In my capacity as President, empowered by the Constitution and laws of the United States, particularly sections 3301 and 3302 of Title 5, U.S. Code, I hereby issue the following directive:
Section 1. Purpose.
The citizens of America are entitled to a Federal workforce that is not only competent and efficient but also committed to the public good, while being appropriately sized. The use of probationary periods for competitive service employees and trial periods for those in excepted service has long served as an essential mechanism for evaluating the suitability of newly appointed Federal employees before their positions are made permanent.
However, the Government Accountability Office has noted a troubling trend: agencies have not been leveraging these probationary and trial periods to their full potential, often failing to dismiss appointees whose continued presence does not serve the public interest. This oversight has led to the retention of underperforming employees who should have been filtered out during their initial assessments.
Effective administration demands that agency consent be a prerequisite for probationary employees to gain tenure as Federal employees. As highlighted in the Merit Systems Protection Board’s 2005 report, The Probationary Period: A Critical Assessment Opportunity, there must be established procedures ensuring that a probationer does not automatically transition to a permanent role without agency action. If the agency does not certify that the probationer will be a valuable asset to the Government, their employment should end automatically at the conclusion of the probation period. This order mandates that practical change.
Moreover, the regulations found in subpart H of part 315 of Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, which claim to limit agency actions regarding probationary employees, are not legally mandated, create unnecessary hurdles for agencies looking to terminate probationary employees, and discourage managers from taking necessary actions.
To rectify this, this order introduces a new Civil Service Rule XI, which will replace subpart H. Under this new rule, agencies must actively determine whether retaining individuals in probationary or trial periods would be beneficial to the Federal service before solidifying their appointments.
Sec. 2. Repeal of Civil Service Rule 2.4.
Civil Service Rule II is revised to eliminate section 2.4 of part 2 of Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations.
Sec. 3. Civil Service Rule XI.
A new Civil Service Rule XI is hereby established, succeeding Civil Service Rule X, which states:
“PART 11—PROBATIONARY AND TRIAL PERIODS (RULE XI)”
Sec.
11.1 Scope
11.2 Probationary Period; When Required
11.3 Trial Period; When Required
11.4 Crediting Service
11.5 Completion of Probationary or Trial Period
11.6 Appeals
§ 11.1 Scope
This rule applies to probationary periods in the competitive service and trial periods in the excepted service unless otherwise specified by statute. It does not pertain to probationary periods in the Senior Executive Service.
§ 11.2 Probationary Period; When Required
(a) The first year of service for an employee holding a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service under the Civil Service Regulations is a probationary period when the employee:
(1) Was appointed from a competitive eligibility list.
(2) Was reinstated (including reinstatement from a Reinstatement Priority List), unless during any period of service that provides a current basis for reinstatement the employee completed a probationary period of at least 1 year or served with competitive status under an appointment that did not require a probationary period; provided that the date of reinstatement starts a new 12-month probationary period if one is mandated under paragraph (a) of this section.
(b) A person required to undergo a probationary period who is transferred, promoted, demoted, or reassigned in accordance with the Civil Service Regulations before completing such a period must finish the remainder of the probationary period in the new position.
(c) Upon noncompetitive appointment to the competitive service under the Postal Reorganization Act (39 U.S.C. 101 et seq.), an employee of the Postal Career Service (including substitute or part-time flexible employees) who has not completed 1 year of Postal service must serve the remainder of a 1-year probationary period in the new agency.
(d) A person appointed to the competitive service by a special appointing authority or by conversion to a career or career-conditional appointment under the Civil Service Regulations must serve a 1-year probationary period unless specifically exempted from such a period by the special appointing authority itself.
(e) Employees promoted, transferred, or assigned for the first time to supervisory or managerial roles are required to serve a probationary period under terms and conditions set by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). If an employee must concurrently serve both a probationary period in a supervisory role under 5 C.F.R. part 315, subpart I, and a probationary or trial period following initial appointment or reinstatement under this Civil Service Rule, the latter takes precedence and fulfills the requirements of this paragraph.
§ 11.3 Trial Period; When Required
(a) The first year of continuous service in the same or similar position of a preference eligible in the excepted service, or the first 2 years of continuous service in a similar position for individuals in the excepted service (excluding preference eligibles), constitutes a trial period.
(b) A person who is required to undergo a trial period and is transferred, promoted, demoted, or reassigned before completing the trial period must finish the remainder of the trial period in the new position.
(c) An individual who exits the Federal service for more than 30 days after completing a trial period and later is reappointed to an excepted service position must undergo a new trial period unless appointed to a same or substantially similar position in the same agency as their previous role.
§ 11.4 Crediting Service
(a) Prior Federal civilian service (including nonappropriated fund service) counts toward completion of a probationary or trial period when the prior service:
(1) Is in the same agency, e.g., Department of the Army;
(2) Is in the same line of work, as determined by the employee’s actual duties and responsibilities; and
(3) Contains or is followed by no more than a single break in service that does not exceed 30 calendar days.
(b) Periods of absence while in a pay status count toward the completion of a probationary or trial period. Absences in nonpay status while on the rolls (except for compensable injury or military duty) are creditable up to a total of 22 workdays. Absence due to compensable injury or military duty is fully creditable upon restoration to Federal service. Nonpay time exceeding 22 workdays extends the probationary or trial period by an equivalent duration.
(c) The probationary or trial period for part-time employees is calculated based on calendar time, similarly to full-time employees. For intermittent employees, those without scheduled tours of duty, each day or portion of a day in pay status counts as one day of credit toward the 260 days or 520 days, as applicable, required for completing a probationary or trial period. Under no circumstances shall the probationary or trial period be completed in less than 1 year of calendar time.
§ 11.5 Completion of Probationary or Trial Period
(a) Agencies are to utilize the probationary and trial periods mandated upon initial appointment or subsequent reinstatement to evaluate employees’ fitness and whether their continued employment serves the public interest. If not terminated sooner, an employee’s service concludes before the end of their tour of duty on the last day of their probationary or trial period, unless their agency certifies within the 30 days leading up to that date that finalizing their appointment is in the public interest.
(b) A probationary or trial period ends when the employee completes their scheduled tour of duty on the day before the anniversary date (or, as applicable, the 2-year anniversary date) of their appointment. For instance, if the last workday is a Friday and the anniversary date is the following Monday, a probationer will be separated before the end of the tour of duty on Friday if the agency does not make the necessary certification that their continued appointment is beneficial to the public interest.
(c) Employees on a probationary or trial period are responsible for demonstrating why their continued employment through the finalization of their appointment to the Federal service is in the public interest.
(d) When assessing whether it is in the public interest to finalize the appointment of an employee in a probationary or trial period, the agency head, or their designee, may consider, at their sole discretion:
(1) the employee’s performance and conduct;
(2) the needs and interests of the agency;
(3) whether the employee’s continued employment would advance the agency or Government’s organizational goals; and
(4) whether the employee’s continued employment would enhance service efficiency.
(e) Prior to terminating the service of an employee in a probationary or trial period, the agency must provide written notification to the employee regarding the effective date of the action.
(f) Should an agency fail to issue a certification under Civil Service Rule 11.5 due to an administrative mistake, the agency head may request the Director of OPM to reinstate the employee within 30 days from the termination date.
(g) This section does not apply to employees serving a probationary period due to being promoted, transferred, or assigned for the first time to a supervisory or managerial position, unless such employees are concurrently required to serve both a probationary period in a supervisory or managerial position and a probationary or trial period following initial appointment or reinstatement under this Civil Service Rule.
§ 11.6 Appeals
(a) The Director of OPM may establish regulations outlining the circumstances and procedures under which employees terminated from a probationary or trial period may appeal such terminations.
(b) Except as legally mandated, these appeals shall be the sole means of contesting terminations during probationary or trial periods.
Sec. 4. Modifications to the Civil Service Regulations.
(a) This order supersedes subpart H of part 315 of Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (Probation on Initial Appointment to a Competitive Position), which is hereby rendered ineffective. No agency shall enforce its provisions.
(b) The Director of OPM shall, within 30 days of this order, prepare and publish a rule to rescind subpart H and make the necessary amendments.
Sec. 5. Review During Probationary and Trial Periods.
(a) Within 15 days of this order:
(i) Each executive department and agency head shall identify all employees in their agency serving an initial probationary or trial period that concludes 90 days or more from the date of this order.
(ii) Each agency head shall appoint individuals in writing who will be responsible for evaluating the continued employment of these probationary employees. Such designations should be limited to those who can effectively assess the organization’s needs and goals in alignment with the agency’s or Federal Government’s objectives.
(b) At least 60 days before the conclusion of each employee’s initial probationary or trial period, those designated individuals shall, as practically as possible, meet with each employee to discuss performance and conduct (considering input from the employee’s supervisor), agency needs, and whether the employee’s continued employment would benefit the public interest, the agency’s goals, and service efficiency.
(c) Within 30 days of the conclusion of each employee’s probationary or trial period, the agency head or their designated individual must decide whether to finalize the employee’s appointment to the Federal service or to terminate their service, in accordance with Civil Service Rule XI and other applicable laws.
(d) Before finalizing the appointment of an employee to Federal service at the end of the probationary or trial period, the agency head or their designated individual must certify in writing that the continued employment of that individual will advance the public interest.
Sec. 6. Effective Date.
This order is effective immediately, but the requirements in sections 5(b) through 5(d) and Civil Service Rule 11.5 will take effect 90 days from the date of this order.
Sec. 7. General Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this order shall be interpreted to undermine or affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or its head; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget concerning budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order will be implemented in accordance with applicable laws and subject to available appropriations.
(c) This order does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other individual.
(d) Should any provision of this order, including any of its applications, be deemed invalid, the remaining sections of this order and all other applications shall remain unaffected.
DONALD J. TRUMP
THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 24, 2025.
