5 C.F.R. § 731.104

Investigation and reciprocity requirements

Read at: eCFRecfr.gov CornellLII GovInfogovinfo.gov CasesGoogle Scholar

Link to an amendment published at 91 FR 39380, June 30, 2026.

(a) To establish an individual's suitability or fitness, employment subject to investigation (see definitions § 731.101(a)) requires the individual to undergo investigation by an agency with authority to conduct investigations except as described in paragraphs (a)(1) through (3) of this section.

(1) An agency must reciprocally accept a prior background investigation in the event of promotion, demotion, reassignment, or transfer from employment subject to investigation to other employment subject to investigation without a break in service, unless the new employment is at a higher risk level.

(2) An agency must reciprocally accept a prior background investigation when the person entering employment subject to investigation has undergone a background investigation that is at or above the level required for the position as determined by position designation and has a qualifying break in service specified in supplemental guidance, unless the agency obtains new information in connection with the person's employment that calls into question the person's suitability or fitness under § 731.202. Agencies must request such checks as may be specified in implementing guidance and must enroll individuals re-entering service after a break in service into continuous vetting, consistent with the requirements in § 731.106(d).

(3) Positions that are intermittent, per diem, or temporary in nature, not to exceed an aggregate of 180 days per year in either a single continuous appointment or series of appointments, do not require a background investigation for suitability or fitness. The employing agency, however, must conduct such checks as it deems appropriate to ensure the suitability or fitness of the person. The employing agency must conduct such vetting as required under OPM issuances.

(b) An individual does not have to serve a new probationary or trial period in the Civil Service merely because the individual's employment is subject to investigation under this section. An individual's probationary or trial period in the Civil Service is not extended because the individual's employment is subject to investigation under this section.

(c) A suitability determination must be made for each appointment in the competitive service or career Senior Executive Service and a fitness determination must be made for each appointment in the excepted service, except as described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section.

(1) In the case of a prior investigation that is reciprocally accepted, if the record in the Central Verification System or its successor system does not reflect a prior favorable suitability or fitness determination, the agency must review the prior investigation for the purpose of making a suitability or fitness determination.

(2) In the case of a prior investigation that is reciprocally accepted, if the prior investigation was favorably adjudicated for suitability or fitness, the agency must accept the prior determination except that the agency must make a new determination where:

(i) The investigative record on file for the individual shows conduct that is incompatible with the core duties of the relevant covered position; or

(ii) The agency has prescribed additional factors as permitted under § 731.202(b) that were not addressed in the prior favorable adjudication, in which case the agency must conduct an adjudication using only those additional factors.

(d) Continuous vetting requirements under § 731.106 are not affected by this section.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2014–2024 · leading case: Nat'l Treasury Employees Union v. Fed. Labor Relations Auth., 754 F.3d 1031 (D.C. Cir. 2014).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Nat'l Treasury Employees Union v. Fed. Labor Relations Auth., 754 F.3d 1031 (D.C. Cir. 2014). · cites it 2× “, 5 C.F.R. § 731.104 ; id § 736.201(a), (b); id.”

Ames v. United States Dep't of Homeland Sec., 153 F. Supp. 3d 342 (D.D.C. 2016). “2(d); see also 5 C.F.R. § 731.104 (b)(2) (“An appointment to a covered position also will be subject to investigation when.”

Lamb v. Millennium Challenge Corp. (D.D.C. 2020). “§ 7713 (a)(8) (providing that the MCC’s personal service contractors “shall not be considered [f]ederal employees for any provision of law administered by the Office of Personnel Management”) with 5 C.F.R. § 731.104 (explaining that OPM is responsible for administering…”

Oram v. MSPB (Fed. Cir. 2021). “” 5 C.F.R. § 731.104 (c); see also S.A. 6 n.”

Maurice Kim v. Dep't of the Air Force (MSPB 2023). “103 , a suitability appeal under 5 C.F.R. § 731.104 , an individual right of action (IRA) appeal of a personnel action taken in retaliation for a protected disclosure or other protected activ ity, an appeal under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of…”

Shawn Green v. Dep't of Vets. Affairs (MSPB 2024). “8 See 5 C.F.R. § 731.104 (a), 8 Even assuming that the appellant’s criminal conduct was a direct manifestation of his disability, nothing in the Rehabilitation Act requires the agency to exempt him from 16 29 C.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.