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U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

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Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions

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Policies and Instructions

General Policies:
E. Application of Qualification Standards

  1. Selecting the Appropriate Qualification Standard
  2. Implementing New or Revised Standards
  3. Experience Requirements
  4. Educational and Training Provisions or Requirements
  5. Crediting Combinations of Education and Experience
  6. Using Selective Factors
  7. Using Quality Ranking Factors
  8. Special Inservice Placement Provisions
  9. Other Requirements or Provisions
  10. Supervisory Positions

1. Selecting the Appropriate Qualification Standard

Agencies and examining offices should select the qualification standard that covers the occupational series to which a position has been classified. If there is more than one standard for an occupational series, they should select the standard for the applicable position(s).

For competitive appointments, OPM or agency examining offices will have determined the appropriate qualification standard to apply.

For inservice placement actions, agencies should apply the appropriate standards and instructions in this section. If, however, at the time of an inservice placement action, the qualification requirements in an open competitive examination for an occupation are different from those in this section, agencies can apply the requirements in either the competitive examination or in this section.

For details, employees do not have to meet the qualification requirements for the position to which they are detailed, except for any minimum educational, licensure and certification requirements.