SF-50 Form: How to Obtain and Understand Your Federal Personnel Action Form

An SF-50 form, Notification of Personnel Action, is the form used by the federal government to record and track federal employment. These forms track federal employee job changes and terminations, as well as a variety of information like federal job preferences, leave benefits and pension information. For those trying to obtain federal employment, the SF-50 is invaluable proof of previous federal service.

Blank SF-50s

Blank SF-50s are easily accessible online at the GSA Forms Library. In the Find a Forms blank, type SF-50 and hit "Search". The form is contained here in multiple print-ready formats, including PDF.

Your Most Recent SF-50

As of 2011, completed SF-50s for current and former government employees cannot be printed from the Internet. To obtain your SF-50, current employees should request it from their human resources department. Former government employees need to request one in writing from the National Personnel Records Center at the following address: National Personnel Records Center, 111 Winnebago St., St. Louis, MO 63118-4126, 314-801-9250. Call or email the office before sending your request so you are certain you've done it properly. However, all requests must be personally signed and dated before the office will honor them, so you must send the actual request via a postal mail service.

Military Members

Current and prior members of the military will not have an SF-50 unless they were civilian government employees at some point. The military analog to the SF-50 is the DD-214. In most cases, the military form will work for preference categorization just as well as an SF-50.

Other Options

Sometimes the NPRC does not have possession of an SF-50. In that case, try calling the human resources department of the office where you used to work. If all else fails, call your local U.S. representative's office and ask for help.