Last Updated: October 21, 2026 Reading Time: 8 min

For the fiscal 2026 rating cycle, OPM capped Level 4 and Level 5 ratings at 40% combined across career SES, senior professionals and career GS employees. Your write-up may now be read next to your peers' write-ups, by people deciding who fits under the cap. This guide covers what the rules say and how to write an accomplishment report that gives your rater something to defend.

What the Rating Cap Says

The rating rule itself does not set a number. OPM's appraisal rule for GS employees took effect August 6, 2026, and lets OPM set a standardized distribution; only the end of Level 2 waits until January 1, 2027. The number comes from OPM's September 21, 2026 memo:

"OPM is setting the performance rating level distribution cap to 40 percent for Level 4 and Level 5 ratings across all covered populations (career SES, SP, and GS employees) for FY 2026."

The same memo says "There is no cap for any other performance rating level for FY 2026" and "The 40 percent cap for Level 4 and Level 5 ratings is a ceiling, not a target."

Two details matter for how you read your own odds. The caps "are based upon the number of individuals, in each population, whose appraisal period ends on September 30, 2026," and agencies "must round down to the nearest whole number." Some groups are outside the caps entirely, including employees covered by a union contract that conflicts with the rule until that contract ends; our FY2026 forced distribution self-check lists every exclusion.

If someone in your office says the rule is "20% for Level 5 and 20% for Level 4," that is not in OPM's memo. Some agencies or contracts may set their own split inside the 40%; ask HR for the caps your agency published.

Why Your Write-Up Matters More This Year

Agencies can now compare employees against each other to set the summary level. That means a short, vague self-assessment is no longer just a missed opportunity. It may be the document that sits next to a colleague's detailed one when there are fewer top ratings to give out.

What OPM requires of the rating is narrow and useful. By law you are evaluated against the performance standards you were given, and your rating is built element by element. A self-assessment that follows that structure is easier for a rater to use and harder to set aside.

Federal News Network reported that OPM said it does not prescribe the specific wording agencies use in their self-assessment forms, and none of the regulations we checked requires your agency to read one. Treat it as the best evidence you can put in front of your rater.

How to Write It, Element by Element

  1. Get your plan first. Use the critical element names from your performance plan as your section headings. If you cannot find your plan, ask for it now; you should also receive your FY2027 plan within about 30 days of the new cycle starting.
  2. Quote the standard. For each element, state the Fully Successful standard you were given. If your plan spells out only Fully Successful, you can still be rated higher. Show how far past that standard your results went.
  3. Lead with the number. Volume, accuracy, time saved, dollars, cases, customers. A result with a number and a standard beats an adjective.
  4. Date every result inside the period. Only work done inside the appraisal period counts. Many agencies end the year September 30, but your program sets the dates, so check your plan. If your period was extended because you had not yet served the minimum period, your window is still open.
  5. Show reach and duration. A change other people adopted, a problem that stayed fixed, work outside your normal lane. FedWeek reports that OPM's calibration guidance looks at impact, difficulty and duration, so write those into each bullet.
  6. Cut the effort words. "Worked hard," "was responsible for" and "assisted with" describe activity, not results.

One Bullet, Before and After

This example is editorial and illustrative. The numbers are invented to show the method, not drawn from a real employee.

Before: "Responsible for processing retirement applications and responding to customer inquiries. Worked hard to reduce backlog."

After (Critical Element 2, Case Processing): "Closed 412 retirement cases from Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026, against a plan target of 300 (137%). QA sampling showed a 1.2% error rate against the 3% Fully Successful standard. In March 2026 I built a pre-submission checklist that the branch's 12 specialists adopted; branch average processing time fell from 48 to 31 days by September."

The second version names the element, states the standard and the margin above it, keeps every result inside the period, and shows an effect that reached beyond one person and lasted.

What a Level 3 Still Gets You, and What It Costs

The stakes of the 40% cap are mostly money and RIF standing, not your step increase.

Outcome What the rating rule says
Within-grade step increase Level 3 or better meets the rating threshold; the waiting-period, equivalent-increase and competence requirements still apply
Quality step increase Usually needs Level 5; a program without Level 5 uses its highest level plus sustained high-quality performance. Discretionary either way
Rating-based award Level 3 can still get one, but agencies must make meaningful distinctions by level, and OPM lets agencies pay Level 3 nothing for FY2026
RIF performance credit 7 points for each Level 5, 5 for each Level 4, 3 for each Level 3, counting your three most recent ratings in the past four years

Sources: 5 C.F.R. § 531.404(a); § 531.504; § 451.104(a)(3) and (h); OPM memo of September 21, 2026; 5 C.F.R. § 351.503(a) and (c).

Losing a Level 5 to a Level 3 is a baseline difference of 4 RIF points for each rating used. This year's rating may count while it remains among your three most recent ratings within the four-year lookback from the RIF notice or agency cutoff date. In a RIF, that performance credit affects your retention standing within your tenure group.

If your agency asked OPM for a waiver from the cap, it must prepare to finalize ratings under both the standard caps and the distribution it requested. If OPM has not acted when ratings must issue, the agency must use the standard caps.

If You Disagree With Your Rating

  1. Ask informally, and early. The rule lets an agency change a rating "within 60 days of issuance based upon an informal request" under your agency's own procedures, so check your agency's deadline and file promptly. Attach your self-assessment and the standards it cites.
  2. Union grievance is mostly closed. The new rule bars the negotiated grievance route for ratings, except where an older contract still allows it. Ask your union whether yours does.
  3. Non-union administrative grievance depends on your agency's own grievance policy.

Some agencies use a rating pattern with no Level 4 at all. Find out which pattern you are on before you aim your write-up at a level.

Check What Your Next Step Is Worth

Level 3 or better satisfies the rating threshold for a within-grade increase; the waiting-period, equivalent-increase and competence requirements still apply. The GS Step Increase Calculator shows when your next step comes due from your grade, step and the date of your last increase, so you can see what the rating does and does not put at risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the FY2026 rating cap 40% for Level 5 and 40% for Level 4?

No. OPM's September 21, 2026 memo caps Level 4 and Level 5 ratings at 40% combined across career SES, senior professionals and career GS employees. No other level is capped, and OPM calls the 40% a ceiling, not a target.

Is the cap 20% for Level 4 and 20% for Level 5?

That split is not in OPM's memo. An agency or a contract may set its own allocation inside the 40%, so ask HR for the caps your agency published.

Do I have a right to submit a self-assessment?

No OPM regulation guarantees one. Whether you can submit a self-assessment, and when it is due, is set by your agency's appraisal program.

Does a Fully Successful rating stop my step increase?

No. Level 3 satisfies the rating threshold for a within-grade increase, so Fully Successful does not cost you the step on its own; the waiting-period, equivalent-increase and competence requirements still apply. The cap affects awards, quality step increases and RIF points.

How long do I have to challenge my FY2026 rating?

The rule lets an agency change a rating within 60 days of issuance based on an informal request under its procedures, so follow your agency's filing deadline and ask promptly. The union grievance route for ratings is closed under the new rule except where an older contract still allows it.

Does the 40% cap apply per supervisor?

No. OPM counts the cap across each agency population whose appraisal period ended September 30, 2026, and agencies round down to the nearest whole number.

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