Time-in-Grade Eliminated: What Changes for GS Promotions

OPM ended the 52-week time-in-grade rule for GS-6 and above, effective January 19, 2027, but promotions still depend on qualifications and openings.

OPM published the final rule in the Federal Register on October 19. It says the change creates no entitlement to promotion and does not require any agency to promote anyone sooner.

Source: OPM, Elimination of Time-in-Grade, final rule, 91 FR 65887, October 19, 2026.

What Is the Time-in-Grade Rule?

Time in grade is a governmentwide requirement that dates to the early 1950s. To be promoted to GS-6 or above, a competitive service employee generally had to spend 52 weeks in a position no more than one grade lower. In some lines of work classified at two-grade intervals, from GS-6 through GS-11, the position could be two grades lower.

The rule never applied to Federal Wage System employees, pay-banded positions, or most excepted service positions. OPM tried to eliminate it before: it finalized a similar rule in 2008 and withdrew it in 2009 pending a broader review.

What Changes on January 19, 2027?

The 52-week requirement and the exception processes attached to it go away. Training agreements that provide for consecutive promotions no longer need OPM approval, and the old limit of two promotions in 52 weeks under those agreements no longer applies. Agencies will update their merit promotion plans, which may require bargaining with unions. Until an agency does, its current plan stays in force minus the time-in-grade restriction.

• 1

  October 19, 2026

  OPM publishes the final rule in the Federal Register.

• 2

  January 19, 2027

  The 52-week requirement and its exception processes end. Training agreements no longer need OPM approval.

• 3

  After the effective date

  Agencies revise their merit promotion plans, bargaining with unions where required. Until then, the current plan applies minus the time-in-grade restriction.

What Does Not Change?

OPM says the rule does not:

• Guarantee a promotion. It makes an employee eligible for consideration, nothing more.
• Waive qualifications. Specialized experience, education, and OPM qualification standards still apply.
• Replace merit promotion procedures. Agencies must still use written, job-related criteria under 5 CFR part 335.
• Touch within-grade increases or quality step increases. Those waiting periods are unchanged.
• Affect veterans' preference or collective bargaining obligations.
• Set a schedule for career ladders. Career-ladder promotions still depend on meeting the qualification requirements, performance, available higher-level work, and funding.

Will Promotions Actually Come Faster?

Not automatically. A promotion still requires higher-graded work that is properly classified, funding, and a qualified candidate. OPM's qualification standards have historically included a comparable one-year service period, and OPM says it is reviewing that requirement separately, so many job announcements may still ask for a year of specialized experience at the next lower grade.

Agencies can also keep their own job-related minimum time in grade or in a career-ladder step, as long as it is written into their merit promotion plan and applied consistently. OPM declined to set governmentwide standards for accelerated promotions, so practices will likely vary by agency. OPM Director Scott Kupor has said he expects agencies to set clear criteria.

What Are the Arguments For and Against Ending It?

Supporters, who made up 41 of the 75 comments OPM received, said time in grade held back high performers who were already doing higher-level work. One commenter said that once processing time is counted, the nominal 52 weeks can stretch to 15 to 18 months.

Critics warned that the change could increase favoritism and subjectivity and asked for review boards, written standards, and public reporting. OPM declined those requests. It said existing rules already require written, job-related promotion criteria, and that time in grade "prevents nothing that a supervisor intent on favoritism cannot accomplish by waiting 52 weeks."

Time in grade "prevents nothing that a supervisor intent on favoritism cannot accomplish by waiting 52 weeks."

What Should Employees Do Now?

✔ Read job announcements closely for specialized experience requirements, and ask your HR office whether your agency plans to revise its merit promotion plan.
✔ Keep records of higher-level work and results, since OPM says agencies may assess readiness through demonstrated results, training, technical assessments, structured interviews, and potential, not just the rating of record.
✔ Your SF-50s show your grade history, and FFEBA's SF-50 guide explains how to read them.

To see what a higher grade pays in your area, use the GS pay and locality lookup, and FFEBA's pay guide covers how grades and steps work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: OPM, Elimination of Time-in-Grade, final rule, 91 FR 65887 (October 19, 2026), Docket OPM-2026-0067, RIN 3206-AP05; Federal News Network (October 19, 2026); FEDweek (October 19, 2026); FedSmith (October 19, 2026).