LTC rules for Central Government employees (2026–2029 block)
Leave Travel Concession (LTC) lets you and your eligible family travel at Government cost — to your home town or to any place in India — while you are on leave. It is governed by the Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988, as amended by DoPT Office Memorandums.
Who is eligible
- Central Government employees who have completed one year of continuous service on the date of the journey.
- LTC is a concession for travel while on leave — casual leave, earned leave or other regular leave, as admissible.
- Only travel within India is covered. Journeys with a foreign leg are not admissible.
- Employees of PSUs, autonomous bodies and State Governments usually have their own LTC/LTA rules, which may follow the central rules partly or fully. Check your organisation's policy.
Types of LTC
Home Town LTC
Travel to the home town you declared to your office. The declaration is made once and can be changed only once in your service, on genuine grounds, with the approval of the competent authority.
Anywhere in India LTC
Travel to any place in India that you declare in advance to your controlling officer. You can convert one Home Town LTC in a four-year block into Anywhere in India LTC.
How block years work
LTC runs in four-year blocks of calendar years. The current block is 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2029, made up of two two-year blocks: 2026–2027 and 2028–2029.
| Option | 2026–2027 | 2028–2029 |
|---|---|---|
| A. Two home town trips | Home Town LTC | Home Town LTC |
| B. One of each | One Home Town LTC + one Anywhere in India LTC, at any time in the four-year block | |
- Family living at your home town: if your family lives at your home town away from your headquarters, you may travel to your home town every year instead of all other LTC.
- Carry-over: an LTC not availed within its block can generally be carried over and availed in the first year of the next block. Ask your office how this applies to your case.
- Family can travel separately: you and your family members do not have to travel together, but each trip must fall within the same block.
Who counts as family
- Spouse (one spouse only).
- Two surviving children or step-children who are wholly dependent on you. Limited exceptions apply, for example multiple births at the second delivery.
- Parents and step-parents who are wholly dependent on you, whether or not they live with you.
- Unmarried minor brothers, and unmarried, divorced, abandoned, separated or widowed sisters, who live with you and are wholly dependent on you, provided your parents are not alive or are themselves wholly dependent on you.
"Wholly dependent" means the family member's income from all sources (including pension and dearness relief) does not exceed the minimum family pension plus dearness relief on it. Under the 7th CPC the minimum family pension is ₹9,000 per month.
If both spouses are Government employees, either of you can claim LTC for the family, but the same journey cannot be claimed twice.
Fresh recruits (first eight years)
If you joined Central Government service for the first time, special rules apply for your first eight years:
- After completing one year of service, you get three Home Town LTCs and one Anywhere in India LTC in each four-year block — effectively LTC every year for eight years.
- These two blocks are personal to you, counted from your date of joining. After eight years you move to the regular blocks.
- If your home town and headquarters are the same place, you cannot take Home Town LTC; you get Anywhere in India LTC on the 4th and 8th occasions only.
- Carry-over of LTC is not allowed for fresh recruits.
- You may convert one Home Town LTC to visit NER, J&K, Ladakh or A&N — plus one additional conversion for J&K/Ladakh. See the special scheme.
Good to know
- Inform your controlling officer before the journey, including the place you intend to visit for Anywhere in India LTC.
- LTC is admissible during leave preparatory to retirement only if the return journey is completed before the leave ends. It is not available after retirement.
- No daily allowance is paid on LTC — only the admissible fare.
Official sources
- Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988, as amended
- DoPT OM No. 31011/4/2008-Estt.(A) dated 23.09.2008 — LTC for fresh recruits
- DoPT FAQs on LTC entitlements of fresh recruits (OM No. 31011/7/2013-Estt.A-IV dated 26.09.2014)
Office Memorandums are published on the DoPT website. Where your department has issued its own instructions, those apply.
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