Paying relocation assistance is always at the discretion of the hiring department. The agreement to pay moving and relocation expenses must be pre-approved by the appropriate authority and is typically documented in the employment offer letter as a maximum (for example, the university will pay allowable and reasonable costs up to $ X,000).
Pre-approved and allowable moving expenses that the new employee paid out-of-pocket may be reimbursed through the Reimbursement System for 'Other Expenses.' The new employee may initiate this process after obtaining an active CalNet ID (note: Cal directory profile must include an email address).
Request for reimbursement must be submitted within 60 days from when the expense was paid or incurred.
Start the reimbursement process by completing the Relocation and Moving Expense Payment Request Form (Excel) to detail the related expenses.
In the reimbursement system, upload the form, paid invoices, receipts, a copy of the employment offer letter with details about the relocation assistance information, and any additional back-up documentation. Please be sure to mask any confidential, private or sensitive information in the documentation before uploading to the reimbursement system. Once departmental approvals have been completed, the system will route the reimbursement request to the Controller's Office for final review. The actual reimbursement payment will be issued through the UCPath Payroll system after applicable tax withholding deductions have been calculated.
Improving new hire relocation reimbursement process
We’re improving the process for reimbursing new hires who receive relocation benefits to make it simpler and reduce confusion or impact on their paycheck. The current process uses the legacy reimbursement system, with payments issued from BFS. The process requires subsequent reporting of the transaction to UCPath to impute income, resulting in tax withholding deducted from the new hire's paycheck. Under the new process, reimbursements will be paid directly through the UCPath Payroll system. This means applicable taxes will be withheld from the reimbursement payment itself, rather than from a future paycheck, making the process smoother and more transparent for employees. The process for Relocation payments made directly to a UC Preferred moving company is not changing.
Effective Monday, November 10, 2025, the reimbursement preparer will simply continue to submit their relocation reimbursement requests through the legacy reimbursement system, but instead of the reimbursement happening through BFS as it does today, it will be paid through UCPath, which generates payments on a semi-monthly production schedule. Once we’ve completed our final review, we’ll notify the reimbursement report preparer that we’re sending the transaction to UCPath for payment. Meanwhile, we’ve already begun developing a simplified routing and approval process for use in 2026. If you have questions, please contact us at disburse@berkeley.edu.