A service member may be entitled to Hostile Fire Pay (HFP) when the appropriate commander certifies that the member has met the requirements for entitlement to Hostile Fire Pay for a given month. Certification of entitlement shall be made at the lowest level of command. Certification shall include the name and social security number of each member entitled to the hostile fire pay, a short description of the incident, and when and where it occurred. A death certificate or injury report may be substituted in place of the certification if the document establishes the cause of the death or injury was due to hostile fire or an explosion of a hostile mine.

The same entitlement amount is also received by meeting different eligibility requirements that qualify a service member for Imminent Danger Pay (IDP). This entitlement is usually listed together as Hostile Fire Pay/Imminent Danger Pay. A service member can receive Imminent Danger Pay or Hostile Fire Pay but not both.