OPM now directs FERS disability retirement applicants to its Online Retirement Application (ORA). The filing route depends on whether you are still employed. The eligibility rules and your responsibility to provide supporting evidence remain important.
How you start
If you are a current employee, contact your agency human resources office to initiate the process. If you are separated, OPM directs you to the ORA homepage, choose “Options for former federal employees,” then “Start disability application,” create an account and complete Login.gov identity verification. Use the official ORA website and its help resources.
What to gather before you begin
- Employment and service records, including your separation date and position description.
- Your own explanation of the conditions claimed and how they affect duties, attendance or conduct.
- Medical documentation addressing diagnosis, treatment, functional restrictions and prognosis.
- Your supervisor's SF 3112B and the agency's SF 3112D and SF 3112E. OPM specifically requires former employees to obtain and upload these documents too.
- Social Security disability application evidence, or an official SSA statement that you are not insured for disability insurance benefits, as permitted by 5 CFR 844.201(b). Ask OPM about any claimed exception rather than assuming age 62 alone waives this requirement.
- Relevant military service, family, insurance, survivor-election and payment records requested in your application.
Coordinate the SF 3112 components
The applicant completes Part A, the supervisor completes Part B, the medical provider supplies the Part C evidence, and the agency completes Parts D and E. Give the medical provider your most current position description. Request the agency components early; electronic filing does not remove the need for evidence from other people.
Use current, relevant medical evidence
The published SF 3112 instructions emphasize current evidence, including diagnosis, prognosis and a treatment plan dated no more than 60 days before filing. They also say OPM accepts all medical evidence about the condition. We could not verify a universal rule forbidding records older than one year. Follow the current upload instructions and any individual OPM request; retain relevant historical evidence, especially evidence of disability while employed.
Protect the deadline
OPM instructs former employees to submit their application within one year of separation. Section 844.201 also sets out filing rules, incomplete filings and a limited mental-incompetence exception. Do not let a missing agency form or medical record silently consume your filing period. Contact OPM promptly about how to preserve a timely filing and keep confirmation.
What an online checklist cannot establish
A completed upload list is an administrative check. It does not establish eligibility, resolve conflicting statements or guarantee approval. Review dates, duties and restrictions across the entire package before submission.
Editorial update: the earlier article described the author's August 2026 screen-by-screen experience. Detailed screen order, live estimates and submission-blocking behavior were removed because they have not been independently verified as current and may vary by application. This guide describes the publicly documented process.