Special authorities

Eligibility

You may be eligible under a special authority if you are a:

• Former employee of the Canal Zone Merit System or Panama Canal Employment System.
• Former employee who served in the Office of the President or Vice President or on the White House staff.
• Former incumbent of a position brought into the competitive service.
• Disabled veteran who has completed a training course under Chapter 31 of title 38, United States Code.
• Former ACTION volunteer.
• Current or former Foreign Service officer or employee.
• Former employee of the Panama Canal Commission located in the United States.
• Current or former Department of State employee on certain foreign service limited non-career appointments.
• Alumni from certain educational programs.

There are specific eligibility requirements for each of these special hiring authorities. Please read OPM's code of federal hiring regulations for more details.

How do I know a job is open to a special hiring authority?

In the job announcement look for the This job is open to section. When a job is open to a special hiring authority you'll see the Special authorities icon: You also need to look at the Clarification from the agency section for further details about eligibility. There may be other groups listed that can also apply.

In search, select the Special authorities filter. Your results will display all jobs open to special authorities.

Documents you may need

Depending on the job, you may need to provide several different documents with your application. The Required documents section in the job announcement will list any required documents. Learn about the different document types.