Title 22 › CHAPTER 52 — FOREIGN SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER III — APPOINTMENTS › § 3949
Limited appointments in the Service cannot last more than 5 years and, unless one of the exceptions below applies, they cannot be renewed. Appointments that are one year or shorter are called temporary. Extensions are allowed for a few specific situations: serving as a consular agent, under the rule in section 3951(a), as a career candidate to fix a grievance or if the appointment ends while the person is on uniformed service, when a career employee is detailed from another agency to a Foreign Service job, for foreign national employees, or in rare cases the Secretary can extend a noncareer limited appointment for up to 1 year or extend a career candidate’s appointment only for the short time needed to settle a grievance, claim, investigation, or complaint. Noncareer employees who have served 5 years in a row on limited appointments can only be hired again into another noncareer limited appointment after at least a 1-year break in service. The Secretary can waive that 1-year break if there is a special need.
Full Legal Text
Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
22 U.S.C. § 3949
Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102