How to Get and Complete Form SF-1150: Annual, Sick, and Comp Leave

The SF-1150, Record of Leave Data, is the federal form your agency’s payroll office prepares to document and transfer your leave balances when you change agencies, separate from federal service, or return after a break. You do not fill it out yourself. Your role is to know what it records and to check the numbers before and after it moves, because errors on this one form can cost you accrued time off or place you in the wrong accrual bracket for years.¹

When Your Agency Creates an SF-1150

Three events trigger the form.

The first is a transfer between federal agencies. When you move from one agency to another, especially when the two use different payroll systems, the losing agency’s payroll office generates the SF-1150 to carry your leave balances across. It is the only standardized way those balances travel between payroll systems.¹

The second is separation. If you resign, retire, or are otherwise removed, the losing agency creates the form and files it in your electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF). The eOPF then goes to the National Personnel Records Center, where the SF-1150 sits in case you come back.¹

The third is reemployment. When a former federal employee returns to government, the SF-1150 from the earlier separation is the source document for recrediting sick leave. Under 5 CFR 630.502, sick leave you accrued under 5 U.S.C. 6307 is restored regardless of how long you were away, provided you returned to federal employment on or after December 2, 1994.²

One boundary to keep in mind. If you transfer to or from an agency that is not covered by OPM’s leave authorities, such as the U.S. Postal Service, the gaining agency’s own rules determine whether your balances come along. OPM defines a “transfer” as movement between positions covered by its leave system, so moves involving non-Title 5 agencies fall outside that definition and may need extra coordination.³

What the Form Records

The SF-1150 has 27 numbered fields. Payroll completes all of them, but a few are worth knowing so you can spot problems.

The top of the form carries your name, Social Security Number, the date and nature of your separation or transfer, and whether you were subject to the 45-day annual leave ceiling under 5 U.S.C. 6304(b). Field 6 records your total service for leave purposes and marks whether you have more or less than 15 years. That figure drives your annual leave accrual rate: 4 hours per pay period with fewer than 3 years, 6 hours between 3 and 15 years, and 8 hours at 15 years or more.⁴

The middle of the form is the leave summary. It shows your carryover balance from the prior leave year, current-year accruals, reductions and leave taken, and the resulting balance, broken out for annual leave, sick leave, and restored leave. Fields 13 through 15 record the lump-sum annual leave payout at separation: the number of hours paid, the hourly salary rate used, and the dates the payment covers.⁵

Fields 16 and 17 record leave without pay (LWOP) in the current leave year, the date of your last equivalent increase, and cumulative LWOP hours since that increase, excluding time in military service or on workers’ compensation. Extended LWOP can shift your service computation date for leave, so these numbers matter more than they look.⁵

If you served overseas, fields 18 through 22 track your home leave: the basic service period, the current accrual period, any LWOP that interrupted accrual, and the balance at separation. Home leave can be transferred or recredited when you move between agencies or return within 90 days.⁶

Field 23 shows military leave used in the current calendar year. Field 24 is a remarks section. Fields 25 through 27 carry the certifying official’s signature, title, agency contact information, and the date the form was certified.⁵

What Happens to Each Type of Leave

Annual Leave Is Paid Out

When you separate, your unused annual leave (including restored annual leave) is paid as a lump sum. The payment equals the pay you would have received had you stayed on the job through the period the leave would have covered, including any scheduled pay adjustments.³

If you return to federal service during the period the lump-sum payment covered, you have to refund the portion of the payment covering the time between your reemployment date and the end of that period. The agency then recredits the corresponding annual leave. Restored annual leave is not subject to refund.³

Sick Leave Stays on the Books

Sick leave is never paid out. It stays recorded on your SF-1150. If you return to federal service in a position covered by 5 U.S.C. 6307, the full balance is recredited. There is no time limit on how long you can be away.²

Compensatory Time Has Tighter Rules

Unused comp time is treated differently. For FLSA-exempt employees who transfer or separate before the 26-pay-period deadline for using comp time, the agency may pay the unused hours at the overtime rate in effect when the time was earned. Comp time can be forfeited if it is not used or paid out, unless the failure to use it resulted from a work demand beyond your control, in which case payment is required.⁷

If You Used Advanced Annual Leave

If you took annual leave before you earned it, your SF-1150 will show a negative balance, and what happens next depends on whether you are transferring or leaving.

On a transfer to another federal agency without a break in service, the negative balance follows you. The old agency cannot make you repay to zero out the account before you go. The debt moves with you and gets worked off as you accrue.⁸

On a separation, you must refund the value of the advanced leave, or the agency will deduct it from your final pay. The refund is calculated at the pay rate that was in effect when you took the leave, not your rate at separation. No repayment is required if you die, retire on disability, resign due to disability, or enter active military service with reemployment rights.⁸

What You Should Do

Before you leave your agency, pull your final Leave and Earnings Statement and compare the numbers against the SF-1150 the payroll office prepared. Focus on the annual leave balance, the sick leave balance, and the service computation date for leave. An incorrect SCD can put you in the wrong accrual bracket for years without you noticing.

After you arrive at a new agency, check your first few Leave and Earnings Statements to confirm that the transferred balances posted correctly. If something looks off, contact your new agency’s HR office and ask them to reconcile against the certified SF-1150 in your eOPF. Old payroll records become harder to reach as time passes, so flag any problem quickly rather than waiting to see if it corrects itself.

Where to Get the Form

The SF-1150 is available as a PDF download from the General Services Administration at gsa.gov/reference/forms/record-of-leave-data.⁹ You can also ask your agency’s human resources or payroll office for a copy. Most employees never need the blank form because payroll generates it during the separation or transfer process, but having the template in front of you makes it easier to ask the right questions of the payroll staff preparing yours.

1
U.S. Department of Agriculture National Finance Center. Leave Data Transfer
2
eCFR. 5 CFR 630.502 – Sick Leave Recredit
3
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Fact Sheet: Leave Upon Transfer or Separation
4
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Annual Leave
5
General Services Administration. Record of Leave Data – SF-1150
6
eCFR. 5 CFR Part 630 Subpart F – Home Leave
7
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Fact Sheet: Compensatory Time Off
8
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Fact Sheet: Advanced Annual Leave
9
General Services Administration. Record of Leave Data