How to Fill Out and Submit SF 2819: Notice of Conversion Privilege

To fill out SF 2819, the Notice of Conversion Privilege, check that your agency has completed Part A on the front, then complete the eligibility statement (Part C) on the back: check the boxes for the coverage you want to convert (Basic, Option A, Option B, Option C, or any combination), sign and date the statement, print your full name and mailing address with ZIP code, answer the assignment questions, and indicate the status of SF 2821. Mail, email, or fax it to the Office of Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) so it arrives within 31 days of the date on the notice or 60 days of the event that terminated your coverage, whichever comes first.¹²

What Submitting SF 2819 Actually Does

You are not buying a policy when you send in this form. You are asking OFEGLI for conversion information and a premium quote. Once they process the request, they send a packet with rates and a list of authorized carriers, and you finalize the individual policy from there.³

The converted policy will be cash-value (whole life). You cannot convert to term. OPM says premiums “may be much higher” than what you paid under FEGLI, because the individual rate reflects your age and risk class rather than a subsidized group rate.⁴ You can convert all or part of your Basic and any optional coverage; the new policy amount can equal or be less than what you held.¹

One boundary worth stating up front: if you voluntarily canceled your FEGLI coverage, or if you return to a FEGLI-eligible position within three calendar days of the terminating event, you have no conversion right and this form does not apply.²

Check Part A Before You Fill Out Part C

Your agency’s HR office completes Part A before handing you the form. It should show the agency name and mailing address, the date your insurance terminated (Item 3), and the amount of coverage eligible for conversion. Verify Item 3 against your separation date or the end of your 12-month nonpay period. That date starts one of your two deadline clocks, and an error here will misroute your entire conversion.¹

Part B is printed information, not something you fill in. Read it once. It restates your rights, the no-medical-exam guarantee, and the deadlines, and the form directs you back to it as you complete the reverse side.

Completing Part C, the Eligibility Statement

Flip the form over. Part C is what you sign and send. Work through it in order.¹

Check the boxes for each coverage type you want conversion information on: Basic, Option A (Standard), Option B (Additional), Option C (Family), or any combination. You do not have to convert everything you held.
If you are requesting Option C conversion for eligible family members, list each family member’s name, birth date, and relationship in Item 7.
Sign and date the statement. An unsigned form will not be processed.
Print your full name and mailing address, including ZIP code. This is where OFEGLI will send the conversion packet and premium quote, so use an address that will reach you for the next several weeks.
Answer the assignment questions: indicate whether your FEGLI coverage was assigned to someone else, and whether you are signing as the insured or as the assignee. If your coverage was assigned, the assignee has the right to convert the assigned coverage; Option C stays with you.⁵
Check the SF 2821 status box that fits: attached, family member (not required), or to be submitted later.

The current form does not ask for your Social Security number. Name, address, signature, and the checkbox answers are what OFEGLI needs from you.

SF 2821: Get It If You Can, but Do Not Wait for It

OFEGLI uses SF 2821 (Agency Certification of Insurance Status) to calculate the exact amount you can convert. Your agency is supposed to give it to you when your coverage terminates. If you have it in hand, attach it to your SF 2819.⁶

If you do not have SF 2821 yet, send SF 2819 by itself before your deadline and follow up with your agency separately. The deadline runs on SF 2819, not on the certification. Retirees and assignees who are continuing Basic insurance but converting one or more options must include the duplicate copy (Part 2) of SF 2821 along with SF 2819.¹

Where To Send It

Send the completed Part C (and SF 2821 if you have it) directly to OFEGLI. Three routes are available:¹⁷

First-class mail: OFEGLI, 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166-0188.
Email: conversion_mail@metlife.com.
Fax: 866-560-0725.

For overnight or express delivery, use OFEGLI FEGLI Conversion Team, 200 Park Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10166-0188.³ If you mail it, pay for tracking. With a 31-day window and permanent forfeiture as the consequence, delivery confirmation is worth the extra postage.

The Two Deadlines

Two clocks start running the moment your coverage terminates. Whichever expires first is your real deadline. OFEGLI must receive your request by that earlier date.²

31 calendar days from the date on the conversion notice your agency gives you. 60 days if you are overseas.
60 calendar days from the date of the event that terminated your coverage. 90 days if overseas.

If your agency hands you the notice on or near your last day, the 31-day clock is usually the binding one. If the agency delivers the notice late, say three weeks after separation, the 60-day outer limit from the terminating event can expire before 31 days from the notice runs out. Calculate both dates and work backward from the earlier one.

Family members converting Option C follow the same dual-clock structure with the same time limits. There is no extension. A missed window is treated as a refusal of coverage.²

If Your Agency Never Gave You the Form

Agencies sometimes miss the notification. You are not automatically out of options. The regulations allow a belated conversion request in two situations: your agency never notified you of the loss of coverage and your right to convert, or you were unable to request conversion for reasons beyond your control.²

Write directly to OFEGLI within six months of becoming eligible to convert. Explain in the letter that you were not notified and were not otherwise aware of the right, or describe the circumstances beyond your control that prevented a timely request. Include a full written account of what happened. OFEGLI reviews these on a case-by-case basis. If approved, you have 31 days from the date of their determination to complete the conversion, and the effective date of the new policy is retroactive to the day after your group coverage ended.¹

The six-month outer limit is firm. Past six months from the date you first became eligible, OFEGLI will not accept a belated request no matter the reason. Do not wait to figure out whose fault the delay was; contact your former agency’s HR office and OFEGLI as soon as you realize the notice never came.

After OFEGLI Receives Your Form

OFEGLI processes your request and mails you a conversion packet with premium quotes based on your age and the coverage amount you selected. The participating insurance company sets the premium, not the federal government, and the rate reflects individual rather than group pricing.⁴ You choose a carrier from OFEGLI’s authorized list, accept the premium, and pay the first bill to put the policy in force.

Miss the carrier’s first-premium deadline and you lose the right to convert permanently. Keep copies of your completed SF 2819, your SF 2821, your mailing or fax receipts, and all correspondence with OFEGLI and the carrier. Once the individual policy takes effect, you are out of the federal group system and the contract runs by the private carrier’s terms.

1
Office of Personnel Management. SF 2819 Notice of Conversion Privilege
2
eCFR. 5 CFR 870.603 – Conversion of Basic and Optional Insurance
3
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. What Insurance Companies Will Accept Conversion of FEGLI Life Insurance Coverage?
4
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. How Will I Know If I Am Eligible to Convert My FEGLI Life Insurance?
5
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. What Is a Conversion Policy? Who Is Eligible to Convert Their FEGLI Life Insurance Benefit?
6
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Termination and Conversion
7
MetLife. Contact Us – FEGLI