Last Updated: September 2, 2026 (2027 covered-position list: NOT yet published by OPM) Reading Time: 8 min

The August 28 alternative pay plan letter gives federal law enforcement a 3.8% raise in a year when everyone else gets 0%. It does not say who counts. That decision belongs to OPM, and OPM made the same decision for the identical 2026 raise by naming agencies and components, not job series. If you are an 1811 at an Office of Inspector General, at FDA, or at an agency that was not on last year's list, that history is the whole question. Here is what it says.

Does This Affect Me? A 30-Second Check

Your situation 2026 precedent 2027 outlook (precedent only)
CBP, ICE/HSI, Secret Service, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, BOP, Federal Protective Service Named in OPM's initial list Presumptively covered
Interior law enforcement (series 0006, 0007, 0025, 1801, 1811), Forest Service LE, State DSS Named, Department employees only Presumptively covered
IRS Criminal Investigation, Commerce police and investigators Added January 30, 2026, second wave Uncertain; depends on a second wave happening again
EPA personal-protection positions Reported in the second wave; whether EPA-CID 1811s were included is unconfirmed Ambiguous
Any Office of Inspector General (VA, HHS, DOL, SSA, Education, Interior, and others) Not in either wave; Interior OIG excluded by name High risk of exclusion absent a new OPM decision
FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Not found in any 2026 source Presumptively excluded
Postal Inspectors (USPIS) Outside the GS system; USPS sets its own pay Not applicable to this raise

FedTools 2026 precedent table, built from OPM memo CPM-2025-25, OPM's "additional law enforcement personnel" memo, and FedWeek and Federal News Network's published coverage lists.

How the 2026 Law Enforcement Raise Was Actually Delivered

The mechanism matters because it is the source of the two biggest misreadings.

Executive Order 14368 (December 18, 2025) set the 2026 pay tables and directed OPM to assess "up to a 3.8% total increase" for certain federal civilian law enforcement personnel "consistent with 5 U.S.C. 5305." That statute is the special rate authority. It lets OPM set higher pay tables for specific categories of positions when recruitment or retention requires it.

OPM's memo CPM-2025-25 (December 31, 2025) approved new special rate schedules, tables L001 through L133, "covering all steps in GS grades 1 through 15" for covered positions, subject to the special-rate cap at Executive Schedule Level IV ($197,200). The tables took effect January 11, 2026.

Two consequences follow:

  1. The raise is not a GL-scale adjustment. The ordinary GL table (grades 3 through 10) got the same 1% base bump as everyone in 2026. The 3.8% premium sat in the special rate tables, which ran to grade 15. A GS-13 supervisory agent at a covered component got it. The common claim that GS-11 and above were "frozen out because the GL scale ends at grade 10" describes the wrong mechanism.
  2. Coverage is defined by category, not by series. Special rate tables attach to positions OPM names. OPM named them by agency and component, sometimes by series within a component, and in Interior's case with an explicit carve-out.

Who OPM Named in 2026, Wave by Wave

Initial categories (effective January 11, 2026): CBP Border Patrol agents, CBP officers, and Air and Marine interdiction agents; ICE criminal investigators, deportation officers, and technical enforcement officers; Secret Service Uniformed Division, special agents, and technical law enforcement; Federal Protective Service officers; Bureau of Prisons correctional officers; FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Marshals special agents; USDA Forest Service 1801 and 1811 positions; State Department Diplomatic Security 1811s; and Interior law enforcement in series 0006, 0007, 0025, 1801, and 1811.

The Interior line is the one OIG employees should read twice. Per OPM's language as reported by FedWeek, Interior coverage was "limited to employees of the Department (excluding the Office of the Inspector General)." Same department, same series, same grades, different answer.

DHS sub-component memo (same effective date): USCIS 1811 criminal investigators; FLETC 1811 criminal investigators and 0080 physical security specialists who meet the statutory law enforcement officer definition in 5 U.S.C. 5541(3); FEMA 0083 police officers and related series.

Second wave (January 30, 2026): IRS Criminal Investigation special agents at all grades; Commerce Department police and criminal investigators; and positions "supporting personal protection services" at several agencies, with EPA, DOT, DOE, HUD, SBA, and VA named in secondary reporting. Whether the EPA entry reached its Criminal Investigation Division 1811s or only protective-detail positions is not settled in the public record.

Never named in either wave: any Office of Inspector General, and FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations.

That is the pattern OIG agents are reacting to now. A thread on r/fednews that passed 3,000 upvotes this week is full of 1811s at OIGs, EPA, and FDA reporting they have been told to expect nothing, while agents at DHS and DOJ components expect the raise. Both groups are reading the 2026 list correctly.

The Five Claims Going Around, Checked

Claim What the record shows
"We're all 1811s, so we all get it." False as a rule. Coverage was component-specific in 2026. Identical series and grade at different agencies produced different results.
"It's GL 3 to 10 in, GS 11 and up out." False for the 3.8% premium. The special rate tables covered GS 1 through 15 at named components. The GL-only bump was the ordinary 1%.
"If my agency wasn't listed at launch, we're permanently out." Partly false. OPM added agencies three weeks later in 2026. But OIGs and FDA were never added, so silence at launch is a real warning.
"Our OIG offering a retention bonus means we're being frozen out." Plausible, not proof. A 5 CFR part 575 incentive is a separate tool from a 5305 special rate. It signals what leadership expects, not what OPM decided.
"My 6(c) retirement coverage means I get the raise automatically." False. Retirement coverage (5 U.S.C. 8401(17)) and special-rate eligibility (5 U.S.C. 5305) are independent determinations.

What 3.8% Is Worth If You Are Covered

The premium applies to base pay before the locality multiplier, so the dollar gain is larger than 3.8% of your base. FedTools 2026 to 2027 analysis, using verified 2026 OPM base rates and locality percentages (DC-Baltimore 33.94%, Rest of US 17.06%), assuming the 2027 tables follow the 2026 method:

Position 2026 base 2027 base at 3.8% 2027 DC adjusted Gain vs. frozen (DC) 2027 Rest-of-US adjusted Gain vs. frozen (RUS)
GS-13, step 5 $103,049 $106,965 $143,270 +$5,246 $125,213 +$4,584
GS-13, step 10 $118,204 $122,664 $164,301 +$5,975 $143,590 +$5,219
GS-14, step 5 $121,774 $126,402 $169,307 +$6,195 $147,966 +$5,419

Estimates pending OPM's 2027 tables. The gap compounds into retirement: a covered agent's higher adjusted basic pay feeds the High-3 average and, for 6(c)-covered officers, the enhanced 1.7% multiplier described in What Is 6(c) Retirement?. LEAP and AUO, which are percentages of adjusted basic pay, rise with it. An excluded agent at the same grade sees none of that in a 0% year.

When You Will Actually Know

The 2027 covered-position list does not exist yet. The current cycle's sequence is the template:

  • December 18, 2025: Executive order sets pay tables and directs OPM to assess the LEO increase.
  • December 31, 2025: OPM memo approves the special rate schedules and publishes covered categories.
  • January 11, 2026: Tables take effect.
  • January 30, 2026: Second-wave expansion.

Expect the 2027 executive order in mid-to-late December 2026 with an OPM memo alongside or within days. FedTools will update this page and the 2027 LEO pay raise post the day the list appears. If you are at an OIG, FDA, or another unlisted component, the three weeks after the initial memo are when agency and union pressure produced additions last time.

Know Your Baseline Now

Whether or not your position makes the list, you need the number you are comparing against. The GS Pay Calculator gives your exact 2026 adjusted pay by grade, step, and locality, which is also your 2027 pay if you are frozen. Get your baseline →

Frequently Asked Questions

Who qualifies for the 3.8% federal law enforcement raise in 2027?

Nobody outside OPM knows yet. The August 2026 alternative pay plan letter orders a 3.8% increase for law enforcement personnel and leaves the covered positions to OPM, which is expected to publish its list with the December pay executive order. The best guide is the identical 2026 raise, which named agencies and components rather than job series.

Are all 1811 criminal investigators covered, since it's the same job series?

No. In 2026 OPM granted coverage component by component. An 1811 at ICE and an 1811 at an Office of Inspector General held the same series and grade, and only the ICE agent appeared on the covered list. Series alone did not qualify anyone.

Were Inspector General criminal investigators excluded from the 2026 raise?

At Interior, explicitly: OPM's coverage language limited the raise to employees of the Department, excluding the Office of Inspector General. No OIG at any agency appeared in the initial January 2026 list or the January 30 expansion. That is the pattern behind the current confusion in OIG offices.

Is the dividing line GL grades 3 to 10 versus GS grades 11 and up?

No. The 3.8% premium in 2026 was delivered through separate special rate tables under 5 U.S.C. 5305 that covered all steps of GS grades 1 through 15 for named components, up to the Executive Schedule Level IV cap. A GS-13 agent at a covered agency got the raise; a GS-13 agent at an unnamed one did not. The dividing line is the agency, not the grade.

Does 6(c) law enforcement retirement coverage guarantee the raise?

No. Enhanced retirement coverage under 5 U.S.C. 8401(17) and special-rate pay eligibility under 5 U.S.C. 5305 are separate determinations under separate statutes. You can have one without the other.

If my agency is not on the first 2027 list, is that final?

Not necessarily. In 2026 OPM added IRS Criminal Investigation, Commerce, and several personal-protection positions about three weeks after the initial rollout. But some categories, including OIGs and FDA's investigators, were never added in either wave. Silence at launch is a warning sign, not proof.

My OIG is offering a retention incentive instead. Does that mean we are excluded?

It is a reasonable read of agency behavior, but a retention incentive under 5 CFR part 575 is a legally separate tool from a special rate under 5 U.S.C. 5305. Treat it as a signal that your leadership does not expect coverage, not as an official exclusion.

What is the 3.8% worth if my position does qualify?

It applies to base pay before locality, so it compounds. FedTools computes the gain for a GS-13 step 5 in the DC locality at about $5,246 a year, a GS-13 step 10 at about $5,975, and a GS-14 step 5 at about $6,195, versus a 0% freeze. Rest-of-US figures run $4,584 to $5,419.

When will we know who is covered for 2027?

Around the December 2026 executive order that sets 2027 pay rates. In the current cycle, EO 14368 was signed December 18, 2025, OPM's memo followed December 31, and the tables took effect January 11, 2026. Expect the same sequence.

Sources: Executive Order 14368, Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay (Dec. 18, 2025); OPM memo CPM-2025-25, "2026 Special Rates for Certain Law Enforcement Personnel" (Dec. 31, 2025) and the follow-on "2026 Special Rates for Certain Additional Law Enforcement Personnel"; FedWeek, "OPM Lists Law Enforcement Job Categories to Receive 3.8 Percent Raise"; Federal News Network coverage list (Jan. 2026); House Document 119-189 (alternative pay plan, Aug. 2026); 5 U.S.C. §§ 5305, 5541(3), 8401(17); OPM 2026 GS base and locality tables.