Streamlining Probationary and Trial Period Appeals

What it does

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to change the circumstances and procedures for adjudicating appeals from employees terminated during their probationary and trial periods and supervisors and managers who fail to complete their probationary periods. Executive order, "Strengthening Probationary Periods in the Federal Service," rendered the prior procedures for appealing such actions to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) inoperative. This final rule establishes a new, limited appeals process adjudicated by OPM. The final rule also makes conforming amendments.

The Personnel Management Office's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

6 parts of Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

5 CFR 11, 5 CFR 230, 5 CFR 315, 5 CFR 432, 5 CFR 751, 5 CFR 752

Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).

Compared with

The Personnel Management Office has published 29 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 14 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 3206-AO96 since Jan. 1, 2025.

Since then:

• Aug. 25, 2026 Final rule; correction and technical amendment. Streamlining Probationary and Trial Period Appeals; Correction and Technical Amendment

What happens next and when

Effective September 2, 2026. Covered actions (i.e., terminations, assignments, noncertifications, or failures to certify/ finalize) effected before the effective date of this rule are not governed by this final rule.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket OPM-2025-0013 on Regulations.gov
• Title 5 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register