Standard Form 50, Notification of Personnel Action

Standard Form 50, Notification of Personnel Action, is the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) form that records a personnel action affecting a federal employee, showing the action taken, the position and organization, pay, employee data, position data and the approving official's authentication.

The printed notice tells the employee what happened and why. Blocks 5-A and 6-B describe the personnel action or actions that occurred, with a nature-of-action code and a legal authority for each. Blocks 7 to 14 describe the position and pay the employee is moving from, and blocks 15 to 22 describe the position and organization the employee is assigned to. The remaining blocks carry employee data (blocks 23 to 31), position data (blocks 32 to 39) and agency data (blocks 40 to 50), including remarks and the approving official's signature.

The form is printed in three parts: Part 1 is the Employee Copy, to keep for future reference; Part 2 is the OPF Copy, a long-term record marked DO NOT DESTROY; Part 3 is the Payroll Copy. The form states that it is the official notice of a personnel action and that it could be used to make employment, pay and qualifications decisions about you in the future.

The revision on this page is Rev. 7/91, and the form states that editions prior to 7/91 are not usable after 6/30/93. Definitions for coded data in blocks 1-24, 27-39 and 45-50 are found in Federal Personnel Manual Supplement 292-1.

The SF 50 is issued to the federal employee whose personnel action it records. The employee receives Part 1, the Employee Copy, and the form says to keep it with your records, because it could be used to make employment, pay and qualifications decisions about you in the future.

Other groups who use or request it:

• Current federal employees who need a current copy ask their personnel office.
• GSA employees can access and print their SF 50 from the HR Links system.
• Former federal employees can obtain copies of their SF 50 by writing to the National Personnel Records Center, as described under How to submit.
• Personnel offices and approving officials complete the form: block 50 carries the signature or authentication and title of the approving official, and block 48 identifies the personnel office.

The form tells the employee to read all the information on the front of the notice and to tell the personnel office immediately if there is an error.

An SF 50 is prepared when a personnel action occurs, such as the action or actions entered in blocks 5-A to 6-F, and the date the action takes effect is entered in block 4. The form prints no separate filing deadline.

As the recipient, read the notice as soon as you get it. The form says it is your responsibility to read all the information on the front and to tell your personnel office immediately if there is an error. Keep Part 1, the Employee Copy, for future reference; Part 2, the OPF Copy, is a long-term record that the form says not to destroy.

You get copies of an SF 50 through your agency's personnel office, or through the National Personnel Records Center if you are a former federal employee; the employee does not file the form with OPM.

• Current federal employees: contact your personnel office for a current copy. GSA employees can access and print theirs from the HR Links system.
• Former federal employees: write to the National Personnel Records Center, Annex, 1411 Boulder Boulevard, Valmeyer, IL 62295. Additional information is at https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/civilian-non-archival.
• Questions about errors, benefits or rights: the form says to tell your personnel office immediately about an error, and to ask your supervisor or personnel office if you have questions about your rights and benefits.

The GSA forms page for the SF 50 lists no fee and no other channel. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; any delivery follows the agency channels above.