I What Schedule C is
Under 5 CFR 213.3301, and with specific authorisation from OPM, agencies may appoint to noncareer positions of a confidential or policy-determining character that are normally subject to change as a result of a Presidential transition.
These positions are excepted from the competitive service and constitute Schedule C. Each is assigned an identifying number between 213.3302 and 213.3399 for the agency to record the appointment against.
Because of the confidential or policy-determining nature of the work, incumbents serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority — usually the agency head — and may be removed at any time. No probationary period changes that, and the adverse action procedures that protect a career competitive-service employee do not apply the same way.
One guardrail worth knowing: when requesting the exception, the agency head must certify in writing that the position was not created solely or primarily to detail the incumbent to the White House.
II The vacancy rule
This is the provision that makes Schedule C unlike anything else in federal employment.
The position leaves with the person
A GS-14 analyst position survives twenty occupants. A Schedule C position stops existing when its occupant walks out. Filling it again means a fresh authorisation from OPM, not simply posting a vacancy.
That single rule explains the churn pattern around administration changes: the positions are not being abolished as a decision, they are lapsing automatically by regulation.
III Who can supervise one
Schedule C positions cannot sit just anywhere in an organisation chart. The immediate supervisor must be one of:
| Eligible supervisor |
|---|
| A Presidential appointee |
| An SES appointee in a General position — career or noncareer |
| Another Schedule C appointee |
The effect is to keep the authority tethered to the political layer, rather than letting confidential positions be created deep inside career organisations. It is one of the things OPM examines when an agency requests the exception.
IV Transitional positions
There is a short-term category for handovers. An agency may establish temporary transitional Schedule C positions during the one-year period immediately following a change in Presidential administration, the arrival of a new agency head, or the creation of a new agency.
The number is capped. It may not exceed either 50 percent of the highest number of permanent Schedule C positions the agency filled at any point in the previous five years, or three positions — whichever is higher.
V The five schedules
Schedule C is one of several excepted schedules in 5 CFR part 213. The schedule an appointment is made under is recorded on your SF-50.
| Schedule | Covers |
|---|---|
| A | Positions where it is impracticable to examine — not confidential or policy-determining |
| B | Positions where it is not practicable to hold a competitive examination |
| C | Confidential or policy-determining, noncareer, tied to Presidential transitions |
| D | Pathways — students and recent graduates |
| Policy/Career | Career policy-influencing positions outside the SES |
Schedule D is the one most career employees encounter, because it is how Pathways interns and recent graduates are appointed before conversion.
VI Schedule Policy/Career
This is the schedule that reaches career positions, and the one worth understanding if you hold one.
It covers career positions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating character that are not in the Senior Executive Service. Positions are numbered from 5 CFR 213.3601.
| Instrument | What it did |
|---|---|
| EO 13957 (Oct 2020) | Created Schedule F |
| EO 14171 (Jan 2025) | Amended it |
| 2026 rulemaking | Implemented Schedule Policy/Career |
A point often lost in coverage: agencies must generally make appointments to Schedule Policy/Career in the same manner as to positions in the competitive service. It is the excepted-service status that changes, not the hiring method.
A change of your position to an excepted schedule is a material change to your status, and it affects which procedural protections attach to you. Get the specifics in writing — the schedule, the authority, the effective date — and take them to your union representative or an attorney before responding. This is not a question to settle from general reading, including this page.
Note also that the definition of a “qualifying appointment” for some pay purposes in 5 CFR 550.703 was revised to exclude Schedule C, Schedule G and other noncareer appointments — so the schedule you sit on can carry consequences beyond tenure.
What happens when the occupant leaves
The position itself, not the person.
VII Playbook
| Situation | What to know |
|---|---|
| Offered a Schedule C role | You serve at pleasure. No adverse action protections. |
| Leaving a Schedule C job | The position is revoked on vacancy. It is not held for you. |
| Career job, new administration | Schedule C churn does not reach competitive service positions. |
| Told your position is policy-influencing | Get the schedule and authority in writing before responding. |
| Considering moving to the political layer | Understand what you give up, and whether you can return. |
| Checking your own status | Your SF-50 records the authority and schedule. |
| Appointed under Pathways | That is Schedule D, and it converts. Different thing entirely. |
| Anything affecting your tenure | Union representative or attorney, not general reading. |
Knowing where you stand
- Find the appointment authority and schedule on your most recent SF-50.
- Confirm whether your position is competitive or excepted service.
- If excepted, identify which schedule and what protections attach.
- If offered a Schedule C role, ask what happens when the appointing official leaves.
- If you hold career status, understand you keep it unless something formally changes it.
- Put any proposed change to your status in writing before agreeing to anything.
- Take a status change to your union representative or an attorney.
- Keep every SF-50 — the record of your status is the record that matters.
Questions
An appointment to a noncareer position of a confidential or policy-determining character that is normally subject to change as a result of a Presidential transition. Positions filled under this authority are excepted from the competitive service and constitute Schedule C, under 5 CFR 213.3301. Each position is assigned an identifying number in the 213.3302 to 213.3399 range for the agency to record the appointment against. The authority requires specific authorisation by OPM.
The position goes with them. The exception from the competitive service for each position listed in Schedule C is revoked immediately upon the position becoming vacant, and the agency must notify OPM within three working days. That is the sharpest practical difference between Schedule C and every other kind of federal job: a competitive service position survives its occupant, and a Schedule C position does not. Filling it again requires a fresh authorisation.
Yes. Because of the confidential or policy-determining nature of these positions, the incumbents serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority, usually the agency head, and may be removed at any time. There is no probationary period to complete that changes this, and none of the adverse action procedures that protect a career employee in the competitive service apply in the same way. It is the trade that comes with proximity to the political layer.
Not just anyone. The immediate supervisor of a Schedule C position must be a Presidential appointee, a Senior Executive Service appointee occupying a General position, whether career or noncareer, or another Schedule C appointee. That requirement exists to keep the authority tethered to the political layer rather than allowing confidential positions to be created deep inside career organisations, and it is one of the things OPM checks when an agency requests the exception.
A short-term category for the handover period. An agency may establish temporary transitional Schedule C positions to assist a department or agency head during the one-year period immediately following a change in Presidential administration, when a new agency head has entered on duty, or when a new agency is created. The number is capped: it cannot exceed either 50 percent of the highest number of permanent Schedule C positions the agency filled at any point in the previous five years, or three positions, whichever is higher.
Schedule A covers positions, other than confidential or policy-determining ones, for which it is impracticable to examine. Schedule B covers positions for which it is not practicable to hold a competitive examination. Schedule C covers the confidential and policy-determining positions described here. Schedule D is the Pathways authority for students and recent graduates. Each carries its own numbering range in 5 CFR part 213, and the schedule an appointment is made under is recorded on your SF-50.
A separate excepted schedule covering career positions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating character that are not in the Senior Executive Service. It traces to Executive Order 13957 of 2020, which created Schedule F, as amended by Executive Order 14171 of January 2025, and was implemented through subsequent rulemaking in 2026 at 5 CFR 213.3601 and following. Agencies must generally make appointments to it in the same manner as to positions in the competitive service.
Schedule C itself does not, because it applies to noncareer positions you would have to be appointed into. Schedule Policy/Career is the provision that reaches career positions, and whether a given position is covered turns on whether it is characterised as policy-influencing. If you are told your position is being moved to an excepted schedule, that is a significant change to your status and the point at which to get the specifics in writing and speak to your union representative or an attorney.