Overview

Our Agency issues Governmentwide guidance on documenting individuals' Federal employment. OPM and the agency human resources offices use these documents to make decisions about employees' rights and benefits throughout their careers. Here you'll find instructions for Federal agencies' human resources offices on preparing personnel actions and keeping the Official Personnel Folder.

Related Information

How to create, use and transfer Official Personnel Folders
How to Reconstruct a Personnel Folder
Creditable Service for Leave Accrual
Updates Via Email

Guide to Processing Personnel Actions

The Guide to Processing Personnel Actions (GPPA) posted on this site is the most current version. Chapters of the GPPA are being revised on an ongoing basis. As a chapter is revised, the date it was last updated is noted beside each chapter title. This document contains information on how to prepare and process personnel actions, Standard Form 52 (SF-52), and Standard Form 50 (SF-50).

The GPPA Quick Sheet: Understanding the Basics provides a basic understanding of the OPM GPPA and the Standard Forms (SFs) used to process personnel actions for federal civilian employees.

Note: As GPPA chapters are being revised, changes and/or deletions to information contained in chapters are documented as follows:

Changes in text or data are documented using angled right and left brackets surrounding the changed text or data in dark red font. Example: >Changed Text
Deletion of text or data is documented by three green asterisks. Example: ***
All symbols referencing historical changes made to previous versions will be removed from revised chapters.

Cover Page
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - The Guide to Processing Personnel Actions (Effective 07/15/22)
Chapter 2 - Reserved
Chapter 3 - General Instructions for Processing Personnel Actions (Effective 02/29/24)
Chapter 4 - Requesting and Documenting Personnel Actions (Effective 02/15/24)
Chapter 5 - Reserved
Chapter 6 - Creditable Service for Leave Accrual (Effective 06/29/23)
Chapter 7 - Documenting Veterans' Preference (Effective 04/18/23)
Chapter 8 - Reserved
Chapter 9 - Career and Career-Conditional Appointments (Effective 07/14/22)
Chapter 10 - Nonstatus Appointments in the Competitive Service (Effective 07/14/22)
Chapter 11 - Excepted Service Appointments (Effective 06/29/23)
Chapter 12 - Reserved
Chapter 13 - Senior Executive Service (SES) (Effective 02/29/24)
Chapter 14 - Promotions, Changes to Lower Grade, Level or Band, Reassignments, Position Changes and Details (Effective 02/29/24)
Chapter 15 - Placement in Nonpay or Nonduty Status and Documentation of Written Warnings (Effective 04/17/24)
Chapter 16 - Return to Duty from Nonpay Status (Effective 04/10/23)
Chapter 17 - Pay and Step Changes (Effective 10/27/23)
Chapter 18 - Exceptions to Reduction in Force Release (Effective 04/17/24)
Chapter 19 - Continuance (Effective 06/29/23)
Chapter 20 - Name Change (Effective 04/18/23)
Chapter 21 - Realignment and Mass Transfer (Effective 05/19/23)
Chapter 22 - Change in Federal Employees Group Life Insurance and Election of Living Benefits (Effective 09/28/23)
Chapter 23 - Change in Duty Station (Effective 04/18/23)
Chapter 24 - Change in Work Schedule/Change in Hours (Effective 08/02/23)
Chapter 25 - Reserved
Chapter 26 - Change in Tenure (Effective 10/12/23)
Chapter 27 - Phased Employment/Phased Retirement (Effective 10/12/23)
Chapter 28 - Change in Data Element (Effective 04/10/23)
Chapter 29 - Bonuses and Awards (Effective 04/10/23)
Chapter 30 - Retirements (Effective 09/28/23)
Chapter 31 - Separations by Other than Retirement (Effective 09/28/23)
Chapter 32 - Interim Relief Actions, Corrections, Cancellations and Replacement Actions for Cancellations (Effective 02/29/24)
Chapter 33 - Documentation of Volunteer Service (Effective 09/28/23)
Chapter 34 - Topic Index (Effective 03/13/24)
Chapter 35 - Glossary of Terms Used in Processing Personnel Actions
Back Page

Updates reflecting changes to pages in the Guide are reflected below. Collectively, updates are already included within the Guide available on this site.

3, 4, 11, 13, 14, 30, 31