OPM special rate table finder
Start with one position fact, then verify coverage on OPM's current 2026 table.
- Rule snapshot
- Reviewed
- Primary sources
- Live OPM indexes and 5 CFR
- Privacy
- Inputs stay in this browser
Official-table route
The result opens OPM. FedUp.work does not copy or guess special rates.
Find, then verify
OPM owns the live rate and every coverage condition.
- 01
Choose the strongest fact
A known table number is narrowest; occupation, agency, and location indexes are broader.
- 02
Open every candidate
A shared series or location can lead to several tables with different coverage.
- 03
Match the position record
Confirm grade, agency, subelement, official worksite, effective date, and notes with payroll.
Read the whole table
A table number is only a starting point. These facts decide whether a row applies.
Series and grade
Match the occupation, specialty, grade, and step to the position of record.
Agency and subelement
Coverage may name a department and limit it to one bureau or component.
Official worksite
City, county, installation, state, or locality-area coverage must match.
Effective date and notes
Use the applicable period and read superseded, terminated, locality, and limitation notes.
Boundaries before using a rate
- No special-rate salary is copied, cached, calculated, or inferred
- A matching table is not an eligibility finding; series, specialty, grade, agency, subelement, location, effective date, and notes can limit coverage
- Federal Wage System, Title 38, retained pay, law-enforcement base schedules, and other non-Title 5 authorities require separate sources
- Agency human resources and payroll records control the payable rate
Special-rate table questions
What is an OPM special rate table?
OPM may establish higher rates of basic pay for a category of General Schedule positions when an agency has significant recruiting or retention difficulty. Coverage can be defined by series, specialty, grade, agency, subelement, and geographic area.
How do I know whether a special-rate table covers my position?
Match the table's occupation or series, grade, agency and subelement, official worksite, effective date, and notes to the position of record. A matching keyword alone is not enough. Agency human resources and payroll records control coverage.
Do I receive the special rate or the locality rate?
OPM says an employee receives the greatest applicable rate of basic pay, which may be the scheduled rate, locality rate, special rate, or retained rate. A special-rate table can remain published even where a higher locality rate applies at a particular grade, step, or location.
Why can one occupation or location show many tables?
Different tables can cover different agencies, subelements, specialties, grades, locations, or effective periods. Open each candidate and read the full coverage and notes rather than selecting only by occupation or city.
Does this finder calculate a special-rate salary?
No. OPM can add, revise, supersede, or terminate tables during the year. This page routes to the current official index and leaves every salary and coverage fact on OPM's live table.
Does this include WG or Federal Wage System rates?
No. The OPM special-rate indexes on this page concern Title 5 special rates. Federal Wage System and nonappropriated-fund schedules use separate DCPAS wage-schedule directories, available through the FedUp.work WG schedule finder.
Primary sources
Current indexes and rules verified August 22, 2026. OPM may update tables during the year.
- OPM 2026 agency, location, and occupation search (opens in a new tab)
- OPM 2026 table-number search (opens in a new tab)
- OPM 2026 occupation index (opens in a new tab)
- OPM 2026 agency index (opens in a new tab)
- OPM 2026 location index (opens in a new tab)
- OPM all current 2026 special-rate tables (opens in a new tab)
- OPM: Administering Locality Rates (opens in a new tab)
- OPM: Special Rates Requests and authority (opens in a new tab)
- 5 CFR part 530 subpart C: Special Rate Schedules (opens in a new tab)