Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§9840 Final settlement of officer’s accounts

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle D— - Air Force and Space Force › Part PART IV— - SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROCUREMENT › Chapter CHAPTER 983— - ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY › § 9840

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Before final pay at discharge, an Air or Space Force officer who handled public property must get a certificate from each supervising officer and a commanding‑officer‑certified statement that they owe nothing; officers who never handled property must give a commanding‑officer‑certified statement saying so.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §9840

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Before final payment upon discharge may be made to an officer of the Air Force or the Space Force who has been accountable or responsible for public property, the officer must obtain a certificate of nonindebtedness to the United States from each officer to whom the officer was accountable or responsible for property. The officer must also make an affidavit, certified by the officer’s commanding officer to be correct, that the officer is not accountable or responsible for property to any other officer. An officer who has not been responsible for public property must make an affidavit of that fact, certified by the officer’s commanding officer. Compliance with this section warrants the final payment of the officer concerned.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 984010:878.Jan. 12, 1899, ch. 46, § 2, 30 Stat. 784. The words “Before final payment upon discharge may be made” are substituted for the words “shall warrant their final payment”. The words “at any time” are omitted as surplusage. The word “must” is substituted for the words “shall be required * * * to”. The words “He must also make” are substituted for the words “accompanied by”. The words “from each officer to whom he was accountable or responsible for property” are substituted for the words “from only such of the bureaus of the Department of the Army to which the property for which they were accountable or responsible pertains”, since the Air Force does not have organic bureaus created by statute. The words “that he is not accountable or responsible for property to any other officer” are substituted for the words “accompanied by the affidavits of officers, of nonaccountability, or nonresponsibility to other bureaus of the Department of the Army” for the same reason. The reference to certificates from the General Accounting Office is omitted as obsolete. The last sentence is substituted for 10:878 (last 18 words). The last proviso of section 2 of the Act of January 12, 1899, ch. 46, 30 Stat. 784, is not contained in 10:878. It is also omitted from the revised section, since it related to authority of mustering officers to administer oaths, and the general authority to administer oaths is now contained in section 936 of this title (article 136 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice).

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2021—Pub. L. 117–81 substituted “The officer must” for “He must”. Pub. L. 116–283 inserted “or the Space Force” after “Air Force” and substituted “the officer” for “he” wherever appearing and “the officer’s” for “his” in two places.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 9840

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73