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Title 5, Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-110

§3321 Competitive Service; Probationary Period

Title 5 › PART III — EMPLOYEES › Subpart B — Employment and Retention › CHAPTER 33 — EXAMINATION, SELECTION, AND PLACEMENT › SUBCHAPTER I — EXAMINATION, CERTIFICATION, AND APPOINTMENT › § 3321

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

The President can set rules that require a probationary period before a competitive service hire becomes permanent and before a first appointment as a supervisor or manager becomes final. If someone is moved into a supervisory or managerial post and fails that probation, they must be returned to a job with no lower grade or pay than before. These rules do not apply to the Senior Executive Service or to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §3321

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The President may take such action, including the issuance of rules, regulations, and directives, as shall provide as nearly as conditions of good administration warrant for a period of probation—
(1)before an appointment in the competitive service becomes final; and
(2)before initial appointment as a supervisor or manager becomes final.
(b)An individual—
(1)who has been transferred, assigned, or promoted from a position to a supervisory or managerial position, and
(2)who does not satisfactorily complete the probationary period under subsection (a)(2) of this section,
shall be returned to a position of no lower grade and pay than the position from which the individual was transferred, assigned, or promoted. Nothing in this section prohibits an agency from taking an action against an individual serving a probationary period under subsection (a)(2) of this section for cause unrelated to supervisory or managerial performance.
(c)Subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall not apply with respect to appointments in the Senior Executive Service or the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 633(2)4.Jan. 16, 1883, ch. 27. § 2(2)4, 22 Stat. 404. The authority of the President to prescribe rules is added on authority of former section 633(1), which is carried into section 3302. Wording is changed because in practice an appointment is not made after probation. The words “or employment” are omitted as included within “appointment”. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117–81 struck out “, or any individual covered by section 1599e of title 10” before period at end. 2015—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–92 inserted “, or any individual covered by section 1599e of title 10” before period at end. 1988—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–325 inserted reference to Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug

Enforcement

Administration Senior Executive Service. 1978—Pub. L. 95–454 substituted “probationary period” for “probation; period of” in section catchline, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted provisions authorizing the President to take necessary action, for provisions authorizing the President to prescribe rules, and added subsecs. (b) and (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2021 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 117–81 applied as if effective Dec. 31, 2022, to correspond to the

Effective Date

of the repeal of section 1599e of Title 10, Armed Forces, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See

Effective Date

of Repeal note under section 1599e of Title 10.

Effective Date

of 1978 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 95–454 effective 90 days after Oct. 13, 1978, see section 907 of Pub. L. 95–454, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 3321

Title 5, Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110