Conferences

All requests for conference attendance approval should be made through a Concur Travel Request. The Travel Request must be submitted and approved for virtual conferences, local conferences if there are cost associated with attendance to the conference, and in-person conferences requiring travel. The Travel Request should include all anticipated cost, such as registration fee, mileage, parking, tolls, etc.

Mentor approval is still required if you are attending a local conference (within 50-miles) and no expenses will be claimed.

Conferences are often referred to by names other than “conference.” Other common terms used include conventions, expositions, symposiums, seminars, workshops, or exhibitions. Indicia of a formal conference often include but are not limited to registration, registration fees, a published substantive agenda, and scheduled speakers or discussion panels. Individual events may qualify as conferences without meeting all the indicia listed above but will generally meet some of them.

Local events within the local duty location that do not require advance travel authorization may also qualify as a conference if the event exhibits other key indicia of a conference, especially the payment of a registration, exhibitor, sponsor, or conference fee.

DOE-Sponsored Participants

Additional approvals are required for participants sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE facilities. You must submit a Travel Request no less than 60 days in advance from the conference start date or as soon as you are aware you may attend a conference. Note that some conferences may be “locked out” well in advance of the 60-day deadline; an advance submission does not necessarily guarantee your conference attendance will be approved.

You should not book your travel or incur any travel or conference-related expenses prior to receiving notification from Travel Central that DOE has approved your conference attendance. Do not ask the DOE hosting office to approve your conference attendance. You will not be reimbursed for expenses if the conference did not receive all required approvals in Concur.

If travel is required to attend a conference also refer to Domestic Travel or Foreign Travel.