Last Updated: September 6, 2026 Reading Time: 10 min

Five separate agency relocation stories broke in the first week of September, and nobody put them in one place. This tracker does. Every 2026 federal headquarters move and directed geographic reassignment we can verify sits in one table: agency, where to where, how many people, the decision deadline, and what happens if you say no. Below the table is the part employees actually need, the rules that decide whether declining gets you severance and an early pension or nothing.

Update, September 6, 2026: Tracker launched. Rows verified against agency releases, court filings, and first-tier reporting as of this date. Watch items: Army Corps of Engineers New York lease (none signed as of the last confirmable report), the HUD GAO opinion, any FBI appeal, and USDA's wave of September 30 report dates.

The Tracker

FedTools 2026 compilation, verified September 6, 2026. Headcounts are the agency's or the court record's, cited per row.

Agency What From, to Employees affected Deadlines If you decline Status
USDA (department-wide) Directed reassignment to five regional hubs Washington, DC, to Fort Collins CO, Raleigh NC, Kansas City MO, Indianapolis IN, Salt Lake City UT About 2,600 DC-area positions (USDA, Aug. 1, 2025). 725 letters issued so far; 64% accepted, per an Aug. 28, 2026 court declaration (GovExec, Sept. 3) Individual letters carry their own report dates, many Sept. 30, 2026; USDA targets completion by end of 2026 Outside-commuting-area decline is processed as an adverse action; severance and DSR potentially available In progress; litigated. Sept. 2, 2026: Judge Susan Illston (N.D. Cal.) declined to add the USDA claims to the existing AFGE workforce case and denied the preliminary-injunction motion as moot (Reuters, Bloomberg Law). Employees separately dispute the 64% figure
USDA Forest Service (subset of the USDA row) HQ move plus regional office and research station closures Washington, DC, to Salt Lake City, UT About 260 HQ positions to Salt Lake City, about 130 remaining in DC (Forest Service, March 31, 2026) Sept. 30, 2026 report date on directed reassignments Same as USDA; VERA and VSIP (up to $25,000) offered to affected staff since June In progress
HUD Full headquarters relocation Weaver Building, Washington, DC, to 2415 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria, VA About 2,700 to 3,000 headquarters employees (HUD and GSA materials, 2025 to 2026) Bulk moves executed January to April 2026 Same-region move; treated as a standard PCS-style directed move, not an outside-commuting-area reassignment Largely complete; contested. Senate appropriators requested a GAO legal review Feb. 13, 2026; a March 26 letter from Senators Van Hollen, Warren, and Alsobrooks references it. DC business plaintiffs sued in July 2026
CFPB HQ lease terminated; consolidation; remote staff recalled 1700 G St. NW to 445 12th St. SW, Washington, DC About 650 DC-area staff ordered in person; about 450 remote staff nationwide ordered to relocate to Washington DC staff in person by July 13, 2026; remote-staff decision deadline extended to Nov. 2, 2026 (Bloomberg Law, July 15) amid union negotiations Remote employees who decline face separation; the severance and DSR pathway has not been documented publicly Consolidation complete; remote recall paused pending director confirmation
Army Corps of Engineers, NY District and North Atlantic Division Office relocation 26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan, and Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, to leased space in northern New Jersey About 465 employees (Federal News Network, May 2026; congressional letter, July 17, 2026) Feb. 23, 2026 directive: leadership by Aug. 15, 2026; remaining staff by Dec. 31, 2026 Outside-commuting-area rules apply if the New Jersey site falls outside the New York commuting area; employees told reporters they would quit rather than move Stalled. No lease signed as of the last confirmable report (NPR, Aug. 3, citing status as of July 23); congressional investigation requested July 17
FBI (headquarters) Consolidation of headquarters into one building J. Edgar Hoover Building and six leased sites to the Ronald Reagan Building (planned) About 6,000 headquarters personnel (GSA FY2026 prospectus) Construction had targeted about FY2030 Not applicable; frozen before any move Blocked. Aug. 17, 2026: Judge Theodore Chuang (D. Md.) permanently enjoined the move, ruling the reprogramming of $555 million appropriated for the Greenbelt, MD site unlawful; Greenbelt restored as the presumptive site. No appeal filed as of Sept. 6
CPSC Headquarters move Bethesda Towers, Bethesda, MD, to 441 G St. NW (GAO Building), Washington, DC Headcount not disaggregated in the June 18, 2026 announcement Target completion October 2026 Same commuting area; standard directed move Announced
DOE and Education ("HQ swap") Building consolidation within DC DOE: Forrestal to LBJ Building; Education: LBJ to 500 D St. SW Not disaggregated (GSA, March 26, 2026) Education move targeted August 2026 Same commuting area Scheduled
GSA and OPM Temporary consolidation during renovation GSA: 1800 F St. NW to OPM's Theodore Roosevelt Building (July 2026); both back to a renovated 1800 F St. by Dec. 2028 About 1,600 GSA employees relocated within DC (Wired, Aug. 2026) $239 million renovation approved by the House T&I Committee, June 2026 Same commuting area In progress
Interior / BLM (2019 to 2021 precedent) HQ move, then reversal Washington, DC, to Grand Junction, CO, then back 328 positions slated to move; 41 relocated (12.5%); the rest retired or found other jobs Reversal announced Sept. 17, 2021 Historical Reversed. Included as the only completed U.S. HQ relocation with a published acceptance rate

Two rows deserve a footnote. The Forest Service is a subset of the USDA total, so the two rows are not additive. And the BLM rate has a second version: some GAO-based reporting computes 23% off a 176-position subset. Either way, fewer than one in four moved.

What the Numbers Say

FedTools 2026 analysis of the tracker rows.

Adding the verified headcounts across the four active outside-region moves, USDA (2,600), HUD (2,700 at the low end), CFPB (about 1,100 across the in-person and remote orders), and the Army Corps (465), gives at least 6,865 federal employees facing a directed geographic move in 2026. The FBI's 6,000 sit outside that floor because their move is enjoined.

The acceptance question has two data points. USDA's first 725 letters came back 64% accepted, according to the department's August 28 court declaration. BLM's completed 2019 move landed at 12.5%. Paper acceptance at letter time and bodies at desks two years later are different measurements, and the Grand Junction history is the reason employee groups distrust the 64%. Watch for USDA's next filing.

On cost, the public figures are partial: roughly $70 million for the HUD move, GSA's $239 million renovation of 1800 F Street, and $555 million in FBI appropriations now frozen by the injunction.

What Declining Actually Means

The rules below turn the tracker into a decision guide. They apply to competitive-service employees under 5 CFR 335.102 and excepted-service employees under 5 CFR 302.102(a). SES reassignments outside the commuting area carry their own 60-day notice requirement under 5 CFR 317.901 and 317.902.

The commuting-area line decides everything. 5 CFR 351.203 defines the local commuting area as the geographic area "that usually constitutes one area for employment purposes," including "the surrounding localities in which people live and can reasonably be expected to travel back and forth daily to their usual employment." A move to a new building in the same metro area, HUD to Alexandria or CFPB across downtown, is inside the commuting area. Washington to Kansas City is outside it.

Declining an outside-area move is an adverse action. OPM's reassignment guidance states that when an employee declines a directed reassignment outside the commuting area, the agency must process the separation under 5 CFR part 752, not as a RIF and not as a resignation. That gives you MSPB appeal rights, and OPM says the employee is "potentially eligible for most of the benefits available to a displaced employee separated by reduction in force," including hiring priority, severance pay, and discontinued service retirement. Decline a move inside your commuting area and none of that applies.

Severance. 5 CFR 550.704 requires an involuntary separation and bars severance for anyone who declines a reasonable offer. OPM's guidance treats a declined reassignment outside the commuting area as a separation that could qualify as involuntary. The Severance Pay Calculator turns your salary, years, and age into the number.

Discontinued service retirement. 5 U.S.C. 8414(b) says failing to accept a directed reassignment outside the commuting area "may not be considered to be a removal for cause," which preserves DSR eligibility: an immediate, unreduced FERS annuity at your minimum retirement age with 25 years of service, or at age 50 with 20. CSRS employees use age 50 with 20 years or any age with 25 under 5 U.S.C. 8336(d). Our discontinued service retirement guide walks the mechanics; the FERS Retirement Calculator shows what the annuity is worth today versus at your planned date.

If VERA or VSIP is on the table, as at the Forest Service, compare it against DSR and severance with the VERA Eligibility Checker before you answer the letter.

If You Accept: What the Agency Owes You

Under 5 U.S.C. 5724, once an agency decides to fund your permanent change of station it must pay travel for you and your immediate family and the transportation, packing, and storage of household goods up to 18,000 pounds.

Under 5 U.S.C. 5724a and FTR Chapter 302, the agency may authorize a house-hunting trip (one round trip for you and your spouse) and temporary quarters subsistence expenses while you find housing. Neither is automatic. Get both authorized in writing before you sign anything. Our relocation guide and PCS entitlement mistakes cover the traps.

Agency-by-Agency Coverage

Each row above links out to FedTools' standing coverage where it exists:

Run Your Own Numbers Before the Letter Arrives

The three calculators that answer the decline-or-accept question are the Severance Pay Calculator, the FERS Retirement Calculator for the discontinued service retirement figure, and the VERA Eligibility Checker if an early-out is also offered. Fifteen minutes with the three of them tells you what a "no" costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which federal agencies are relocating headquarters or reassigning staff in 2026?

The active moves as of September 6, 2026: USDA's directed reassignment of about 2,600 Washington positions to five regional hubs, HUD's headquarters move to Alexandria, Virginia, CFPB's consolidation into 445 12th Street SW with remote staff ordered to Washington, the Army Corps of Engineers New York District move to New Jersey, and CPSC's move from Bethesda into the GAO building. The FBI's move to the Reagan Building was permanently enjoined on August 17, 2026.

If I decline a directed reassignment outside my commuting area, is it a resignation?

No. OPM's reassignment guidance says the agency must process the resulting separation as an adverse action under 5 CFR part 752, which carries MSPB appeal rights, and that the employee is potentially eligible for most benefits available to someone separated by RIF, including severance pay and discontinued service retirement. Declining a reassignment inside your commuting area does not get that treatment.

Do I get severance pay if I refuse to relocate?

Possibly. Severance under 5 CFR 550.704 requires an involuntary separation and is barred if you decline a reasonable offer. OPM's severance guidance treats a declined reassignment outside the commuting area as one that could qualify as involuntary, and a declined reassignment within the commuting area as one that would not.

Can I retire early if my agency moves my job to another state?

If you meet the age and service thresholds, yes. Under 5 U.S.C. 8414(b), failing to accept a directed reassignment outside the commuting area may not be treated as a removal for cause, which preserves discontinued service retirement: an immediate, unreduced FERS annuity at MRA with 25 years or age 50 with 20 years. CSRS uses age 50 with 20 years or any age with 25 under 5 U.S.C. 8336(d).

What relocation benefits does the agency have to pay if I accept?

Under 5 U.S.C. 5724, once the agency funds a permanent change of station it must cover travel for you and your immediate family and the shipment and storage of household goods up to 18,000 pounds. A house-hunting trip and temporary quarters subsistence are discretionary under 5 U.S.C. 5724a and FTR Chapter 302. Get those authorized in writing before you commit.

How many USDA employees have accepted relocation so far?

According to an August 28, 2026 court declaration reported by GovExec on September 3, USDA had issued 725 directed-reassignment letters of roughly 2,600 targeted positions, and 64% of those recipients accepted. Employee groups dispute how representative that first tranche is. Most of the targeted positions had not yet received letters.

What happened to the FBI headquarters move?

On August 17, 2026, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland permanently enjoined the move to the Ronald Reagan Building, ruling that reprogramming $555 million appropriated for the Greenbelt, Maryland site was unlawful. Greenbelt is restored as the presumptive site. No appeal had been filed as of September 6, 2026.

How often is this tracker updated?

Whenever a row changes: a lease is signed, a court rules, a report date passes, or an agency publishes headcounts. Each update is dated in the update block at the top. If your agency announces a move that is not here, the rows show what to look for in the announcement: origin, destination, headcount, decision deadline, and the consequence of declining.

Sources