I What it has to say
The Schedule A authority at 5 CFR 213.3102(u) covers three categories: intellectual disability, severe physical disability, and psychiatric disability. The documentation proving you fall in one of them is what people call a Schedule A letter.
Agencies state it plainly: the document only needs to state that the person is eligible to be considered for employment under this authority. It is not necessary to identify the specific disability.
No diagnosis. No treatment history. No clinical notes. A short certification on letterhead is what the regulation calls for.
This is the most over-complied-with step in federal hiring. People hand over medical records to a hiring office because nobody told them a single paragraph would do. Accommodation is a separate conversation, later, with different people.
II Who can write it
| Source | In practice |
|---|---|
| Licensed medical professional | Physician or other professional certified by a state, DC or territory to practise medicine — including psychiatrists, psychologists, audiologists, specialists |
| Licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist | State or private |
| An agency that provides disability benefits | Federal, state, DC or territorial |
Note what the first row does not say: it does not require your treating physician, or a specialist in your condition, or anyone who has known you for years. It requires a licensed professional willing to certify eligibility.
A vocational rehabilitation specialist is frequently the easier route, and private ones count. They write these routinely, which a busy primary care office often does not.
III The agency route
The third source is the one people miss entirely: any federal or state agency that issues or provides disability benefits can supply the documentation.
Why this matters most on the way out of service
For someone separating from the military, including a member still on terminal leave, this is usually the fastest path. The determination exists, it is federal, and hiring offices recognise the format.
Which also answers the terminal-leave question directly: you do not have to wait until you are a civilian to obtain the documentation, and you do not need a private doctor to produce something you already have.
IV What makes it invalid
Two formalities sink otherwise correct letters.
| Requirement | Common failure |
|---|---|
| Official letterhead | A plain-paper letter, or an email |
| A signature | A typed name where a signature belongs |
Agencies say the letter must be on the official letterhead of the issuing professional and must include a signature, or it is invalid. A scanned or digital signature is normally fine. Check both before you submit — a correct letter rejected on a formality still costs you the announcement.
Certification of job readiness — a statement that you are likely to succeed in performing the duties of the position. It can sit in the same letter or come separately.
It is a statement about readiness for that work, not a clinical judgement, which is why a vocational rehabilitation specialist is often better placed to write it than a treating physician. OPM publishes sample letters for both purposes.
V After appointment
Schedule A is an excepted service appointment, and that has consequences worth knowing before you accept.
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Trial period | Two years |
| Conversion | After two years satisfactory service, agency may convert noncompetitively to the competitive service |
| Grade and job | Any grade, any occupation, time-limited or permanent |
The two-year trial period is longer than the competitive service’s one year, which matters for appeal rights. Conversion is also permissive — the agency may convert, not must. Worth asking how the office has handled that historically before you accept.
Eligibility is not a job. You still have to meet the qualification standards, come through selection, and pass any background investigation. Each agency decides when to use the authority, so not every posting is open under it — the announcement generally says.
VI Veterans, and both doors
Appointments under 213.3102(u) are exempt from the normal veterans’ preference procedures of 5 CFR part 302 — though agencies may still weigh veteran status as a positive factor in selection.
OPM encourages job-seeking veterans to seek consideration under every authority they are eligible for, in addition to claiming preference through competitive examining. A veteran with a qualifying disability can pursue Schedule A and apply competitively with preference. There is also no limit on how many times you may apply under Schedule A.
One last piece of naming confusion: Schedule A is not only about disability. 5 CFR 213.3102 is a broad set of excepted authorities covering attorneys, certain temporary positions and others — see the excepted schedules. Disability is paragraph (u); paragraph (ll) covers appointing readers, interpreters and personal assistants as accommodations.
Three sources, one short letter
Any one of them is sufficient.
Getting the letter right
- Ask for a certification of eligibility, not a medical summary.
- Confirm it does not name the condition unless you want it to.
- Check it is on official letterhead and signed.
- If a benefits determination already exists, start there rather than with a doctor.
- Consider a vocational rehabilitation specialist over a busy clinic.
- Ask whether the announcement also wants certification of job readiness.
- Understand the trial period is two years, not one.
- Ask how often that office has actually converted people.
Questions
No. The document only needs to state that you are eligible to be considered for employment under the Schedule A hiring authority. It is not necessary to identify the specific disability, and agencies say so explicitly in their own guidance. This is the single most over-complied-with part of the process: people submit diagnoses, treatment histories and clinical notes when a short certification on letterhead is what the regulation actually calls for.
Three categories of source. A licensed medical professional, meaning a physician or other medical professional duly certified by a state, the District of Columbia or a US territory to practice medicine, which in practice includes physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, audiologists and other specialists. A licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist, either state or private. Or any federal agency, state agency, or agency of the District of Columbia or a US territory that issues or provides disability benefits.
Yes, and this route is widely underused. Any federal or state agency that issues or provides disability benefits can supply the documentation, which means an existing benefits determination can serve the purpose without a new medical appointment. For someone leaving military service, including a member still on terminal leave, that is often the most practical route, because the determination already exists in a form the hiring agency recognises.
Missing letterhead or a missing signature. Agencies state that the letter must be printed on the official letterhead of the issuing professional and must include a signature, or it is invalid. A scanned signature is normally fine; a typed name where a signature should be is the usual failure. Check both before submitting, because an otherwise correct letter rejected on a formality costs you the announcement.
A separate statement some agencies request alongside proof of disability, saying that you are likely to succeed in performing the duties of the position you are applying for. It can be combined with the proof of disability in a single letter or provided separately. It is a statement about readiness for that work, not a clinical judgement, and a vocational rehabilitation specialist is often better placed to write it than a treating physician.
No. Eligibility lets an agency appoint you without running you through competitive examining, but you must still meet the qualification standards for the position, come through the selection process, and satisfy any other requirements such as a background investigation. Each hiring agency decides when to use the authority, so not every federal job is open under it. Announcements generally state whether the agency intends to consider candidates this way.
Appointment under this authority is to the excepted service and carries a two-year trial period. After two years of satisfactory service the agency may convert you, without competition, to the competitive service. Agencies may appoint at any grade level and to any job, time-limited or permanent, for which you qualify. There is no limit on the number of times a person may apply under the authority.
Appointments made under 5 CFR 213.3102(u) are exempt from the normal veterans preference procedures in 5 CFR part 302, though agencies may still treat veteran status as a positive factor in the selection decision. OPM encourages veterans to seek consideration under every hiring authority for which they are eligible rather than choosing between them, including claiming preference through competitive examining where that applies. The routes are not mutually exclusive.
No, and the naming causes real confusion. Schedule A at 5 CFR 213.3102 is a broad set of excepted service authorities covering things including attorneys, certain temporary positions, and positions filled by presidential appointment without Senate confirmation. The disability authority is one paragraph of it, at 213.3102(u). A separate paragraph, 213.3102(ll), covers appointing readers, interpreters and personal assistants as reasonable accommodations.