Last Updated: November 1, 2026 Reading Time: 7 min
OPM published the final rule on October 29, 2026; it takes effect November 30, 2026. The rule rewrites 5 CFR part 250: staffing plans replace Human Capital Operating Plans, and the employee-survey sections are revised. It is the final version of the July proposal we covered in OPM's 4-to-1 hiring rule and FEVS decentralization.
Several points about this rule have been confused with the earlier executive orders and guidance. The table separates the final rule from those earlier documents.
What the Coverage Said vs. What the Rule Says
| Common misconception | What the final rule and OPM's guidance say |
|---|---|
| "The rule codifies the 4-to-1 hiring ratio" | The one-for-four ratio is not in the final rule. It came from a 2025 executive order and applied until an agency submitted its staffing plan. |
| "Agencies must form hiring committees by November 17 and submit staffing plans by December 1" | Those were 2025 dates. Agencies had to stand up hiring committees by November 17, 2025, and FY 2026 staffing plans were due December 1, 2025. FY 2027 staffing plans were due September 30, 2026. |
| "FEVS is renamed the Annual Employee Survey" | The FEVS name is gone. OPM's optional common form for the agency surveys is called the Annual Employee Survey. OPM no longer runs the FEVS governmentwide; it stopped in 2026. |
| "OPM rejected a political-appointee approval layer" | OPM declined to add a new staffing-plan check on political appointees moving into career jobs, pointing to its existing pre-appointment review. The final rule adds the agency head's chief of staff to the required committee membership, alongside the Deputy Secretary (or equivalent) and CHCO. |
What Changed From the July Proposal
| Topic | July 2026 proposal | Final rule |
|---|---|---|
| Plan type | Annual Staffing Plan replaces the Human Capital Operating Plan | Same, and the final rule clarifies that the Annual Staffing Plan is an operational document on the agency's budget and strategic-planning cycle |
| CHCO authority | CHCO gets visibility, oversight and control of HR | Adds a yearly written certification to OPM, with a fix timeline for any gap |
| Quarterly reviews | Quarterly staffing reviews replace HRStat | They can be merged into an agency's existing quarterly performance reviews |
| Hiring committee | Deputy Secretary (or equivalent) and CHCO | Adds the agency head's chief of staff |
| Who is covered | As proposed | Agencies subject to 5 U.S.C. 306(f), more than 80 agencies by OPM's count |
| Survey questions | 10 required questions, down from 16 | The 10 required survey questions are final exactly as proposed in July |
| What results must be published | The required list is removed | Removal kept; each agency decides how much detail to release |
| Results to OPM and OMB | Within 90 days | Unchanged |
Source: the final rule, FR Doc. 2026-22093, 91 FR 68013–68025, compared with the July 2 proposal at 91 FR 40435.
The Hiring Side: Committees and Staffing Plans
Starting November 30, the final rule requires by regulation the hiring committees created by executive order in 2025. The committees and staffing plans began with an October 2025 executive order; the final rule writes them into regulation.
- Who sits on the committee: the Deputy Secretary or equivalent, the agency head's chief of staff and the CHCO.
- What it can't do: OPM says the committee oversees hiring but does not rate, rank or certify candidates. Under the 2025 OMB and OPM guidance, committee approval applies to covered vacancies, with exclusions and alternative approval routes spelled out in that guidance.
- Staffing plans: staffing plans are due at the start of each fiscal year, with quarterly updates to OPM and OMB. Once the rule takes effect, OPM and OMB jointly review each agency's staffing plan every year.
- HR authority: agencies must structure delegations, policies, systems and reporting so the CHCO has enough visibility, oversight and control to carry out the CHCO's statutory duties.
What about the ratio? Under 2025 guidance the ratio applied until an agency submitted its staffing plan; what each agency's approved plan allows is not public.
OPM's FY 2027 staffing-plan guidance also set hiring targets: at least 60% of external competitive-service selections from shared certificates, and at least 33% of external hires onboarded during the fiscal year being early-career hires. The guidance also calls for validated or OPM-approved alternative assessments. OPM told agencies to put new jobs outside the D.C. area where the mission allows.
The Survey Side: What Happens to FEVS
- Who runs it: your agency, not OPM, now runs your annual employee survey.
- The questions: surveys administered on or after November 30 must include the same 10 OPM questions; agencies may add their own. OPM rejected objections to the 16-to-10 cut, saying the shared 10-question core keeps agencies comparable.
- Publication: agencies must publish results unless the agency head makes a national-security determination; otherwise each agency decides the specific content of what it releases. The old list of what agencies had to publish is gone from the regulation.
- Timing: agencies have 90 days after the survey closes to send results to OPM and OMB. Since July, agencies have been running their own surveys. A provision the final rule left in place still requires survey data to be collected by December 31 of each calendar year.
- Confidentiality: OPM says agency surveys must stay confidential, and the Privacy Act still applies.
- Which rules apply to your survey: a survey administered before November 30 follows the old rules; one administered on or after November 30 follows the new rules.
What It Means for You
If you are an employee: your agency's survey is now the only channel for the 10 core questions. Watch your agency's website for published results after your survey closes. Agencies must send results to OPM and OMB within 90 days. A provision the final rule left in place also requires them to post survey dates and results, or a statement explaining any withholding, within 120 days after the survey ends; OPM may extend that deadline under unusual circumstances.
If you are waiting on a job or a backfill: covered hiring requests follow your agency's approval process, and quarterly reviews track progress against the staffing plan. Ask whether the position is in your agency's approved FY 2027 staffing plan.
If you are a supervisor: plan around the FY 2027 targets above, including the push to place new jobs outside D.C.
What the rule does not do: OPM says the merit system principles and the prohibited personnel practices still apply to anyone on the committee. We found nothing in the rule text that changes appeal or bargaining rights.
Compare Pay Across Agencies
If staffing plans move new jobs outside D.C., the same job can pay differently by agency and location. Use the free Federal Salary Explorer: pick an agency or job series to see average federal pay. Explore federal salaries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is OPM's staffing-plan and survey rule final?
Yes. OPM published the final rule on October 29, 2026 (91 FR 68013); it takes effect November 30, 2026.
Does the final rule make the 4-to-1 hiring ratio permanent?
No. The one-for-four ratio is not in the final rule. It came from a 2025 executive order and applied until an agency submitted its staffing plan. What each agency's approved plan allows is not public.
Are there November 17 or December 1 deadlines this year?
Not in 2026. Agencies had to stand up hiring committees by November 17, 2025, and FY 2026 staffing plans were due December 1, 2025. FY 2027 staffing plans were due September 30, 2026.
What happened to the FEVS?
OPM no longer runs the FEVS governmentwide; it stopped in 2026. Your agency now administers its own annual survey. Surveys administered on or after November 30 must include the 10 prescribed OPM questions; earlier surveys follow the regulations in force when they were given. OPM's optional common form for the agency surveys is called the Annual Employee Survey.
Will employee survey results still be public?
Yes. Agencies must publish results unless the agency head makes a national-security determination; otherwise each agency decides the specific content of what it releases. The old list of what agencies had to publish is gone from the regulation.
Did OPM add protections against political appointees moving into career jobs?
No new check. OPM declined to add a new staffing-plan check on political appointees moving into career jobs, pointing to its existing pre-appointment review.
Related Resources
- OPM's 4-to-1 Hiring Rule: How the ratio worked under the 2025 guidance and the staffing-plan exit.
- FEVS Decentralization 2026: The July survey memo and the proposed survey changes.
- Federal Salary Explorer: Average federal pay by agency and job series.
Sources: Final rule, FR Doc. 2026-22093, 91 FR 68013 (October 29, 2026), proposed rule 91 FR 40435 (July 2, 2026), OMB/OPM guidance on EO 14356 (November 5, 2025), OPM Annual Employee Survey memo (July 9, 2026), OPM FY 2027 Annual Staffing Plan guidance (July 30, 2026).