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OPM Interchange Agreement and Other Special Authorities

Some individuals who are eligible for an Interchange Agreement or through another authority (e.g., Executive Order, Statute) can apply for Federal Government jobs without competing with the general public. However, this doesn't guarantee a job. You still need to meet job qualifications, go through the selection, and satisfy other requirements like background checks.

If applying to an announcement directly, the announcement must be accepting applications from outside of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In other words, the announcement should be available to individuals from outside of HHS.

You may be eligible if you meet one of the following:

  • You work at specific federal agencies that have a valid interchange agreement with the Office of Personnel Management (e.g., Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Nonappropriated Fund employees of the Department of Defense)
  • You're in certain roles not overseen by OPM:
    • Postal Career Service
    • Postal Rate Commission
    • Government Accountability Office
    • Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
  • You're eligible for a non-competitive appointment as an alumni from:

Required Documents

You must submit a record (like SF-50 or a Notification of Personnel Action) showing your job status by the job's closing date.

For more, see OPM’s Competitive Hiring page.

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