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Title 22, Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-110

§3945 Senior Foreign Service

Title 22 › CHAPTER 52 — FOREIGN SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER III — APPOINTMENTS › § 3945

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

Appointments to the Senior Foreign Service must be to a salary class set under section 3962, not to a specific job. No more than 5 percent of the Service may hold limited appointments. Peace Corps members are not counted toward that 5 percent. People who have reemployment rights under section 3950 as career Senior Executive Service appointees are treated as career members for the limit. Appointments made by the Secretary of Commerce do not count toward the 5 percent limit. Normally the Commerce Department may have only one person with a limited appointment at a time, unless the Secretary fills a specific overseas post where no qualified career member is available and the appointee has unique qualifications. The Secretary must create a recertification process for Senior Foreign Service members like the one in section 3393a of title 5.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §3945

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Salary class
Appointment to the Senior Foreign Service shall be to a salary class established under section 3962 of this title, and not to a position.
(b)Limited appointment
An individual may not be given a limited appointment in the Senior Foreign Service if that appointment would cause the number of members of the Senior Foreign Service serving under limited appointments to exceed 5 percent of the total number of members of the Senior Foreign Service, except that (1) members of the Senior Foreign Service assigned to the Peace Corps shall be excluded in the calculation and application of this limitation, and (2) members of the Senior Foreign Service serving under limited appointments with reemployment rights under section 3950 of this title as career appointees in the Senior Executive Service shall be considered to be career members of the Senior Foreign Service for purposes of this subsection.
(c)Appointments by Secretary of Commerce
(1)Appointments to the Senior Foreign Service by the Secretary of Commerce shall be excluded in the calculation and application of the limitation in subsection (b).
(2)Except as provided in paragraph (3), no more than one individual (other than an individual with reemployment rights under section 3950 of this title as a career appointee in the Senior Executive Service) may serve under a limited appointment in the Senior Foreign Service in the Department of Commerce at any time.
(3)The Secretary of Commerce may appoint an individual to a limited appointment in the Senior Foreign Service for a specific position abroad if—
(A)no career member of the Service who has the necessary qualifications is available to serve in the position; and
(B)the individual appointed has unique qualifications for the specific position.
(d)Recertification process
The Secretary shall by regulation establish a recertification process for members of the Senior Foreign Service that is equivalent to the recertification process for the Senior Executive Service under section 3393a of title 5.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Section 3393a of title 5, referred to in subsec. (d), was repealed by Pub. L. 107–296, title XIII, § 1321(a)(1)(B), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2296.

Amendments

1990—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101–280 made technical correction to Pub. L. 101–194. See 1989 Amendment note below. 1989—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101–194, as amended by Pub. L. 101–280, added subsec. (d). 1985—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 99–93 added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1989 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 101–194 effective Jan. 1, 1991, see section 506(d) of Pub. L. 101–194, set out as a note under section 3151 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Effective Date

of 1985 Amendment Pub. L. 99–93, title I, § 119(c), Aug. 16, 1985, 99 Stat. 412, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by subsections (a) and (b) [amending this section and provisions set out as a note under section 3901 of this title] shall take effect on October 1, 1985.”

Effective Date

Section effective Feb. 15, 1981, with an exception that appointments to the Senior Foreign Service by the Secretary of Commerce shall be excluded in the calculation and limitation in subsec. (b) of this section until Oct. 1, 1985, which was repealed by section 119(b) of Pub. L. 99–93, see section 2403 of Pub. L. 96–465, set out as a note under section 3901 of this title. Placement of Senior Foreign Service Personnel Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title III, § 324], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–437, required the Director General of the Foreign Service to submit a report on the first day of each fiscal quarter to the appropriate congressional committees containing the number of members of the Senior Foreign Service, the number of vacant positions designated for such members, and the number of those members not assigned to positions, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 107–228, div. A, title VI, § 671(4), Sept. 30, 2002, 116 Stat. 1407.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 3945

Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110