30% or More Disabled Veteran Noncompetitive Hiring Authority

If you have a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more, the federal government can hire you directly under the 30 percent disabled veteran noncompetitive hiring authority. Under 5 U.S.C. § 3112, an agency can appoint you to any position you’re qualified for without posting a vacancy announcement, running a competitive search, or ranking you against other applicants.¹ There is no grade-level cap. If a hiring manager wants you and you meet the qualifications for the job, they can bring you on board.

Who Qualifies

Two groups of veterans are eligible. The first is veterans who retired from active military service with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more. The second is veterans rated by the Department of Veterans Affairs as having a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more, whether or not the disability caused their separation.²

There is no minimum length of service. The rating is what matters. Your discharge must be under honorable conditions, which covers both honorable and general discharges.³ A dishonorable or bad-conduct discharge disqualifies you regardless of your rating.

One rule catches people off guard: if you’re relying on a VA rating letter, the notice has to be dated 1991 or later. Military retirement documentation showing the disability can be from any year, but VA letters carry that 1991 cutoff.⁴

Documents You Need

The paperwork is short, but a missing item can knock you out. Two documents are essential:

DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Member Copy 4 is preferred because it shows character of service, though agencies will generally accept any copy that reflects an honorable or general discharge.⁵
A VA disability letter, or an equivalent letter from your military branch, clearly stating a compensable service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.

Still on active duty? If you don’t yet have a DD-214, submit an official letter from your unit confirming your terminal leave status and dates and stating that your service was performed under honorable conditions. Once your DD-214 comes through, provide Member Copy 4 to the agency’s human resources office to finalize the appointment.

Some agencies also ask for Standard Form 15, the Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference. The SF-15 is technically for claiming preference points in competitive hiring, not for the noncompetitive authority.⁶ Even so, many agencies include it in their standard veteran documentation package, so keep one filled out. Save digital copies of everything so you can respond fast when an opportunity opens.

How You Actually Get Hired

This is where the authority differs sharply from standard federal hiring. An agency can appoint you without ever posting the position on USAJOBS. The hiring manager doesn’t need to run a competitive search or use the category rating system that governs most federal recruitment.³

In practice, veterans find these jobs two ways. Some positions do appear on USAJOBS. Use the Hiring Path filter for “veterans” to narrow the results, and check the “This job is open to” section of each announcement for the veterans icon. The second route is direct contact with an agency’s Selective Placement Program Coordinator (SPPC). OPM maintains a directory of SPPCs searchable by state and agency.⁷ Each coordinator works within a specific agency, so if you have a target in mind, reach out to that agency’s SPPC directly.

Direct contact matters because many positions filled under this authority never appear on USAJOBS. A hiring manager with an open slot and a qualified disabled veteran in front of them can skip the announcement entirely. Making your qualifications known to specific offices, working with SPPCs, and attending veteran hiring events all increase your odds of landing one of these unadvertised jobs.

Types of Appointments and Grade Levels

An agency can use this authority to make three kinds of appointments:³

Temporary appointments, limited to one year or less, with extensions possible.
Term appointments, lasting more than one year but no more than four, usually for project-based work.²
Permanent career or career-conditional appointments in the competitive service.

The most common path is a temporary or term appointment that later converts to permanent status, but the agency isn’t required to start you in a time-limited role. A direct permanent appointment is on the table too.

There is no restriction on grade level. A hiring manager can appoint you to any GS grade, or equivalent, for which you meet the qualification standards.³ That is a meaningful edge over the Veterans’ Recruitment Appointment, which caps at GS-11. If your education, experience, or military background puts you at the GS-12 or GS-13 level, this authority gets you there without competing against the general public.

Getting to Permanent Status

If you start in a temporary or term role, conversion to permanent employment runs through 5 CFR 315.707. An agency can convert you to career or career-conditional status without a break in service, provided your initial appointment was for more than 60 days.⁸ Once that condition is met, the agency can convert you at any point in the appointment. There’s no mandatory waiting period.

Conversion is discretionary, not automatic. It depends on satisfactory performance and the agency’s continuing need for the position. Agencies that hire under this authority usually intend to convert, so a time-limited appointment often functions more like an extended trial than a genuinely temporary job.

After conversion you’re a career-conditional employee and serve a one-year probationary period. During probation you can be separated more easily than a tenured federal employee, so consistent performance counts. Complete probation and you gain full competitive status and the same protections as any other permanent federal employee.¹

Your rating must still sit at 30 percent or more when the conversion happens. If the VA reduces your rating below that threshold first, you may lose eligibility. The regulation also allows conversion if you held a qualifying rating at the time of a temporary appointment made within the preceding year, or a term appointment made within the preceding four years.⁹

Disabled Veteran Leave in Your First Year

Once hired, you receive a one-time credit of up to 104 hours of disabled veteran leave under the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act. The leave is specifically for medical treatment related to your service-connected disability during your first year of federal employment.¹⁰

The 104-hour figure is for full-time employees; part-time and seasonal employees receive a proportional amount. Two offsets apply: any sick leave already on your account when you start reduces the credit, and any equivalent disabled veteran leave used in a prior non-covered federal position counts against it.

The rules are strict use-it-or-lose-it. Your 12-month eligibility period starts on day one. Unused hours are forfeited at the end of that window, don’t carry over, and don’t pay out in a lump sum under any circumstance.¹¹ If your rating drops below 30 percent during the 12-month window, any remaining hours are forfeited as of the date the rating changes. Schedule medical appointments early and use the leave before it disappears.

When to Use This Authority Instead of VRA or VEOA

Two other major veteran hiring paths sit alongside this one, and each covers different ground.

The Veterans’ Recruitment Appointment (VRA) is also noncompetitive, but capped at GS-11 or below. It’s open to a broader group of veterans, including those without a disability rating. If you qualify for the 30 percent authority and the position is above GS-11, use your 30 percent authority.³
The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) is not noncompetitive. It lets eligible veterans apply for positions otherwise open only to current federal employees with status. You still compete against other candidates; you’re just allowed into a pool that would otherwise be closed.

If you have a 30 percent or more rating and the agency is willing to use this authority, it’s almost always your best route. You skip the competition, face no grade ceiling, and the position doesn’t need to be posted publicly. At GS-11 and below you may also qualify under VRA, which gives you a fallback if an agency prefers that path. VEOA is the tool for applying to internal merit promotion announcements, but it doesn’t carry the same noncompetitive advantage.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 3112 – Disabled Veterans; Noncompetitive Appointment
2
eCFR. 5 CFR 316.302 – Selection of Term Employees
3
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans
4
eCFR. 5 CFR 316.402 – Procedures for Making Temporary Appointments
5
Defense Logistics Agency. DOD Customers Required Supporting Documentation
6
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Frequently Asked Questions – What Is the Standard Form 15 (SF-15) Application for 10-Point Veterans Preference
7
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Selective Placement Program Coordinator Directory
8
eCFR. 5 CFR 315.707 – Disabled Veterans
9
eCFR. 5 CFR 315.707 – Disabled Veterans
10
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Fact Sheet: Disabled Veteran Leave
11
eCFR. 5 CFR Part 630 Subpart M – Disabled Veteran Leave