The filing window starts with separation
Apply while employed or within one year after separation. Check the effective separation date on your SF-50. Waiting for medical records, agency paperwork, or a decision on another benefit does not automatically extend this window.
The statutory waiver is narrow: mental incompetence at separation or during the following year. When that waiver applies, filing is required within one year after competency is restored or a court appoints a fiduciary, whichever occurs first. Seek qualified legal advice for a disputed or missed deadline.
Use the current filing route
OPM now directs FERS disability applicants to its Online Retirement Application (ORA). Current employees begin through agency HR; former employees use the former-employee disability option in ORA. OPM instructs former employees that the application must be received within one year of separation. Keep the submission confirmation.
Section 844.201 also addresses incomplete filings and specific delivery-date rules. These provisions are not a reason to delay or assume an unfinished online draft protects a deadline. Contact OPM promptly if missing agency documents or a technical problem threatens timely filing.
Reconsideration: receipt by OPM matters
Under 5 CFR 841.306, OPM must receive a written reconsideration request within 30 calendar days of the initial decision date. The regulation permits an extension in limited circumstances, including lack of notice of the limit or circumstances beyond the requestor's control. An extension is not automatic. Follow the decision's instructions.
MSPB appeals use a different deadline rule
For most MSPB appeals, filing is due within 30 calendar days after the action's effective date, if any, or receipt of the decision, whichever is later. Read the appeal-rights notice in OPM's final decision. Do not substitute the initial reconsideration deadline for the MSPB rule.
Other dates are specific to your case
The 18-month civilian-service requirement is an eligibility condition, not a filing countdown. FERS also requires evidence of a Social Security disability application, or an SSA statement that the applicant is not insured as provided in the regulation. Follow the deadlines in OPM's requests for medical or other evidence; there is no universal 90-day response period established here.
A practical deadline record
- Save each decision and note when you received it.
- Record the due date, correct recipient, and accepted submission method.
- Keep delivery or electronic submission proof.
- Get any extension in writing and track its conditions.