Last Updated: September 30, 2026 Reading Time: 8 min

The Army has lifted its civilian hiring freeze, according to a September 25, 2026 memo that Federal News Network obtained and reported on September 29. I could not find the memo on army.mil, on the Army Publishing Directorate site, or anywhere else public, and no second outlet has covered it as of September 30. So everything the memo says below is attributed to FNN's report. What the memo does not touch is fully documented, and that is where the money is: the governmentwide hiring gate is still in place, the Army's own FY2027 budget request cuts civilian positions, and if you were RIF'd, the deadline that decides whether you get priority for these jobs already passed on your separation date.

What the Memo Says, and What It Does Not

According to FNN, the memo signed September 25 permits Army civilian hiring up to 96% of direct-funded full-time equivalents across the Army, and delegates the implementing rules to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. An Army spokesperson framed it as a strategic resumption and said the freeze let the Army make progress "optimizing and rebalancing" its civilian workforce. That is the whole public record.

Three things it does not say, because they are not the Army's to say:

It does not open postings by itself. The implementing guidance had not been published as of September 30. Until it is, commands have a ceiling and no procedure.

It does not touch the governmentwide gate. Executive Order 14356, signed October 15, 2025, has no expiration date, and it requires an agency Strategic Hiring Committee, with the deputy agency head and the agency head's chief of staff among its members, to approve the filling of covered vacancies. Every covered Army civilian hire still routes through it; section 3 of the order carves out positions related to national security, public safety, and immigration enforcement, among other exceptions, and hiring that conflicts with applicable law. Our DoD civilian hiring vetting boards guide covers what that review looks like from the applicant's side.

It does not change the four-to-one attrition standard's origin. That ratio comes from Executive Order 14210 in February 2025. EO 14356 references it and says the Administration surpassed it; EO 14356 itself sets no new number. Whether the ratio still binds Army hiring depends on the Army's annual staffing plan status, which is not public, so I will not claim it either way.

The Original Number: A 96% Ceiling on a Shrinking Authorization

"Hiring resumes" sounds like growth. The budget says otherwise. The FY2027 President's Budget request moves Army civilian full-time equivalents from 153,881 (FY2026 enacted) to 151,741 (FY2027 request), a 1.39% cut. In the same request the Air Force's civilian FTEs rise 4.15%, which is the story behind our Air Force civilian jobs 2027 post.

Service FY2026 enacted civilian FTEs FY2027 request Change
Army 153,881 151,741 −1.39%
Air Force (see the Air Force post) (see the Air Force post) +4.15%

FedTools computation from the FY2027 President's Budget request. The FY2026 column is enacted; the FY2027 column is a request Congress has not enacted, and the continuing resolution runs only to December 11, 2026. Rounding: percentages to two decimals from unrounded FTE counts.

So a ceiling of 96% of direct-funded FTEs is applied to a denominator the Army itself proposes to shrink. That is a narrower opening than the headline sounds.

Who Actually Gets Called Back: Route by Route

There are five routes back into an Army civilian job, and each has its own trigger, deadline, and obligation on the Army.

Route Who qualifies Filing deadline How long it lasts What it obligates the Army to do
Reemployment Priority List (RPL) Competitive-service employees with tenure standing, a RIF separation notice, a most-recent rating of at least fully successful, who did not decline a comparable RIF offer (5 CFR 330.203) On or before your RIF separation date (5 CFR 330.206(a)(3)) 2 years from the RIF separation date (5 CFR 330.208) Must not appoint an outsider to a competitive-service vacancy you are registered and qualified for, subject to the nine exceptions in 5 CFR 330.211
CTAP (within the Army) "Displaced" and "surplus" Army employees, including GS-15-and-below competitive-service employees with a rating of record of at least fully successful who received a proposed removal for declining a directed relocation outside the local commuting area (5 CFR 330.602, as corrected by FR 2026-18800) Per the agency's CTAP plan Not retrieved for this post Selection priority for Army vacancies in the commuting area that you apply to and are rated well-qualified for
ICTAP (from another agency) Displaced employees of other agencies Per the announcement Not retrieved for this post Must not appoint a candidate from outside its own permanent competitive-service workforce when an ICTAP priority candidate applies (5 CFR 330.705(a))
DoD Priority Placement Program DoD civilians, under DoDI 1400.25 volume 1800 Registration windows are DoD's; not retrieved Not retrieved Not retrieved for this post
Open competition Anyone Announcement close date n/a Nothing beyond the announcement

Every cited cell is quoted from the section named. "Not retrieved" means I could not read the governing text this run and will not guess at it.

The RPL deadline most people have already missed

The RPL is not automatic and there is no grace period after you walk out. Under 5 CFR 330.206(a)(3), a RIF-separated employee must submit the RPL application on or before the RIF separation date. If you were separated in the Army's 2026 rebalancing and did not file by that day, the two-year priority never started, and these vacancies owe you nothing under the RPL.

If you did file, four things follow:

  • Once the Army has your written application it has 10 calendar days to register you (5 CFR 330.204(c)). Keep proof of the date you submitted it.
  • Your registration runs two years from your RIF separation date, not from the day you applied (5 CFR 330.208).
  • RPL priority follows your old commuting area, not the Army as a whole (5 CFR 330.207). A vacancy at another installation is generally outside your registration, and expanding it is the Army's discretion, not your right.
  • While you are registered, the Army cannot appoint an outsider to a competitive-service vacancy you are registered and qualified for, and it must document that no RPL candidate exists when it requests a certificate (5 CFR 330.210(c)). The nine exceptions include any appointment made under an excepted-service authority.

Two practical rules from 5 CFR 330.209: declining a comparable permanent offer ends your RPL entirely, but declining a term or temporary job does not. And under 5 CFR 330.204(f) the Army must have written evidence that the offer or inquiry was made before it can drop you for not responding.

One more thing an RPL registrant gets that an ordinary applicant does not: under 5 CFR 330.214, a violation of these reemployment rights is appealable to the MSPB, but only where the agency employed someone who could not properly have been appointed over you. Ordinary non-selection is not appealable, which our vetting-boards post explains; this is the narrow exception.

The rating condition now decides RPL eligibility

RPL eligibility requires a most-recent rating of record of at least fully successful. That ties directly to the Army's new performance rules, which our Army fast-track civilian firings post covers. An Unacceptable or Minimally Successful rating on your last record can cost you the RPL, not just your job.

The CTAP correction that reaches the Army's relocation fight

On September 15, 2026, OPM published a correction (FR 2026-18800) restoring paragraph (1) of the CTAP definition of "displaced" in 5 CFR 330.602, which the September 2 final rule had inadvertently removed. Subparagraph (ii) of that paragraph makes "displaced" status reach employees who received a proposed removal under part 752 for declining a directed geographic relocation outside the local commuting area. That is precisely the mechanism in the Army's 2026 rebalancing: accept the reassignment or separate. If that is your situation and your most recent rating of record is at least fully successful, you are a CTAP eligible for Army vacancies in your commuting area, with selection priority for the ones you apply to and are rated well-qualified for, and nobody has connected those two facts in print.

If You Took Separation Pay, Read This Before You Apply

Two separate bills come with a return.

DoD separation pay. Under 5 U.S.C. 9902(f)(6)(A), if you took DoD voluntary separation pay you cannot be reemployed by DoD for 12 months from your separation date unless the Secretary waives it case by case. Under 9902(f)(6)(B), if you accept federal employment anywhere within 5 years of that separation, you repay the entire payment to DoD unless repayment is waived: for a DoD job the Secretary may waive it if you are the only qualified applicant, and for another executive agency the OPM Director may waive it at that agency head's request if you have unique abilities and are the only qualified applicant. The ceiling on that payment under 9902(f)(5)(A) is $25,000, not the $40,000 figure that still circulates; our DoD VSIP cap post traces where the wrong number came from.

Governmentwide VSIP. Under 5 U.S.C. 3524(b), a former employee who took a VSIP must repay the entire incentive before the first day of any compensated federal employment accepted within 5 years of the separation, unless the OPM Director waives repayment under 3524(c) at the hiring agency head's request because you have unique abilities and are the only qualified applicant. Not prorated. A personal services contract counts as employment for the repayment side.

Coming Back at a Lower Grade: The Pay Rule to Ask For

If you return to the Army at a lower grade than you left, 5 CFR 531.221 lets the agency apply the maximum payable rate rule on reemployment to set your step using your highest previous rate. The word in the regulation is "may," not "must." Each agency designates who decides and must document the decision, so ask for it in writing, by name, before you accept. Our reinstated after a RIF guide covers the rest of what a returning employee is owed.

Price the Offer Before You Accept

Before you accept a return offer at a different grade or a different installation, price it. Use the GS Pay Calculator: pick the grade, step, and locality on the table and it returns the locality-adjusted annual salary, so you know exactly what the maximum payable rate rule is worth asking for. Run the numbers →

What Would Change This Post

  • The Army publishes the memo, or the ASA(M&RA) implementing guidance posts. Either becomes the primary and replaces the FNN attribution.
  • The Army's annual staffing plan status becomes public, which would settle whether the four-to-one ratio still binds.
  • Congress enacts FY2027 appropriations with a different Army civilian FTE line than the request.

Each update will carry a date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the Army officially announce that it lifted the civilian hiring freeze?

Not publicly. Federal News Network reported on September 29, 2026 that it obtained a September 25 memo from Army Undersecretary Michael Obadal permitting hiring up to 96% of Army-wide direct-funded full-time equivalents. The memo is not posted on army.mil or the Army Publishing Directorate, and no other outlet has reported it.

Does this mean Army civilian jobs are posting right now?

Not automatically. The memo directs the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs to issue implementing guidance, and that guidance had not been published as of September 30. Separately, Executive Order 14356 still requires a Strategic Hiring Committee to approve the filling of covered vacancies (the order exempts national-security, public-safety, and immigration-enforcement positions, among others), and it has no expiration date.

What does "96% of direct-funded full-time equivalents" mean for the number of jobs?

It is a ceiling on hiring, not a hiring target, and it applies against a shrinking base. The FY2027 budget request moves Army civilian full-time equivalents from 153,881 enacted in FY2026 to 151,741 requested for FY2027, a 1.39% cut, while the Air Force goes up 4.15%.

I was RIF'd from an Army civilian job. Do I get priority for these vacancies?

Only if you filed a Reemployment Priority List application on or before your RIF separation date, which 5 CFR 330.206(a)(3) requires. If you did, your registration runs two years from the separation date, covers your former local commuting area, and bars the Army from appointing an outsider to a competitive-service vacancy you are registered and qualified for, subject to nine exceptions, including any appointment made under an excepted-service authority.

I took a DoD buyout. Can I be rehired by the Army?

Not for 12 months from your separation date unless the Secretary waives the bar case by case, under 5 U.S.C. 9902(f)(6)(A). And if you accept federal employment anywhere within 5 years of that separation, you repay the entire separation pay to DoD unless a 9902(f)(6)(B) waiver is granted on an only-qualified-applicant finding, by the Secretary for DoD jobs or the OPM Director for other executive agencies. The DoD ceiling on that payment is $25,000.

If I come back at a lower grade, can the Army match my old salary?

It can try. Under 5 CFR 531.221 an agency may apply the maximum payable rate rule on reemployment to set pay above the otherwise applicable rate using your highest previous rate. It is discretionary, each agency designates who decides and must document it, so raise it in writing before accepting an offer.

Sources: Federal News Network, "Army officially lifts hiring freeze, resumes civilian hiring" (September 29, 2026) (the memo; not publicly posted) · Executive Order 14356, Ensuring Continued Accountability in Federal Hiring (October 15, 2025) · 5 CFR part 330, subpart B (Reemployment Priority List) · FR 2026-18800, Reduction in Force; Correction (September 15, 2026) · FR 2026-15665, Reduction in Force final rule (August 3, 2026) · 5 CFR 531.221 (maximum payable rate rule) · 5 U.S.C. 9902 (DoD separation pay) · 5 U.S.C. 3524 (VSIP repayment) · FY2027 President's Budget request, Army and Air Force civilian FTE lines.