The Office of Personnel Management issued a final rule on October 16, 2026, eliminating the Time-in-Grade restriction on advancement to competitive service positions in the General Schedule. The rule amends 5 CFR Parts 300, 315, 316, 352, and 410 and is effective 90 days after its publication in the Federal Register. Primary source: federalregister.gov

Prior regulations generally prohibited advancing a candidate to a General Schedule position at GS-6 or above without completing 52 weeks in a position no more than one grade lower, though an exception allowed a two-grade interval for certain classified lines of work requiring 52 weeks in a position no more than two grades lower. The final rule removes this requirement for covered General Schedule positions.

Employees remain subject to all applicable occupational qualification standards and job-related qualification requirements established by their employing agency. The Office of Personnel Management corrected several technical cross-reference and drafting inconsistencies identified between the proposed rule’s preamble narrative and its amendatory instructions.

The comment period for the proposed rule ran from May 28, 2026, to July 27, 2026. During that 60-day window, the Office of Personnel Management received 75 comments. Of those, 41 supported eliminating the Time-in-Grade restriction, 22 proposed conditions, safeguards, or targeted alternatives rather than opposing elimination outright, and 11 opposed eliminating the restriction.

The Office of Personnel Management stated that eliminating the Time-in-Grade restriction creates eligibility for consideration but does not create an entitlement to promotion. It added that the rule does not require agencies to accept or act on promotion requests on demand and does not alter agency discretion regarding classification, funding, or the existence of higher-level work. Agencies may continue to establish and apply job-related promotion prerequisites, including specified periods of service in grade, provided they are consistently applied through the agency’s written merit promotion plan. Requirements governing how agencies evaluate, rank, and select candidates for promotion are established in 5 CFR part 335 and remain unaffected by this rule.

The Office of Personnel Management stated that the rule does not alter within-grade increase requirements under 5 U.S.C. 5335 and 5 CFR part 531, subpart D, nor does it alter Quality Step Increase authority under 5 CFR part 531, subpart E. It also stated that the rule does not alter veterans’ preference under 5 U.S.C. 2108 or the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act under 5 U.S.C. 3304(f), collective bargaining obligations under 5 U.S.C. chapter 71, or merit system principles and prohibited personnel practices in 5 U.S.C. 2301 and 2302. The Office of Personnel Management stated it is not adopting recommendations for governmentwide standards, documentation requirements, review boards, or reporting mandates governing accelerated promotions.