Excepted service

Legal definition in 5 U.S.C. § 2103:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(a) For the purpose of this title, the excepted service consists of those civil service positions which are not in the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service.

Related Topics:
Civil service - Competitive service - Senior Executive Service

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(b) As used in other Acts of Congress, “unclassified civil service” or “unclassified service” means the “excepted service”.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most federal government civilian positions are part of the competitive civil service, where applicants must compete with other applicants in open competition under the merit system administered by the Office of Personnel Management. However, some agencies are excluded from these provisions. Although they mainly work on a merit system also, they have their own hiring systems and evaluation criteria. These agencies are called "excepted service agencies" and their positions are part of the excepted civil service.

Related Topics:
Federal government - Civil service - Office of Personnel Management

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The principal excepted agencies are:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
• Defense Intelligence Agency
• Department of State
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• Federal Reserve Board
• Government Accountability Office
• National Security Agency
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
• United States Postal Service
• United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Department of Veterans Affairs