Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306)

Forms and Documents

Forms and supporting documents for this ICR

Document	Type	Status	Availability
Form OF 306 Declaration of Federal Employment	Form and Instruction	Modified	Available
OPM-2026-0001-0046.html	Public Comments	Uploaded 2026-08-17	Available
OF 306-Supporting Statement_.docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2026-08-17	Available
opm-sorn-govt-1-general-personnel-records.pdf	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2016-02-10	Available

IC Document Collections

Information collection document groups

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
256471	Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306)	Form and Instruction	Modified	Declaration of Federal Employment

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 3206-0182	ICR Reference No: 202608-3206-001
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202210-3206-001
Agency/Subagency: OPM	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306)
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 08/17/2026

table that charts list comparision

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	08/31/2026
Responses	217,102	315,478
Time Burden (Hours)	54,276	78,870
Cost Burden (Dollars)	1,820,417	433,839

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Abstract: The Declaration for Federal Employment Optional Form (OF) 306 is completed by applicants who are under consideration for Federal or Federal contract employment. It collects information about an applicant's selective service registration, military service, and general background. The information collected on this form is mainly used to determine a person's acceptability for Federal and Federal contract employment, and his or her retirement status and life insurance enrollment. The information on this form may be used in conducting an investigation to determine a person's suitability or ability to hold a security clearance, and it may be disclosed to authorized officials making similar, subsequent determinations. The OF 306 asks for personal identifying data and information about violations of the law past convictions, imprisonments, probations, parole, military court martial, delinquency on a Federal debt, Selective Service Registration, United States military service, Federal civilian or military retirement benefits received or applied for, and life insurance enrollment. Finally, the Fair Chance Act regulations will outline adverse action procedures that will apply when it is alleged that an agency employee has violated the requirements and appeal procedures that will be available from a determination by OPM adverse to the Federal employee. OPM is proposing these changes to implement the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (Fair Chance Act). With some exceptions, the Fair Chance Act prohibits Federal agencies and Federal contractors acting on their behalf from requesting that an applicant for Federal employment disclose criminal history record information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment to that applicant.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 5 USC 1104
   US Code: 5 USC 1302, 3301, 3304, 3328, 8716
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 27379	05/14/2026
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 49458	08/04/2026
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

table that charts list of burden

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306)	OF 306	Declaration of Federal Employment

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ICR Summary of Burden

table that charts list of burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	217,102	315,478	0	-98,376	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	54,276	78,870	0	-24,594	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	1,820,417	433,839	0	1,386,578	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Reduction Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Short Statement: To estimate the number of individuals completing the OF-306 annually, OPM reviewed historical usage data from USA Staffing, the system widely used by Federal agencies to support hiring and onboarding activities. USA Staffing records the number of OF-306 forms completed electronically as part of the onboarding process. Although some agencies collect OF-306 information through other onboarding or talent acquisition systems, USA Staffing is the primary government-wide hiring and onboarding system used by more than 100 Federal agencies. As a result, USA Staffing provides the most consistent and readily available source of data on the number of OF-306 forms completed electronically during the Federal hiring process. OPM therefore used USA Staffing historical usage data as a reasonable proxy for estimating the annual number of respondents completing the OF-306 government-wide. This approach provides a consistent methodology for estimating burden while recognizing that a limited number of agencies may collect the information through other systems or through paper forms. OPM analyzed the total number of OF-306 forms completed in USA Staffing during the most recent three years for which completed data were available. The totals were: 2023: 275,719 completed OF-306 forms 2024: 255,007 completed OF-306 forms 2025: 120,580 completed OF-306 forms To develop a representative annual estimate and smooth year-to-year fluctuations in hiring activity, OPM calculated the three-year average of these totals. The average was calculated as follows: (275,719 + 255,007 + 120,580) / 3 = 217,102. Based on this analysis, OPM estimates that approximately 217,102 individuals complete the OF-306 annually. This figure is used as the estimated number of annual responses for purposes of calculating the information collected burden.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $644,179

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 08/17/2026

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