Separating from Active Duty

Event	TRICARE Qualifying Life Event?
Separating from Active Duty	No. Separating from the military means you leave the service before you retire. Generally, your TRICARE eligibility ends at 11:59 P.M. on your last duty day. You and your family members may have temporary health care coverage if your service grants you Transitional Assistance Management Program benefits. Once TAMP ends, you may qualify to purchase Continued Health Care Benefit Program coverage. Yes, but only if you have a spouse who's TRICARE-eligible as their own sponsor, and you're TRICARE-eligible under your spouse as a family member. Your separation is a QLE. This means you and your family have 90 days from your separation date or TAMP end date to make enrollment changes to your TRICARE plan. Your spouse must update their Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System record to show you as an eligible family member.

Event

TRICARE Qualifying Life Event?

No.

Separating from the military means you leave the service before you retire.
Generally, your TRICARE eligibility ends at 11:59 P.M. on your last duty day.
You and your family members may have temporary health care coverage if your service grants you Transitional Assistance Management Program benefits.
Once TAMP ends, you may qualify to purchase Continued Health Care Benefit Program coverage.

Yes, but only if you have a spouse who's TRICARE-eligible as their own sponsor, and you're TRICARE-eligible under your spouse as a family member.

Your separation is a QLE.
This means you and your family have 90 days from your separation date or TAMP end date to make enrollment changes to your TRICARE plan.
Your spouse must update their Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System record to show you as an eligible family member.

It's important to schedule your Separation History and Physical Examination before you separate or start your terminal leave. Make sure you schedule it between 90 and 180 days before your end date.

The SHPE is a medical exam that the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs use to capture your complete medical history. Learn more about the SHPE.

Things to Know When Separating From Active Duty:

Separating from active duty is different than retiring. Learn more about retiring.
Separating is also different than deactivating. When you're deactivating from the National Guard or Reserve, you're still a member of your unit. Your military status changes, so your health care options will also change. Learn more.
Your family members, ages 18 and older, can continue to access their medical information on milConnect. They can get a DS Logon for up to six months after your separation.

Active Duty Service Members

There are two programs for temporary coverage. You may qualify for either:

It’s important to remember that separating from is a different TRICARE QLE than if you retire. Learn more.

Terminal Leave

Going on terminal leave isn’t a QLE. While you’re on terminal leave, you still have TRICARE Prime. You must report any changes to your medical status. Learn more.

Learn more about other TRICARE QLEs

Retiring	Having a Baby
Getting Married	Moving
Getting Divorced	Becoming Medicare Eligible
Going to College	Child Becoming an Adult
Losing or Gaining Other Health Insurance	Death in the Family
Moving When Deploying	Injured on Active Duty
Activating	Deactivating

Separating from Active Duty

Separating from the military means that you leave the service before you retire. You and your family members may qualify for temporary health care coverage when you separate from the service. Learn more at https://www.tricare.mil/LifeEvents/Separating.

Last Updated 8/20/2025