The guidance available on this webpage applies to the appeal process for suitability actions taken under 5 CFR 731 and filed on or after September 2, 2026. If you are seeking guidance on an appeal filed prior to September 2, 2026, refer to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) website at www.mspb.gov.

Important: If you are appealing a suitability action taken on or after September 2, 2026, file with OPM — not the MSPB. Filing with the MSPB is not filing with OPM.  The MSPB will not forward your filing to OPM.  If you filed with the MSPB by mistake, refile with OPM immediately using OPM's eFile site and attach proof of your MSPB filing date in your appeal.

What Are Suitability Action Appeals and Who Can Appeal?

A suitability action appeal is a formal request for OPM SuitEA to review an agency’s decision to take a suitability action against you under 5 CFR Part 731. Suitability actions include: cancellation of eligibility, removal, cancellation of reinstatement eligibility, and debarment.

This process applies to suitability appeals filed on or after September 2, 2026.

You may file an appeal if a federal agency took a suitability action against you under 5 CFR Part 731. To confirm whether your action was taken under that authority, check your final action letter — it must cite 5 CFR Part 731 as the basis for the action. You must also have been in one of the following statuses at the time the action was taken:

• Applicant — an individual being considered or who was considered for a competitive service or career SES position
• Appointee — an individual who entered on duty and is in the first year of employment in a competitive service or career SES position
• Employee — an individual who has completed the first year of a competitive service or career SES appointment

For instructions on how to file an appeal, please reference the Appellant and Appellant Representative eFile Instructions. All appeals and case filings go through OPM eFile: https://opmefile.opm.gov.

OPM SuitEA reviews the agency’s record, evaluates whether the suitability determination was supported by the evidence, and determines whether the action taken was appropriate. OPM SuitEA may affirm, reverse, modify, vacate, or remand the suitability action.

What Cannot Be Appealed Here?

You cannot appeal:

• An unfavorable suitability determination that did not result in one of the four suitability actions; or,
• A non-selection, or cancellation of competitive service eligibility based on an objection to an eligible or a pass over of a preference eligible under 5 CFR 332.406, even if it was based on 731.202 reasons (5 CFR 731.203(c)).
• A fitness determination (generally applies to excepted service positions) — this process covers only suitability actions for competitive service, excepted service positions that noncompetitively convert to competitive service, and career SES positions;
• A security clearance, national security eligibility, or credentialing determination — these are governed by separate authorities outside Part 731;

You may still have options. Even if your situation falls outside this appeal process, you may be able to file a complaint or appeal with another forum, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), or another independent authority, if an independent basis for jurisdiction exists.

What Does the OPM Appeals Process Look Like?

Once you file your appeal with OPM, OPM will:

• Assign a case number and review your filing for completeness; if information or documentation is missing, OPM will contact you to obtain what is needed — you will generally have 10 calendar days from OPM's notice to provide it — before sending an acknowledgment letter
• Notify the responsible agency — the agency that took the suitability action — and require the agency to submit a complete Agency Response File (ARF) within 30 calendar days
• When the agency submits the ARF through OPM's eFile system, it will automatically be available for you to review; a reply is not required, but if you choose to respond, you have 15 calendar days to file a written reply (please see Appellant and Appellant Representative eFile Instructions for more details on what to include in your reply)
• Adjudicate your appeal based on the written record; in limited circumstances — where resolving a material factual dispute requires evaluation of witness credibility, or where the written record is insufficient to resolve facts material to the outcome — OPM may assign an administrative judge to preside over a hearing
• Issue a written Initial Decision affirming, reversing, modifying, vacating, or remanding the suitability action, with findings on each charge and suitability factor

What the Initial Decision means: If OPM rules in your favor, OPM may order appropriate relief, which can include correction or cancellation of the suitability action, correction of your records, and — where applicable — back pay, interest, and reasonable attorney fees. If OPM affirms the agency's action, the suitability action stands as taken, and the decision will explain which suitability factors and charges were sustained.

You may have a representative. You may designate a representative of your choice to assist you in preparing and presenting your appeal.  Note that restrictions apply if your representative is a Federal employee. Please see the Appellant and Appellant Representative eFile Instructions for further guidance.

Requesting reconsideration. The Initial Decision becomes OPM's final decision 30 calendar days after issuance unless a party timely requests reconsideration or the OPM Director reopens the decision.  Either party may request that OPM reopen and reconsider the Initial Decision. OPM has sole and exclusive discretion whether to grant the request. Grounds include a material factual error, a legal error, or new and material evidence that was unavailable despite due diligence when the record closed. There is no further right of administrative appeal from a reconsideration decision.

When OPM is the responsible agency, OPM appeal adjudicators are insulated from any OPM officials who participated personally and substantially in the challenged suitability determination or action.

Key Deadlines at a Glance

* The effective date depends on whether you are an applicant, appointee, or employee. See the Appellant Tab: Your Filing Deadline for how to determine your effective date, how the 30 days are counted, and what happens if you file late.

Questions?

Contact the OPM Suitability Appeals Team at SuitEAAppeals@opm.gov or call (202) 599-0090. All case-specific communications must be submitted through the OPM eFile system.

How to File a Suitability Action Appeal

All appeals must be filed through OPM eFile, available at https://opmefile.opm.gov. Before you can submit or view your appeal, you will need to log in or create an account if it is your first time using the system. For instructions on how to file an appeal, please see the Appellant and Appellant Representative eFile Instructions. Submissions by email, mail, fax, or any other means will not be accepted and do not constitute a filed appeal.

Before You File

Confirm:

• You are an applicant, appointee, or employee in the competitive service or career SES
• The agency took a suitability action against you under 5 CFR Part 731 (not a fitness action, security clearance action, or other personnel action)
• You are filing within 30 calendar days of the effective date of the action (see Your Filing Deadline section below).

If you are unable to file electronically due to a disability or other hardship, contact OPM Suitability Appeals at SuitEAAppeals@opm.gov to request an accommodation at least 14 days before your filing deadline.

Your Filing Deadline

You have the right to appeal a suitability action taken against you, as specified in 5 CFR part 731, subpart E. You must file your appeal within 30 calendar days after the effective date of the action. The first day counted is the day after the effective date, and your appeal must be filed electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the 30th calendar day.

How the effective date is determined:

• If you are an appointee or employee, the effective date is the date your employing agency carried out the action. This is true whether the agency was carrying out its own action or one directed by OPM.
• If you are an applicant, the effective date is the date on your notice of final action. If that notice was mailed to you, add 10 calendar days to the date of the notice.

If the 30th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday, you have until the first workday after that date. If you file after the deadline, your appeal will be dismissed as untimely unless you demonstrate good cause. The determination of good cause is in OPM's sole and exclusive discretion.

Representation

You have the right to be represented by an attorney or other representative of your choosing. If your representative is a federal employee, restrictions apply. See our Appellant and Appellant Representative eFile Instructions for full requirements.

Need Help?

For technical questions about the OPM eFile system, contact OPMeFile@opm.gov. For questions about your suitability appeal, contact SuitEAAppeals@opm.gov. We respond to inquiries as quickly as possible.  All case-specific communications must go through the eFile system.

If you are filing a suitability action appeal, you have the right to designate a representative to help you prepare and present your case. A representative may be an attorney, a union official, a colleague, or another person of your choosing — subject to certain restrictions. OPM SuitEA communicates with your representative as your authorized agent throughout the appeal.

Designation required: To have a representative, you must submit a written designation through the OPM eFile system. Your representative must also register in eFile before they can access your case or receive case communications. OPM SuitEA has created a Representative Designation Form for this purpose — use is recommended but not required. Download the form below and upload the completed form through eFile when submitting your appeal or at any point during the proceeding.

Representative Designation Form (PDF) 

For the designation process, who may serve as a representative, and representative responsibilities, see our Appellant and Appellant Representative eFile Instructions.

Go to OPM eFile System 

Questions About Representation?

Contact the OPM Suitability Appeals Team at SuitEAAppeals@opm.gov. All case-specific communications must be submitted through the OPM eFile system — do not send any appeal documents to the email address above.

Once OPM determines an appeal is timely and jurisdictionally proper, OPM will notify the responsible agency and request an Agency Response File (ARF) through the issuance of the acknowledgment letter in the eFile system. Agencies should identify in advance which office and individual(s) are responsible for preparing the ARF — and ensure that person registers in OPM's eFile system — so that the 30-day window can be met without delay. The most effective way to do this is to notify OPM at SuitEAAppeals@opm.gov who each agency's representative is for suitability appeals; this should be the same office that previously handled suitability appeals when they were processed through the MSPB. Agencies must update the OPM Suitability Appeals team promptly whenever the designated representative changes.

If the responsible agency does not have an official registered in the eFile system, OPM will attempt to identify the agency's point of contact from the final action letter or other documentation submitted by the appellant.

Unless OPM directs otherwise, the agency must file the ARF within 30 calendar days of notification.

For representative designation, eFile registration, compliance requirements, and step-by-step eFile instructions, see our Agency Representative eFile Instructions.

Agency Response File (ARF)

The ARF is the complete administrative record of the suitability action. It must be submitted as a single PDF through the OPM eFile system and must be complete, indexed, paginated, and certified. Review the documents below for full guidance on what the ARF must include, how to format and certify it, Privacy Act and FOIA obligations, extension requests, and what a completed ARF looks like.

Additional ARF guidance and more detailed instructions will be posted on this page as they become available.

Key Deadlines for Agencies

Agency Questions

Contact the OPM Suitability Appeals Team at SuitEAAppeals@opm.gov or (202) 599-0090. Do not submit appeal documents to this address — all case documents must be filed through the OPM eFile system.