I Doors, not points
Veterans’ preference adds points and changes ordering in competitive examining. These three do something different: they are appointing authorities.
Preference is an advantage inside a competition. An appointing authority is a way to be in one at all — or, for two of the three, a way to be appointed without a competition happening.
Under VEOA specifically, you are not given preference as a scoring factor. You are given access.
Expecting an edge the authority was never built to provide is the most common disappointment here, and it usually surfaces after someone has already been passed over.
II VEOA
The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act exists to solve a specific problem: veterans’ preference does not apply to merit promotion procedures. Those announcements are open only to current and former federal employees, so a veteran outside government could not compete at all.
What it unlocks
Competitive service authority. No grade limit. Usable only for permanent competitive service positions where the agency has decided to solicit candidates from outside its own workforce.
One catch for people already inside: current federal employees applying under VEOA are subject to time-in-grade restrictions like any other GS employee.
III VRA
The Veterans Recruitment Appointment — 5 U.S.C. 3112, 5 CFR 315.707, 316.302 and 316.402 — lets an agency appoint you noncompetitively, with no competition run at all.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ceiling | GS-11 or equivalent |
| Service type | Excepted, in an otherwise competitive position |
| Conversion | Must convert after 2 years satisfactory service |
Eligibility runs to a veteran who served during a war or holds a campaign badge, or is a disabled veteran, or holds an Armed Forces Service Medal including the GWOT Service Medal, or is recently separated — within three years of discharge. In every case, separation under honorable conditions: honorable or general.
Agencies may also use VRA for temporary appointments (not to exceed one year) and term appointments (more than one year, up to four). An employee in a temporary or term position under VRA will not be converted after two years.
Establish which kind you are being offered before accepting. The conversion is the whole value of the route.
IV The 30 percent authority
Also 5 U.S.C. 3112, and the distinguishing feature is simple: no grade ceiling.
You are eligible if you retired from active military service with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more, or hold a VA rating showing a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Grade | No restriction |
| Appointment | Temporary (60 days to 1 year) or term (1–4 years), competitive service |
| Conversion | Not required — but the agency may |
VRA caps you at GS-11 but guarantees conversion. The 30 percent authority has no cap but guarantees nothing afterwards.
If a permanent appointment is what you need, ask the agency directly what it intends before accepting. Do not assume conversion follows because it did for someone else.
Note this is distinct from Schedule A, which is an excepted-service authority for people with disabilities generally. A veteran rated 30 percent or more may qualify under either, and they are separate routes with separate paperwork.
V Side by side
| VEOA | VRA | |
|---|---|---|
| Competitive? | Yes — you compete | No — direct appointment |
| Grade cap | None | GS-11 |
| Service | Competitive | Excepted, converting at 2 years |
And the third: the 30 percent authority is noncompetitive like VRA, uncapped like VEOA, and carries no guaranteed conversion. On paper it is the most flexible of the three.
VI Using them together
OPM encourages veterans to seek consideration under every authority for which they are eligible, in addition to claiming preference through competitive examining. The routes are not alternatives, and using one does not spend another.
A common stack
There is no reason to pick one. Apply to public announcements with preference, to merit promotion announcements under VEOA, and speak to hiring managers directly about the noncompetitive routes.
That last point is where the noncompetitive authorities actually get used. An agency is never required to use them, even where you are eligible — so the route runs through a hiring manager who has a position and wants to fill it this way, not through an announcement.
Documentation is the same discipline throughout: the DD-214 Member 4 copy is the preferred evidence, and an SF-15 where you are claiming 10-point preference.
Where each authority reaches
The GS-11 ceiling is the defining limit.
Working all three
- Stop treating these as preference — they are access, not points.
- Check which you qualify for; it is often more than one.
- Use VEOA for merit promotion announcements that exclude outsiders.
- If offered VRA, confirm it is not temporary or term.
- If using the 30 percent authority, ask what happens after the term.
- Have the DD-214 Member 4 copy and, if relevant, an SF-15 ready.
- Talk to hiring managers directly about the noncompetitive routes.
- Keep claiming preference on public announcements as well.
Questions
No. Veterans preference adds points and changes ordering in competitive examining. These three are appointing authorities, which is to say they are doors into a hiring process rather than an advantage once you are inside one. Under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act in particular you are not given preference as a scoring factor, you are given access to a competition that would otherwise exclude you. Conflating the two is why people expect an advantage that the authority was never designed to give.
It lets you apply for merit promotion vacancies that would otherwise be open only to current or former federal employees. That matters because veterans preference does not apply to positions filled under merit promotion procedures, so without VEOA a veteran outside government simply could not compete for those announcements at all. VEOA is a competitive service authority, it can be used only for permanent competitive service positions where the agency has decided to solicit candidates from outside its own workforce, and it carries no grade limit.
The Veterans Recruitment Appointment lets an agency appoint an eligible veteran noncompetitively, without running a competition at all. The catch is the ceiling: appointment is limited to grades up to and including GS-11 or equivalent. It is an excepted service appointment rather than a competitive one, and after two years of satisfactory substantially continuous service the agency must convert you noncompetitively to a career or career-conditional appointment.
A veteran who served during a war or holds a campaign badge for service in a campaign or expedition, or who is a disabled veteran, or who holds an Armed Forces Service Medal including the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal for participation in a military operation, or who is a recently separated veteran within three years of discharge. In every case the separation must have been under honorable conditions, meaning an honorable or a general discharge. There is no limit to the number of times you may apply under VRA.
Not always, and the exception catches people. Conversion applies to the ordinary VRA appointment after two years of satisfactory service. But agencies may also use VRA to fill temporary positions not to exceed one year and term positions of more than one year but not more than four, and an employee in a temporary or term position under VRA will not be converted to the competitive service after two years. Establish which kind of appointment you are being offered before accepting.
No grade ceiling, which is the whole point. The authority under 5 U.S.C. 3112 allows noncompetitive appointment of a veteran who retired with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more, or who holds a VA rating showing a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more, and it is not capped at GS-11 the way VRA is. It can be used for temporary appointments of at least 60 days and not exceeding a year, or term appointments of more than one year and not more than four, in the competitive service.
Not automatically. There is no requirement that a position filled under this authority be converted to a permanent one, though an agency has the authority to convert it if it chooses. That is the trade against VRA: no grade ceiling, but no guaranteed conversion either. If a permanent appointment is what you need, ask directly what the agency intends before accepting rather than assuming conversion follows.
Yes, and you should. OPM encourages job-seeking veterans to seek consideration under every hiring authority for which they are eligible, in addition to claiming preference through competitive examining where that applies. The routes are not alternatives and using one does not spend another. A veteran with a 30 percent rating who is also within three years of discharge may be eligible under all three plus preference, and there is no reason to pick just one.