public transportation was more expensive or unavailable.

Reimbursement for airfare is limited to the lowest round-trip airfare available on the day the trip request was approved.

Employees may charge their airfare to the university at Bursch Travel. As soon as arrangements have been made at the travel agency, the employee should have their department submit an Internal Requisition (Form I.R. 1400) to Business Services for payment.

Receipts are required for the same expenses as domestic travel. Claims should be converted to U.S. Dollars at the exchange rate in effect at the time the travel occurred.

Employees must not travel to countries for which a travel advisory has been issued by the United States Department of State.

Special expenses include, but are not limited to:

1. Meals exceeding the maximum allowance.
2. Meals within 35 miles of the workstation.
3. Conference fees in excess of $1,000.
4. Lodging within 35 miles of the workstation.
5. Refreshments (coffee, tea, or soft drinks)

Employees requesting reimbursement of special expenses must request approval in advance of purchase or incurring the expense through Workday.

Receipts are required for all special expenses.

This section is UNDER MAINTENANCE

Faculty and Staff are to submit their requests for reimbursement through Workday.  

• Original receipts are required for all expenses except mileage, meals, parking under $10.
• Canceled checks or credit card receipts/statements are not acceptable as receipts.

At the close of the fiscal year all travel expense reports must be received in Business Services according to established due dates (usually July 10) or they will be charged to the next fiscal year.

Reimbursements/advances are included in the employee's paycheck. Because they follow the payroll cycle, please allow three to four weeks for processing.

Each employee will be reimbursed only for their own expenses.

Faculty and staff must submit their expense reports within 30 days after the expense is incurred (last date of travel or date of purchase) to allow time for approval and processing.  If the expense(s) are not approved and submitted to MMB within 60 days, the reimbursement becomes taxable by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for federal, state, FICA and Medicare; and withholding tax must be taken.

Purchases made by an employee on behalf of the University can be eligible for reimbursement if approved in advance by the responsible person on the account which the reimbursement will come from. Purchases under $5000 are eligible for reimbursement to an employee with the approval of the reimbursing accounts responsible person. Sales tax is not reimbursable from any account other than an agency account.

For reimbursement of a business expense submit a completed Payment Request Form (PR1400) along with the original receipt to Business Services in AS122.