How veterans' preference works: 5 and 10 points

Veterans' preference can put you at the top of a federal hiring list. Whether you get it depends on when and how you served, and it only counts if the right papers go in with your application.

If you're leaving the military and applying for federal jobs, veterans' preference is the rule that gives you an edge over other applicants. When an agency ranks applicants by score, it adds 5 or 10 points to a passing score. If you have a service-connected disability rated 10% or more, it can put you at the top of the list, whatever you scored.

It isn't automatic, and not everyone who served has it. It depends on when you served, how you were discharged, whether you have a service-connected disability and, if you're retiring, your rank. It only counts if the right papers go in with your application, and the hiring agency's HR office makes the call for each job.

Next to preference sit three hiring authorities: the Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA), the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) and the authority for veterans with a disability of 30% or more.

Who counts as a veteran for preference

Every category starts with two tests: how you were discharged, and when and where you served. Your discharge has to be under honorable conditions, which OPM's rules define as an honorable or general discharge. An other-than-honorable, bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge doesn't qualify.

For 5-point preference, your active duty has to fit one of these, from the law and OPM's regulation:

• Service during a war declared by Congress (OPM counts only World War II, through April 28, 1952)
• Service in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized
• Service from April 28, 1952, through July 1, 1955
• More than 180 days in a row, not for training, with any part between February 1, 1955, and October 14, 1976
• Service from August 2, 1990, through January 2, 1992, the Gulf War
• More than 180 days in a row, not for training, with any part between September 11, 2001, and August 31, 2010

That last window closed on August 31, 2010, the last day of Operation Iraqi Freedom. If your active duty began after that, time served alone doesn't earn 5 points. You need a campaign badge or expeditionary medal, or a service-connected disability. "Service during a war" doesn't help, because VA's broader "period of war" definition doesn't apply to federal hiring.

OPM sets which medals count, and HR offices apply its Vet Guide. The guide lists Afghanistan, Iraq and Global War on Terrorism campaigns and expeditions since September 11, 2001, as qualifying, and says any Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal counts. It also says the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Armed Forces Service Medal aren't a basis for preference.

There's one more test if you originally enlisted in a regular component after September 7, 1980, or entered active duty some other way after October 16, 1981 without 24 months of earlier continuous active duty. A 5-point claim based on a campaign medal or Gulf War service also needs 24 months of continuous active duty, or the full period you were called or ordered to serve. That rule doesn't apply if you were separated for a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, or released early for hardship or other reasons under 10 U.S.C. 1171 or 1173.

If you served in the Guard or Reserve, the two 180-day windows count full-time active duty other than training. OPM's HR handbook says active duty for training doesn't count toward 5 points for non-disabled veterans. For disabled veterans, training service counts too.

Which category you're in

OPM sorts preference into five codes. Your code goes on the list the hiring manager sees, next to your name and your rating.

CPS is a rating of 30% or more. CP is 10% to 29%. XP covers a rating under 10%, including 0%, plus Purple Heart recipients and veterans who receive disability compensation, disability retirement benefits or a VA disability pension but don't fit CP or CPS. The rating can come from VA or from your branch.

XP also covers family members who claim through a veteran, called derived preference. A spouse can claim it when a service-connected disability keeps the veteran from qualifying for federal work in their usual line of work. A widow or widower, or a parent of a veteran who died, can claim it, and so can the parent of a disabled veteran, each under conditions OPM sets out.

TP is 5 points for qualifying service with no disability. SSP is for a sole survivorship discharge after August 29, 2008, from service that would otherwise earn 5 points, with no minimum length of service. It requires a formal sole-survivorship discharge under 10 U.S.C. 1174(i), not merely an ill or disabled relative; the statute defines the qualifying family circumstances and exclusions. SSP carries no points, but you're listed ahead of applicants without preference who have the same score, or who are in the same quality category. Everyone else is coded NV, for non-veteran.

If you're retiring

If you retire at the rank of major or lieutenant commander (O-4) or above, you aren't a preference eligible for hiring unless you're a disabled veteran, which for preference means any service-connected disability, including a rating under 10%. Enlisted retirees, and officers who retire below major, aren't affected by this rule.

A "retired member" here is someone entitled to retired, retirement or retainer pay. So the rule doesn't catch a Reservist who retired at O-4 or above but won't draw retired pay until age 60.

The rule dates to the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which ended hiring preference for nondisabled retirees at major and above. A different rule, which cut the retired pay of retirees in federal civilian jobs, was repealed effective October 1, 1999. The preference rule wasn't, and it still applies.

One more rule applies at every rank, but only to jobs in the Department of Defense. For the first 180 days after you retire, you can be appointed to a DoD civilian job, including a nonappropriated fund job, only if the "Secretary concerned" authorizes it (with OPM's approval too, for a competitive-service job), or if the job's minimum pay has been raised under 5 U.S.C. 5305. A third exception, for a national emergency, was repealed in 2016.

The papers that prove it

For 5 points, the proof is your DD-214. Send the copy that shows your character of service, meaning the type of discharge, and your dates of service. OPM's job-seeker page says the Member 4 copy is preferable. Only your branch can certify that your service was under honorable conditions. If you can't find your DD-214, the National Archives takes requests on Standard Form 180.

For 10 points, add Standard Form 15, the Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and the proof it asks for. A rating of 10% or more (item 6) needs your DD-214 plus an official document from VA or your branch, dated 1991 or later, that certifies the rating. A rating under 10%, a Purple Heart or a disability pension (item 5) needs the DD-214 plus a statement dated 1991 or later, or your Purple Heart citation.

VA's benefit letters page lists a civil service preference letter and a benefit summary and service verification letter you can download. Whichever VA letter you send, check that it shows your service-connected rating and a date of 1991 or later, since that's what the SF-15 asks for.

A missing SF-15 isn't fatal. OPM's HR handbook tells HR offices to grant 10-point preference if the proof is there without the form. Missing proof is different: HR doesn't grant preference it can't document.

You don't need a DD-214 in hand to claim preference. If you're still serving, including on terminal leave, you can send a certification instead. It's a written document from your branch saying you're expected to be discharged or released under honorable conditions no later than 120 days after the date you submit it. Agencies must accept it and grant tentative preference. They check your DD-214 before you're appointed.

The law and OPM's regulation count those 120 days from the date you submit the certification, at the time and in the way the job announcement says. The 2013 SF-15 and OPM's FedsHireVets page word it differently, as 120 days after the certification is signed. Under the law, what matters is whether your expected separation date falls within 120 days of the day you apply.

If you're claiming 10 points while still serving, send the SF-15 with disability documentation from your branch, or a VA document issued in 1991 or later. The certification route is written for competitive-service jobs. If you want to use VRA, VEOA or the 30% authority before you separate, ask the hiring agency's HR office first.

The hiring agency's HR office decides your preference, job by job, at the time you're appointed. OPM rules only on claims based on a common-law marriage.

How the points change your place in line

Preference counts only after you qualify, with a passing score or by meeting the minimum qualifications where those stand in for a score. Then the agency ranks you one of two ways. If it uses the rule of many, the announcement has to say so.

The rule of many is a numbered ranking. OPM's final rule took effect November 7, 2025, and the old rule of three is gone. Agencies add 5 or 10 points to passing scores and list applicants in order, and ties go to preference eligibles. CP and CPS veterans are placed at the top whatever their score. Agencies must use it when they rank by numerical scores under delegated examining, the process for jobs open to the public.

Category rating sorts qualified applicants into quality groups instead of scores, and no points are added. Preference eligibles are listed ahead of applicants without preference within each group, and CP and CPS veterans go into the highest group.

Both methods have the same exception. CP and CPS veterans don't go to the top in scientific and professional jobs at GS-9 and above. OPM's list of those series includes accounting (0510), nursing (0610), engineering series such as civil (0810) and electrical (0850), general attorney (0905), computer science (1550) and education series such as 1701. Not every 0800 or 1700 series is on it, so check your series number against the list. Contracting (1102) is on the list but marked so that CP and CPS veterans still go to the top. IT management (2210) and management and program analysis (0343) aren't on it.

In OPM's own training example, an agency fills three GS-11 program analyst jobs with a cut-off score of 95. A CPS veteran scores 85, adds 10 points to reach 95, and is listed first, ahead of a non-veteran who scored 96. Two TP veterans at 90 become 95 and rank ahead of a non-veteran at 95.

Once you're on the list, a hiring manager can pick an applicant without preference over you in only three cases. That applicant is ranked higher, a pass-over is approved, or you've been removed after three real considerations. If you're CPS, only OPM can approve passing over you, and you get notice and 15 days to respond to OPM. For other preference eligibles, the agency documents its reason and tells you.

Preference covers permanent and temporary jobs in the competitive and excepted services, including the new Schedule Policy/Career jobs. It doesn't apply to the Senior Executive Service, to jobs that need Senate confirmation, or to promotions, reassignments, transfers and reinstatements. It also doesn't apply when an agency fills a job under a Direct Hire Authority, which lets it skip veterans' preference and ranking.

VRA, VEOA and the 30% authority

These three aren't preference categories. They're hiring authorities, separate ways into a federal job. You don't need a preference code for VRA or VEOA, and some veterans qualify for all three.

VRA. The Veterans Recruitment Appointment lets an agency hire you without competition into a job up to GS-11 or the equivalent. The GS-11 limit looks at the job's grade, not its promotion potential. You qualify if you're a disabled veteran, served in a war declared by Congress or in a campaign with a campaign badge, took part in a military operation for which the Armed Forces Service Medal was awarded, or were discharged within the last three years.

VRA defines a disabled veteran more narrowly than preference does: someone entitled to VA disability compensation, which takes a rating of 10% or more, or discharged for a service-connected disability. A 0% rating alone doesn't make you a disabled veteran for VRA. Only the three-year route has a deadline, and it's the appointment, not your application, that has to happen inside those three years. The window can't be extended. If you'd be relying on the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal for the service-medal route, confirm with the hiring agency's HR office or OPM before you count on it.

VRA hiring still uses preference. If preference eligibles are among the VRA candidates, the usual preference rules apply, and disabled veterans come ahead of other veterans. After two years of satisfactory service, the agency must convert your VRA to a career or career-conditional appointment, unless it was a temporary or term job. If you have less than 15 years of education, the agency must give you training or education. Your proof is the DD-214, showing your character of service, dates and any campaign medals.

VEOA. The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act authority is now in 5 U.S.C. 3304(l). It moved there from 3304(f) in December 2024. It lets you apply to jobs an agency posts under merit promotion procedures when the agency will accept applications from outside its own workforce. You qualify if you're a preference eligible, or if you were separated under honorable conditions after 3 or more years of continuous active service. Your latest discharge must be honorable or general.

VEOA has two limits. It doesn't work for excepted-service jobs, and preference isn't a factor in a VEOA selection, so your points don't count there. The agency decides whether you completed the three years. The law also protects someone honorably released shortly before three years on a first tour.

The 30% authority. Under 5 U.S.C. 3112, an agency can hire you without competition if you retired from active service with a disability rating of 30% or more, or have a compensable service-connected rating of 30% or more from VA or your branch. A VA rating notice must be dated 1991 or later. There's no grade limit. You start in a temporary job of more than 60 days and up to a year, or a term job of more than a year and up to four. The agency may convert you to a permanent career or career-conditional appointment at any time during it, but it doesn't have to.

For proof, OPM asks for a VA letter or discharge papers showing the disability, plus proof of an honorable or general discharge. Outside these three, disabled veterans in VA's Chapter 31 vocational rehabilitation program can be appointed with a Certificate of Training, and Schedule A covers people with certain disabilities.

One example, start to finish

Example (fictional) Renee Castillo is a 29-year-old former Air Force staff sergeant (E-5). She enlisted in September 2018 and separated on June 30, 2025, with an honorable discharge, after almost seven years of active duty. Her DD-214 shows no campaign medals. In December 2025, VA rated her service-connected disability at 20%. In October 2026, she starts applying for federal jobs.

Without the rating, she'd have no preference. Her service began after the August 31, 2010 cutoff, and she has no campaign badge. The 20% rating makes her CP.

Her first application is for a GS-9 management and program analyst job, series 0343, ranked under the rule of many with a cut-off score of 95. She scores 85. With 10 points that's 95, meeting the cut-off; as a CP veteran she goes to the top group because 0343 isn't on OPM's scientific and professional list. No one without preference ranked below her can be picked over her unless a pass-over is approved, with the reason documented and notice to her.

She also qualifies for VRA as a disabled veteran, so an agency could hire her without competition into a GS-11 job, even one with GS-12 promotion potential. VEOA opens merit promotion postings to her too, though her 10 points won't count there. The 30% authority isn't open to her at 20%. If VA rated her at 30% or more, she'd become CPS and could be hired under it at any grade.

This is general information, not a ruling on your eligibility. For each job, the hiring agency's HR office decides your preference; OPM decides only claims based on a common-law marriage. OPM's FedsHireVets site explains each category and authority for job seekers, and the Labor Department's free Veterans' Preference Advisor walks through the rules.