Federal Hiring Authorities for Veterans

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the five major federal hiring authorities available to veterans:

Veterans' preference is the most well-known advantage. It applies when agencies use a competitive hiring process — jobs "open to the public" on USAJOBS.

5-Point Preference (TP)

Who qualifies:

• Veterans who served on active duty for more than 180 consecutive days (other than for training)
• Must have been discharged under honorable or general conditions
• Must have served during a qualifying period or received a campaign medal

Qualifying periods include:

• Any part of service after January 31, 1955, and before October 15, 1976
• Gulf War era: August 2, 1990 through January 2, 1992
• Post-9/11: September 11, 2001 through August 31, 2010
• Receipt of a campaign or expeditionary medal at any time

What you get: 5 points added to your passing examination score.

10-Point Preference

Who qualifies:

• Veterans with any service-connected disability rating (even 0% if compensable)
• Purple Heart recipients
• Certain spouses, widows/widowers, and mothers of deceased or disabled veterans

Sole Survivorship Preference (SSP)

For veterans released from active duty after August 29, 2008, because they are the only surviving child in a family where a sibling died in military service. This grants 0 points but you are still considered a preference eligible and listed ahead of non-preference candidates.

Important Limitations

• Veterans' preference does NOT apply to Senior Executive Service positions
• Military retirees at Major / Lieutenant Commander or above are not eligible unless they have a service-connected disability
• Preference applies to competitive service jobs; it generally does not apply to excepted service or merit promotion announcements
• Preference does not guarantee a job — it gives you a higher ranking on the list

VRA is a powerful noncompetitive hiring authority, meaning agencies can hire you without posting a public job announcement and without competing against other candidates.

Who Qualifies

• Disabled veterans (any rating), OR
• Veterans who served on active duty during a war or in a campaign/expedition for which a campaign badge was authorized, OR
• Veterans who received an Armed Forces Service Medal for participation in a military operation, OR
• Recently separated veterans (within 3 years of discharge)

Must have been discharged under honorable or general conditions.

Key Details

• Grade limit: Can be used for positions up to GS-11 or equivalent
• Appointment type: Initially an excepted service appointment
• Conversion: After 2 years of satisfactory performance, you are converted to a competitive service career or career-conditional appointment
• No announcement required: A hiring manager can use VRA to fill a position without posting it on USAJOBS
• How to use it: You can contact agency HR offices or hiring managers directly and ask if they will consider you under VRA authority

Why this matters: VRA lets you skip the USAJOBS application process entirely for jobs GS-11 and below. If you find a manager who needs someone with your skills, they can hire you directly using VRA — no posting, no competition, no waiting.

This is another noncompetitive hiring authority specifically for veterans with significant service-connected disabilities.

Who Qualifies

• Veterans with a VA disability rating of 30% or more
• Must be discharged under honorable or general conditions

Key Details

• No grade level limit — unlike VRA, this can be used for any GS level, including GS-12, GS-13, GS-14, and GS-15
• Appointment types:
  • Temporary: at least 60 days, up to 1 year
  • Term: more than 1 year, up to 4 years
  • Can be converted to a permanent competitive service appointment at any time during the temporary or term appointment
• No announcement required: Like VRA, agencies can hire you without posting the job
• How to use it: Provide your VA disability letter and DD-214 to the agency HR office

Why this matters: If you have a 30%+ disability rating, this authority has no grade ceiling. You could be hired into a GS-15 position noncompetitively. Combined with the fact that no job announcement is required, this is one of the most powerful tools available to disabled veterans.

VEOA gives veterans access to jobs that would otherwise only be available to current federal employees.

Who Qualifies

• Preference eligibles (anyone who qualifies for 5-point or 10-point preference), OR
• Veterans who served 3 or more years of active duty and were discharged under honorable conditions

Key Details

• Applies when an agency posts a job under merit promotion procedures (normally limited to current federal employees) and the agency is looking outside its own workforce
• Allows you to compete for these positions even though you are not a current federal employee
• If selected, you are given a career or career-conditional appointment
• You must apply during the open period when the agency announces outside recruitment

Why this matters: Many federal jobs are posted only under merit promotion, meaning they are normally invisible to outside candidates. VEOA opens those doors for veterans.

Direct Hire Authority allows agencies to skip the normal competitive process entirely when there is a critical shortage of qualified candidates.

How It Works

• OPM grants DHA to agencies for specific positions or occupations where there is a severe shortage
• When DHA is in effect, the agency can hire qualified candidates without competition, without veterans' preference, and without the usual ranking process
• Common DHA occupations include cybersecurity, IT, engineering, healthcare, and scientific positions

For Veterans

• DHA does not apply veterans' preference (since there is no competitive process)
• However, veterans with relevant skills can still benefit because the process is faster and more direct
• Look for job announcements on USAJOBS that mention "Direct Hire Authority" — these tend to move faster

Step 1: Gather Your Documents

• DD-214 (Member 4 copy) — shows your character of discharge and service dates
• SF-15 — required for 10-point preference claims
• VA disability letter — for disability-based authorities (VRA, 30% disabled, 10-point preference)
• Campaign medal documentation — if that is your basis for eligibility

Step 2: On USAJOBS

• When completing your profile, fill out the military service section completely
• When applying, select the appropriate hiring path (Veterans, 30% Disabled, VEOA, etc.)
• Upload all required documents with your application

Step 3: For Noncompetitive Authorities (VRA, 30% Disabled)

• You do not have to wait for a job posting
• Contact agency HR offices directly
• Attend veteran hiring events
• Work with veteran employment representatives at agencies

Step 4: Get Help

• Feds Hire Vets — fedshirevets@opm.gov or (202) 606-5090
• VA for Vets — VA employment assistance
• Each agency's veterans employment coordinator

Veterans do not have just one path into federal service — they have several. The competitive process with veterans' preference is the most common route, but VRA and the 30% Disabled Veteran authority let you bypass competition entirely. VEOA opens doors that are normally closed to outsiders. Know which ones you qualify for and use them all.