The SF182, Standard Form 182, Authorization, Agreement, and Certification of Training, is the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) form that records a federal employee's training request, its approvals and its completion. It covers the trainee, the course and vendor, the costs and billing, the supervisory approvals and the certification that the training was completed. On this page you can fill out the SF 182 online on FillingPDF and download or print the completed PDF; the form and its instructions are published through the agency at the official source link.
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What is SF 182?
Standard Form 182, Authorization, Agreement, and Certification of Training, is the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) form used to request, approve and certify the completion of training for a federal employee. Its primary purpose, per the Privacy Act Statement, is to document the approval and completion of employee training within an agency.
The form has six sections:
- Section A – Trainee Information: the employee's identity, contact details, position level, appointment, education level and pay data.
- Section B – Training Course Data: the vendor, course title, dates, hours and the training codes.
- Section C – Costs and Billing Information: direct and indirect costs, the purchase order number, the station symbol and billing instructions.
- Section D – Approvals: first-line supervisor, second-line supervisor and training officer.
- Section E – Approvals/Concurrence: the authorizing agency official who approves or disapproves the request.
- Section F – Certification of Training Completion and Evaluation: certification that the employee completed the training requirements and that an evaluation was done.
The Privacy Act Statement says the information is collected under 5 U.S.C. § 4115, part of the Government Employees Training Act, and that completed training information is provided electronically to a Governmentwide system. The form printed here is the edition revised March 2020; the form states that all previous editions are not usable. The instructions on pages 4 to 9 define the code lists for education level, training purpose, type, sub-type, delivery, designation, credit and source.
Who needs to file SF 182?
Federal employees who are being nominated for training, and the agency officials who handle that request, use the SF 182. The form is built around a trainee (Section A) and a chain of approvers, so several people complete different parts of it.
- The trainee or the person preparing the request completes Sections A and B, and the cost details in Section C.
- Supervisors and the training officer complete Section D. The form says to complete the appropriate number of approvals your agency requires (first, second and/or third level) before the form goes to the Agency Training Office.
- The nominating agency official authorized to approve or disapprove training requests completes Section E.
- The agency certifying official completes Section F, certifying that the employee completed the training requirements and that an evaluation was done.
Training vendors receive billing information from the form: the form directs bills to the office in item C6 and asks that the number in item C4 be referenced for prompt payment. The form does not describe who may sign on someone else's behalf.
When to file SF 182
Complete the SF 182 when an employee is nominated for a training course or program and approval is needed. The approvals in Sections D and E are completed before the form is submitted to the Agency Training Office, and Section F is completed after the training ends, when the agency certifies completion and evaluation.
The form prints no filing deadline. The instructions add a timing rule for electronic reporting: an agency should only submit data for completed training events for which all mandatory data elements have been recorded. Course start and end dates (items B3 and B4) are entered in yyyy-mm-dd format.
How to fill out SF 182
Enter agency code and request status
At the top, enter the agency code, agency subelement and submitting office number in box A, and choose the request status in box B from the Select one list.
Complete Section A trainee identity
Enter the applicant's name (Last, First, Middle Initial) in item 1, the Social Security Number as ###-##-#### in item 2 and the date of birth as yyyy-mm-dd in item 3. Home address and home telephone (items 4 and 5) are marked Optional.
Add position and contact details
Select the position level in item 6: Non-supervisory, Supervisory, Manager or Executive, as defined on page 4. Then enter the organization mailing address, office telephone, work email and position title (items 7 to 10), and answer item 11 on special accommodation, describing any requirements.
Enter appointment, education and pay data
Select the type of appointment (item 12) and the education level code (item 13, codes 1 to 22 on pages 4 and 5). Then enter pay plan, series, grade and step in items 14 to 17.
Describe the vendor and course
In Section B, enter the training vendor's name, mailing address, telephone, email, website and point of contact (items 1a to 1f), and the training site location in 1b if different. Then enter the course title and course number code (2a, 2b) and the start and end dates in yyyy-mm-dd (items 3 and 4).
Select the training codes
Enter duty and non-duty hours (items 5 and 6), then select the purpose type (item 7, codes 01 to 06), type code (item 8) and a matching sub-type (item 9). Select delivery type (item 10, codes 1 to 6) and designation type (item 11, codes 01 to 05).
Finish the rest of Section B
Enter the training credit (item 12) and, only if it is greater than zero, the credit type code (item 13). Complete the accreditation indicator (14), source type code (item 17, codes 1 to 5), individual or group training (18), student or membership ID (19) and skill learning objective (20); items 15 and 16 relate to the continued service agreement, and item 21 is for agency use.
Complete costs and billing in Section C
List direct costs (tuition and fees, books and material costs) and indirect costs (travel, per diem), each with its appropriation or fund chargeable, and the totals. Then enter the total non-government contribution cost (3), the document/purchasing order/requisition number (4), the 8-digit station symbol (5, example format 12-34-5678) and the billing instructions (6).
Collect Section D approvals
Enter name, title, telephone, email, signature and date (yyyy-mm-dd) for the immediate supervisor (1a to 1e), and for the second-line supervisor and training officer (2a to 2e, 3a to 3e) as many as your agency requires.
Complete Sections E and F
The nominating authorizing official completes Section E (name, title, telephone, email, signature, date). After the training, the agency certifying official completes Section F, certifying completion and that an evaluation was done.
Review and download the completed PDF
Check that every question in Sections A through E is answered, dates use yyyy-mm-dd and the codes match. Download or print the completed PDF from FillingPDF and route it to the Agency Training Office as described under How to submit.
How to submit SF 182
The form is routed inside the agency: after the required approvals are signed, it goes to the Agency Training Office. The form names no mailing address, portal or other channel.
- Agency approvals: complete the number of approvals in Section D that your agency requires (first, second and/or third level) before the form is submitted to the Agency Training Office. Section E is completed by the nominating agency official authorized to approve or disapprove the request.
- Vendor billing: training facilities send bills to the office indicated in item C6 and refer to the number in item C4.
- Electronic reporting: the Privacy Act Statement says completed training information must be provided electronically to the Governmentwide system, so your Agency Training Office handles that step.
Ask your Agency Training Office how it wants the signed form delivered. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using an earlier edition of the form; the SF 182 states that all previous editions are not usable and this one is Revised March 2020.
- Leaving questions blank in Sections A through E; the instructions say you must complete all questions in those sections.
- Entering dates in another format; birth, training start and end, agreement expiration and approval dates use yyyy-mm-dd.
- Choosing a Training Sub Type Code (item B9) that does not belong to the Training Type Code you selected in item B8; each type has its own sub-type categories.
- Entering a Training Credit Type Code (item B13) when the training credit is zero; the instructions say to select it only if the credit is greater than zero.
- Treating training from a state-operated or other public educational institution as Government: State/Local; the instructions say that education is reported as non-Government.
- Filling in items marked Agency Use Only, such as item B21, instead of leaving them to the agency; item B15 is an agency response.
- Sending vendor bills to the wrong office or leaving out the item C4 number; the form says bills go to the office in item C6 and should cite item C4.
Frequently asked questions
What is the SF182 form used for?
The SF182 is OPM's Standard Form 182, Authorization, Agreement, and Certification of Training. Agencies use it to document the approval and completion of a federal employee's training: trainee data, course data, costs, approvals and the certification that the training was completed and evaluated.
Can I fill out the SF 182 online?
Yes. You can fill out the SF 182 online on FillingPDF and download or print the completed PDF. FillingPDF is an independent service and does not submit the form; it goes through your agency's approvers to the Agency Training Office.
Where do I send the completed SF 182?
The form says to complete the approvals your agency requires and then submit it to the Agency Training Office. It prints no address or portal, so ask your training office how it takes the signed form.
Who signs the SF 182?
Section D has signature lines for the immediate supervisor, the second-line supervisor and the training officer, and your agency decides how many approvals are needed. Section E is signed by the authorizing official, and Section F by the agency certifying official after the training.
What do the position level choices on the SF 182 mean?
Item A6 offers Non-supervisory (no supervisory or team leader duties), Supervisory (first-line supervisors who do not supervise other supervisors), Manager (typically supervise one or more supervisors) and Executive (Senior Executive Service or equivalent).
What is the continued service agreement on the SF 182?
A continued service agreement (CSA) is an agreement to remain in the agency's service for a specified time after training. Item B15 is an agency response: select Y, N or N/A to show whether the employee signed one as a condition of the training.
Is Section F certification required on the SF 182?
Section F is the Certification of Training Completion and Evaluation. Agency certifying officials certify that the employee completed the training requirements and that an evaluation was done, citing 5 CFR 410.202, which requires agencies to evaluate training.
Which edition of the SF 182 should I use?
Use the edition Revised March 2020. The form states that all previous editions are not usable.
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