Last Updated: September 20, 2026 Reading Time: 8 min

If you are a Pathways Intern or Recent Graduate, your program has always ended one of two ways: you convert into the competitive service, or you leave. On September 18, 2026, OPM proposed a third exit. A new rule would let your agency convert you directly into a permanent Schedule Policy/Career position, the at-will schedule created in 2025. The proposal is open for comment until November 17, 2026. This guide covers what the rule text says, what it leaves out, and what it would mean for the job protections that usually come with conversion.

What the Rule Would Change

The proposed rule is titled "Employment in the Excepted Service." It amends ten parts of Title 5 of the CFR, including Part 362, the Pathways Programs regulations. Its preamble says it is "supplemented by another OPM regulation, Shared Certificates and Pooled Hiring Actions," the interim rule published three days earlier that we cover in our shared certificates guide.

For Pathways participants, the operative change is the new paragraph (a)(2) of section 362.107. An agency could noncompetitively convert an eligible participant to:

"A permanent position in Schedule Policy/Career, if the position is a career position described in §213.3601(a) of this chapter and the conversion is authorized under this part and any applicable OPM policy or guidance. A noncompetitive conversion to a permanent position is subject to review by OPM."

Compare that to the regulation in force today. Current 5 CFR 362.107(a) reads: "an agency may noncompetitively convert an eligible Pathways Participant to a term or permanent competitive service position." That is the only destination the current rule allows.

This is new regulatory authority. The concept has roots: Executive Order 14171 created Schedule Policy/Career in January 2025, OPM's final rule codified it at 5 CFR 213.3601 in February 2026, and Executive Order 14410 in June 2026 amended Civil Service Rule III to recognize an appointment path for an employee "whose initial appointment was to a Pathways Program position in Schedule D and who was later converted to Schedule Policy/Career without a break in service of 1 day." This proposed rule is the text that would put that path into Part 362.

Before and After: The Conversion Table

Question Today (5 CFR 362 in force) If finalized (comments close Nov. 17, 2026)
Where can an Intern convert? Competitive service, term or permanent (§362.204(a)) Competitive service or permanent Schedule Policy/Career
Where can a Recent Graduate convert? Competitive service, term or permanent (§362.305(a)) Competitive service or permanent Schedule Policy/Career
Eligibility bar for a Recent Graduate 1 year of continuous service, "fully successful" rating, first-level supervisor recommendation, OPM qualification standard Unchanged; the same tests apply to either destination
Trial period after a Schedule Policy/Career conversion Not applicable None required (§362.107(f)(2))
Competitive status at conversion Not applicable Not conferred; earned after 2 years of continuing Schedule Policy/Career service, Pathways time excluded
OPM review of the conversion Not applicable Required for any noncompetitive conversion to a permanent position
Right to be converted None None: "Nothing in this section confers a right to conversion to Schedule Policy/Career, conversion to the competitive service, competitive status, career tenure, a career or career-conditional appointment, or future appointment to the competitive service" (§362.107(g))
Recent Graduate initial-appointment ceiling Not set by grade in §213.3402(b) GS-11 by default, with a GS-12 exception for research positions requiring a directly related Ph.D. (initial appointments, not conversions)

What You Would Give Up in a Schedule Policy/Career Conversion

This rule does not itself change what Schedule Policy/Career means. It creates a door into a schedule whose consequences are already set. Our Schedule Policy/Career day-one guide inventories those consequences for employees already in the schedule. For a converting Pathways participant:

  • Adverse-action appeal rights. Schedule Policy/Career positions sit outside the chapter 75 protections that give competitive-service employees an MSPB appeal on removal. A converted Intern or Recent Graduate would not have that appeal.
  • Performance procedures. No mandatory performance improvement period and no 30-day advance notice before a performance-based removal.
  • Benefits. FEHB, FERS, and TSP participation do not change. Our Schedule Policy/Career benefits explainer walks through what stays the same.
  • Veterans' preference. Preserved. The rule states its purpose is to "modernize part 302 procedures while preserving veterans' preference, compensable-injury restoration rights, and other priority placement rights." Schedule Policy/Career appointments already require agencies to follow preference "as far as administratively feasible."

A competitive-service conversion is to a term or permanent appointment; a permanent one carries career-conditional tenure and, after probation, full appeal rights. A Schedule Policy/Career conversion skips the trial period but leaves you at-will, with competitive status only after 2 more years in the position.

Who Is Affected and Who Is Not

Recent Graduates. Directly named. Proposed §362.305(a) keeps the same eligibility test but adds the Schedule Policy/Career destination.

Interns. Directly named. Proposed §362.204(a) adds the same option after the existing 480-hour and program-completion requirements.

Presidential Management Fellows. Not named. The rule amends Subparts A, B, and C of Part 362. Subpart D, where the PMF program would live, is "[Reserved]" in the current CFR. Whether PMFs could use the general authority in §362.107(a)(2) is not stated in the proposal. Do not assume any PMF treatment until OPM says so.

Current competitive-service employees who never went through Pathways. Not affected. The conversion sections govern only the conversion moment for enrolled participants.

Employees already moved to Schedule Policy/Career in June 2026. Not converted by this rule, which is about the Pathways conversion moment. The proposal does touch them in one place: proposed §213.3601(e) would make Schedule Policy/Career appointments not subject to a trial period. The June move itself was a separate, final action under Executive Order 14410. Our 8,000-position list check covers it.

About 80 agencies. OPM's own cost estimate says the rule "will affect the operations of approximately 80 Federal agencies," with roughly 100 hours of policy-update work each in the first year, about $1.24 million governmentwide. The rule contains no estimate of how many Pathways conversions per year would go the Schedule Policy/Career route.

What a Pathways Participant Should Do Now

  1. Know your conversion date and your program's current rule. Under the regulation in force, your agency can only convert you to the competitive service. If your conversion is scheduled before a final rule publishes, this proposal does not apply to it.
  2. Ask your program coordinator in writing which destination the agency intends for your cohort once the rule is final. The rule requires OPM review of the conversion but not your consent.
  3. Read the position description. The Schedule Policy/Career path is available only for a "career position described in §213.3601(a)," the policy-influencing definition. If your position is not on that list, the competitive-service path remains the only one.
  4. Comment if this affects you. The docket is OPM-2026-0166 on regulations.gov, due November 17, 2026. OPM asks commenters to organize by subpart and section number. Section 362.107 is the one that matters most here.
  5. Check the pay ceiling. The proposal sets the default initial-appointment ceiling for Recent Graduates at GS-11, with a GS-12 exception for Ph.D.-level research roles; it is an appointment ceiling, not a conversion ceiling. Run your grade, step, and locality through the calculator below to see the actual salary.

See What a GS-11 or GS-12 Conversion Pays

Our free GS Pay Calculator takes your grade, step, and locality and returns the 2026 salary, including locality pay. If your conversion offer names a grade, this is the fastest way to see the number. Calculate your GS pay →

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my agency convert me to Schedule Policy/Career right now?

Not under this rule. It is a proposed rule with comments due November 17, 2026. Current 5 CFR 362.107 allows conversion only to a term or permanent competitive-service position. Nothing in Part 362 changes until a final rule takes effect; the executive orders behind Schedule Policy/Career remain in force.

The proposed rule does not require the participant's consent, but it does require the position to be a Schedule Policy/Career career position under 5 CFR 213.3601(a) and makes every noncompetitive conversion to a permanent position subject to OPM review. The conversion is the agency's choice, not automatic.

Does the Pathways proposed rule apply to Presidential Management Fellows?

The rule amends the Intern and Recent Graduate sections of Part 362 but does not amend Subpart D, which is reserved and does not codify the PMF program. The rule does not say whether PMFs could use the general conversion authority; it names only Interns and Recent Graduates.

Do I get competitive status when I convert to Schedule Policy/Career?

No. Under proposed 5 CFR 362.107(f)(2), the conversion itself confers no competitive status. You obtain it after 2 years of continuing service in the Schedule Policy/Career position, and your Pathways time before conversion does not count toward those 2 years.

Do I keep veterans' preference if I am converted to Schedule Policy/Career?

Yes. The rule states its purpose is to modernize Part 302 procedures while preserving veterans' preference, compensable-injury restoration rights, and other priority placement rights.

How do I comment on the OPM excepted service proposed rule?

Submit through regulations.gov under Docket ID OPM-2026-0166 (RIN 3206-AO92) by November 17, 2026. OPM asks that comments be arranged by the specific subpart and section they address.

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