Last Updated: November 8, 2026 Reading Time: 6 min

Federal annual leave goes from 4 hours to 6 hours per pay period once you have 3 years of service. Two details trip people up: the higher rate doesn't start on your anniversary, and "3 years" means creditable service, which can be more or less than your time at your current job.

Here's when the change happens, what counts toward it, and the one way to move it that closes on your first day.

The Three Annual Leave Rates

The rates are set by statute in 5 U.S.C. § 6303(a) and listed in hours on OPM's annual leave fact sheet.

Creditable service Per full pay period Last full pay period of the year Full year
Under 3 years 4 hours 4 hours 104 hours
3 to under 15 years 6 hours 10 hours 160 hours
15 years or more 8 hours 8 hours 208 hours

The middle tier isn't a flat 6 hours. The statute gives "one and one-fourth days" in the last full pay period of the year, which OPM lists as 10 hours. Leaving that out understates the year by 4 hours.

Part-time employees step up too: from 1 hour for every 20 hours in a pay status to 1 hour for every 13.

Senior Executive Service members, senior-level and scientific or professional employees, and equivalent positions covered by § 6303(f) earn 8 hours a pay period whatever their service.

When the 6-Hour Rate Starts

The statute and OPM say the same thing: a change in accrual rate takes effect "at the beginning of the pay period after the pay period" in which you complete the required service. Nothing for you to file.

A worked example

Say your Leave SCD is February 10, 2024. You complete 3 years around February 9 or 10, 2027. Both dates fall in pay period 3 (February 7 to 20) on the standard 2027 schedule, so the exact day doesn't matter here. The 6-hour rate starts with pay period 4, on February 21.

2027 pay periods Rate Hours
PP1 to PP3 4 12
PP4 to PP25 (22 periods) 6 132
PP26 10 10
2027 total 154

A full year at the old rate is 104 hours and at the new rate 160. The step is worth 56 hours a year, and a February crossing keeps all but 6 of them in its first year. Pay-period dates vary by payroll provider, so check yours.

If you're past 3 years and your leave and earnings statement still shows 4 hours, check the Leave SCD in Block 31 of your SF-50 first.

What Counts Toward Your 3 Years

Your leave service computation date isn't simply your hire date. The statute gives credit for "all service of a type that would be creditable" under the retirement law, 5 U.S.C. § 8332, whether or not you're covered by CSRS. That reaches FERS employees too.

What happened Effect on your Leave SCD
Prior federal civilian service Moves it earlier
Active military service, not a military retiree Moves it earlier (full credit for honorable active service)
Active military service, military retiree Earlier only for qualifying service (see below)
Prior non-federal work credited at hire Earlier, but it can come off if you leave within a year
A break in service over 3 days Moves it later
Unpaid leave over 6 months in a calendar year Moves it later, except LWOP for military service or while receiving workers' compensation

You don't have to make a retirement deposit first. OPM says deposits "are not required before the employee receives credit for annual leave accrual purposes" for civilian service. For military service, the sources we read state no deposit condition for leave credit either. A military deposit is a FERS retirement rule, so your leave date and your retirement date can differ.

The military retiree limit

If you retired from the military, the statute gives credit for active service only if:

  1. It was actual service during a war declared by Congress;
  2. It was service in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge is authorized; or
  3. Your retirement was based on a disability from armed conflict, or from an instrumentality of war in the line of duty during a period of war, in which case all active duty counts.

The statute also lets the agency base the determination on your affidavit. The word is "may", so expect HR to ask for records.

The One Lever You Can Pull: Credit at Hire

An agency may, at its discretion, credit prior work toward your leave rate under 5 C.F.R. § 630.205. This is how some new hires start at 6 or 8 hours. The conditions travel together:

  • The skills have to be essential to the new position and come from directly related duties.
  • The credit has to be necessary to meet an important agency mission or performance goal.
  • It's open to first-time civilian appointees and to former employees coming back after a break of at least 90 days. If you held a civil service position in the 90 days before the appointment, you're not eligible.
  • Credit can't exceed the time you actually spent in the related work.
  • Approval has to come before you enter on duty. You can't add it after your start date under this rule.

Retired service members may also be able to get discretionary credit for active duty this way, on top of the limited automatic credit. Veterans who aren't military retirees already get full credit and don't need it.

If you leave before completing 1 full year of continuous service with the appointing agency, the extra credit comes off and a new Leave SCD is set. Leave you already earned stays yours. Most unpaid leave extends that year.

Check Your Own Date and Hours

Enter your Leave SCD from Block 31 and the leave year in the Federal Leave Accrual Calculator. It projects your accrual by pay period, including the rate change and the 10-hour last period. If you're not sure your Leave SCD is right, the Service Computation Date Calculator shows how separate periods of service add up.

Once you're earning more, watch the 2027 leave year chart for use-or-lose dates.

Frequently Asked Questions

When exactly does my annual leave go from 4 to 6 hours?

At the start of the pay period after the one in which you complete 3 years of creditable service. It doesn't change on the anniversary itself.

Is it 6 hours for all 26 pay periods?

No. In the 3-to-15-year tier you earn 10 hours in the last full pay period of the year, for 160 hours in a full year.

Does my military time count toward the 3 years?

If you're not a military retiree, active service under honorable conditions counts in full. Automatic credit for military retirees is limited to war service, campaign or expedition service with an authorized badge, or all active duty when the retirement meets the qualifying disability conditions. An agency may also approve otherwise uncreditable active duty at appointment under 5 C.F.R. § 630.205.

Do I have to pay my military deposit before it counts for leave?

The sources we read state no deposit condition for leave credit. The deposit is a FERS retirement rule. Confirm your Leave SCD with HR.

Can I negotiate 6 hours as a new hire?

An agency may credit qualifying prior work at its discretion, up to the time you actually spent in the related work, and it has to approve the credit before you start.

Where do I find the date HR uses?

Block 31 of your SF-50 shows your leave service computation date.

Sources